Soups are built on layers of flavor. With any good recipe, ingredients get added along the way, up to the very end, when you can make final tweaks in seasoning to taste. One of the great things about a pot of soup -- or stew -- is that it’s pretty flexible and forgiving, even if you mess up.
A little bit more or a little bit less of something is usually fine. Ditto substitutions for the meat, vegetable, broth or starch of choice. Soup’s built-in amenability to experiment means there are plenty of opportunities to add flavor boosters for an extra something.
Here are a few of our favorite versatile ingredients to take your pot of soup or stew to the next level. - - - Tomato paste The first step of many soup recipes is to saute a base of onions, carrots and celery, or mirepoix, followed by garlic, which is cooked until aromatic, 30 seconds to one minute. Try adding a tablespoon or so of tomato paste with the garlic, stirring constantly until it’s darkened and fragrant.
Tomato paste is a great way to add baseline umami, the sensation of a food’s savory depth that is often referred to as the fifth taste. Tomatoes are naturally high in glutamates, a family of chemicals that are primarily responsibly for creating umami. - - - Parmesan rind The next time you finish a wedge of parmesan (or Parmigiano-Reggiano), don’t toss the rind.
Instead, stash it in the freezer until you can use it in your next batch of soup, stew or even risotto. Like tomatoes, parmesan is a source of gl.