Fresh Tomato Basil Soup and Sandwich (Power Ranch Roast Beef on Rustic Baguette with Mozzarella) at Essence Bakery Cafe.
With the temperatures positively plummeting (well, for Arizona!), I find myself increasingly thinking about soup, although frankly I’m a soup fan all year round. Having grown up in a world where soup involved opening a can, I must admit that I truly didn’t appreciate what a fine art a good soup really is—at least until I moved to Africa, where, if you wanted tomato soup, you started cooking tomatoes! What a difference. Was this was soup was supposed to taste like? Count me in.
Soup’s a pretty simple concept, and apparently it’s been around as long as cooking itself. No surprise, really, when you consider making soup is really nothing more than combining various ingredients in a large pot to make a nutritious, filling, and easily digested meal. There are few who will deny that soup is the ultimate comfort food; who doesn’t think of chicken noodle soup when you’re under the weather?
Just tonight, I was at a college graduation party…held outdoors. It was chilly. The outdoor heaters were on; a fire was blazing in the fire pit. But wait…the host had made the most fabulous baked potato soup! Score…the hit of the party with everyone. Soup somehow has a universal appeal.
I was thrilled recently when management had hired back the “Soup Nazi” at one of my favorite haunts, Teakwoods Tavern & Grill (the Chandler location, within walking distance of my house). They have soup specials every day, but the New England Clam Chowder on Fridays is remarkably good, and if the Bacon Cheeseburger Soup shows up on the menu, do not pass this up, no matter how weird it may sound. I had two bowls for brunch one Saturday, it was so delicious.
However, Teakwoods, while good, is certainly not what you would classify as “gourmet”—and it’s really the gourmet touches that make good soup really great.
I can think of a few memorable soups I’ve had during my 12-plus years in Arizona. The historic Palace Restaurant and Saloon in Prescott’s Whiskey Row is known for its Roasted Corn Chowder, and I’ve got to say that was pretty darn tasty. Back in the Valley, the equally historic Stockyards serves up a delicious steak soup that is a hearty meal all on its own. Although not on their regular menu (sadly), I had a lunch special out on the patio at Tempe’s wonderful House of Tricks not too long ago that I positively could have bathed in, it was so good: a delicate mushroom/gorgonzola soup drizzled with truffle oil.
Essence Bakery Cafe's Organic Butternut Squash Soup with Warm French Brie and Arugula on Toasted Grain Bread.
But when it comes to soup specials, Essence Bakery Cafe in Tempe takes top billing in my book. I look forward to the e-mail arriving in my inbox every Monday from chef/owner Eugenia Theodosopolous, so I can plan my lunching accordingly. Although soups show up on the menu throughout the year, they are for the most part a daily occurrence in the cooler months, paired with either a salad or sandwich (but get there early, as those specials sell like nobody’s business—I’ve been there at noon and they’re already gone). Just consider the soups that have been on the menu over the last month or so: Cream of Fresh Tomato, Parmesan, and Basil; White Bean and Tuscan Kale; Butternut Squash ; Smoked Ham and Split Pea; Barley-Vegetable; Spinach; Yukon Gold Potato, Wild Rice and Mushroom; Lentil and Vegetable; White Bean and Tomato, Orzo Pasta; Sweet Potato—get the picture? It seems Chef Eugenia can make a delicious soup out of pretty much anything.
This wouldn’t seem so odd, except that Chef Eugenia, who moved here from France in 1994, is acclaimed as a pastry chef (if you haven’t tried her macarons or croissants—especially the almond croissants—you haven’t lived). What’s with all the soups? “I love to make soups!” Eugenia laughs. “They’re so much fun to make; using ingredients that are in season, sauteing, adding in, deglazing, the stock, the smelling, the tasting…soup is like a complete meal, and it’s actually my favorite thing to make.”
Like me, Eugenia enjoys soup year-round, outside temperature be damned. She recalls being in Portugal in August at the tender age of 26. “It was hot, but every meal started with soup,” she recalls. “And I thought, ‘Why not?’ It starts you off; makes you feel good.” Eugenia serves up soup all the time at home (“I’m so excited if there are leftovers from the restaurant!” she confesses) to her husband, Gilles, and often her parents, whose favorites are the Butternut Squash and Yukon Gold Potato soups.
In addition to kindly sharing her recipe for her butternut squash soup (below), Chef Eugenia has a few important soup-making tips:
- The stock is very important, but people tend to put in too much liquid. “Make sure you simmer!” says Eugenia.
- The onion ratio is “really crucial.” Figure 3 pounds of onion, for example, for every 10 pounds of squash. “Onion makes each vegetable have its own flavor.”
- Everything needs to be cut to the same size.
Enjoy making Eugenia’s butternut squash soup—and let us know your favorite soup finds in Phoenix!
Satiny Squash Soup
(Serves 6)
2 medium-sized butternut squash
1 medium yam
1 large onion
4 tbsp. butter
Fresh ground nutmeg to taste
Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
Chicken or vegetable stock, milk (3 parts stock to 1 part milk)
1/2 cup of whipping cream
Minced fresh chives & crème fraîche for garnish
Peel squash and sweet potatoes. Chop into equal-sized 1-inch cubes. Peel onion and chop into 1-inch cubes. In large saucepan, melt butter and add squash, potatoes and onions. Stir to coat squash mixture with melted butter. Allow to sweat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir well. Cover with a mixture of 3 parts stock to one part milk. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. When mixture has slightly cooled, puree in food processor. Return to heat and add cream. Garnish with chives and crème fraîche.
