Over the past twenty years, we have seen a dozen books by James Peterson and each book has received both instant acclaim and rapid status as a classic. For me, when I think of his “S” book it is of course Sauces which first appeared in 1998 and is now in its third edition.
But there is a double “S” book that we should not ignore, Splendid Soups, from 2001. Can 2001 really be fourteen years ago? That’s a long time. No matter, Splendid Soups is ageless.
Peterson writes with authority, with certainty. You might, at first, confuse his writing with ego but it is not that at all. The man has researched, tested, experimented and refined — and then written with clarity. When he says X is X, it’s true.
Here’s an example. For the Hot and Sour Soup in this book, he begins with a warning: make this recipe, taste this soup, and you are never going to be happy with restaurant versions again. Suzen and I will be visiting Chinatown to track down the reason Peterson can make this claim. He requires a few specific and important ingredients: black Chinese mushrooms, tried tree ears, and dried tiger lily stems. Seriously.
On the positive side, this recipe has only 16 ingredients to achieve its outstanding taste. Ever looked up a recipe for hot and sour soup? You can find recipes with 30 items or more listed, which has always seemed a barrier too high for Suzen and me to think of climbing. But in this example you see the essence of a Peterson recipe for he gets to the heart of the flavor and texture of every recipe in every one of his books. What is that essence of great hot and sour soup and how can that be achieved by the average home cook. Peterson asks the questions, finds the answers, and inspires you to look for dried tree ears. [They are mushrooms, by the way, not whole limbs of wood.]
The other hallmark of a Peterson book is organization. “Soup” is a very generic term. Splendid Soups is grouped by chapters that show the natural relations among recipes and make your search for your soup of the day much easier.
Broths, Consommés and Simple Broth-Based Soups begins with broths, from turkey to porcini, then moves to consommés, from chicken to lobster. There are recipes combining these basics with eggs, cheese, herbs, noodles, wontons, dumplings and balls of meat or fish.
Vegetable Soups first offers a battery of single vegetable ideas —avocado and chestnut and Mexican corn —then passes to ideas using beans and lentils and dried peas. The chapter concludes with more complex, mixed vegetable soups that includes Gazpacho Scented with Smoked Fish and Milanese-Style Minestrone.
Rice Soups will take you far, far beyond that can of Campbell’s Chicken and Rice. The very first recipe here — Shrimp, Mussel, Chorizo and Spanish Rice Soup in the Style of Arroce — tells you this journey will be awesomely delicious.
The chapter on Fish Soup carries forward the themes of complexity and imagination. Here you will find Cold Trout Soup with Herbs, White Wine and Vinegar; Hearty Fish Soup with Cider, Leeks and Mushroom; and Indian-Style Curry and Coconut Fish Soups.
Clams and oysters, by the way, are elevated to a chapter of their own, Bivalve Shellfish Soups. For your consideration you will find Mussel and Shiitake Mushroom Dashi, Calm Chowders of course, and an Oyster and Chicken Gumbo.
Did I forget lobsters? No, still another chapter is here, Crustacean Soups complete with Light Cream of Lobster Soup, Blue Crab Soup, and Crayfish Broth.
All that attention to the rivers, streams, lakes, seas, and oceans does not mean that meat is ignored. Here there are 130 pages devoted to:
- New England Boiled Meats and Pot-au-Feu
- Asian Tabletop Meat Soups
- Hearty Peasant Soups
- Borscht
- Chicken
- Duck
- Squab
- Rabbit
- Pork
- Lamb
- Beef
- Veal
- Tripe
- Foie Gras and Frog
If it doesn’t swim, it probably walks or flies. Either way, you can make soup from it and that soup can be delightful. My favorites here are the Hearty Peasant Soups, ones like Gascon Duck and Vegetable Soup and Russian-Style Cabbage Soup.
Splendid Soups ends with a parade of small chapters devoted to very specific ideas: Bread Soups, Yogurt, Cheese and Buttermilk Soups; and Fruit Soups and Dessert Soups. Think of Hazelnut and Fresh Raspberry Soup or perhaps Yogurt and Cucumber Soup with Garlic.
There are over 200 recipes here in Splendid Soups but actually far more. Soups are robust. This is soup, not cake, not fudge. So these “recipes” are really flavor templates for you to consider, amend and extend. There’s a lifetime of recipes here and you are certain to find ideas that will enter your family heritage.
I am pretty sure that if you buy Splendid Soups you may well never buy another can of soup again. Why would you? Canned soup cannot be splendid. Every recipe here is.