The Best Soups in the World

Book excerpt: The ultimate soup cookbook from the James Beard Award–winning author—including generous spoonfuls of culinary history and culture. In restaurants and dining rooms on every continent, soup is on the menu. A Mexican chef simmers Roasted Poblano and Three Cheese Soup. A Sicilian nonna stirs Beans and Greens Soup, while her Thai counterpart cooks up Mushroom and Chile Soup. Wherever it’s eaten, a bowl of soup—whether elegant or hearty, creamy or clear, chilled or piping hot—delivers rich flavor and simple satisfaction. In this ultimate soup cookbook, Clifford A. Wright has collected 247 of the best classic, famous, and hidden-gem recipes to be found anywhere, including: Italian Small Rice Balls in Broth * California Chilled Peach Soup * Georgian Beef and Apricot Soup * Tanzanian Black-Eyed Pea and Coconut Soup * Wonton Soup * Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle * Chayote Soup from Nicaragua * Tuscan White Bean * Vietnamese-American Pho * Cambodian Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup * Blackfoot Bison and Blackberry Soup * and many more But this is no mere collection of recipes. Wright, a food scholar, applies his expertise in lively explorations of the history and culture behind each soup, which makes this book as rewarding to read as it is to cook from. He also provides Internet sources for every item—making them perfect for budget-conscious cooks whose taste know no boundaries.