Ankeny, Iowa — Soups are synonymous with comfort food. They have evolved along with our cuisines, and are said to have been the first foods served at public restaurants in Paris. Today, versatile soups featuring soyfoods—chowders, gumbos, minestrones and more—make ideal additions to your all-day menu.
The Soyfoods Council website at www.thesoyfoodscouncil.com offers a selection of globally inspired soup specialties for appetizers, snacks, sandwich accompaniments or entrees. These customer-pleasing menu ideas feature soyfoods that supply texture and flavor to recipes while boosting the nutrition profile. With today’s restaurant-goers always on the lookout for more healthful menu items, it’s good to know that soyfoods can add protein without adding cholesterol. Soyfoods also may help protect against heart disease—they are low in saturated fat, high in polyunsaturated fat and provide essential omega-3 fatty acids.
Seasonal soups featuring soyfoods include Fresh Vegetable Chicken Corn Chowder. The recipe combines fresh sweet corn, spinach, onion, and zucchini with herbs and spices, silken tofu and chicken breasts. Chef Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, Executive Director of Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, shares a hearty autumn soup recipe for Great Plains Harvest Soup. It combines onion, leeks, carrots, wild rice, shelled edamame, canned soybeans and chicken stock. The soup is thickened with instant mashed potatoes.
Vegetarian customers will appreciate Mexican Soup Olé. The recipe calls for vegetable broth, onions, garlic, canned diced tomatoes, canned soybeans pureed in a blender with some of the broth, and vegetarian refried beans. The soup is flavored with salsa and chili powder, then garnished with shredded soy cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
The Soyfoods Council offers more soup recipes, too, such as Hoppin’ Cajun Gumbo, Miso Chicken Soup with Snow Peas and Tofu, and Vegetable Minestrone. For these and other ideas to heat up this year’s cool-weather menu, visit the website at www.thesoyfoodscouncil.com.
Mexican Soup Olé
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp. minces garlic
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 can (15 oz.) soybeans, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can (15 oz.) vegetarian refried beans
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes undrained
1 cup salsa
1 tsp. chili powder
Optional Garnishes: shredded soy cheese, crushed tortilla chips
Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot.
While the onion is cooking, purée the soybeans in the blender with about 1 cup of the broth. Add the puréed mixture to the rest of the broth and the refried beans to the soup pot and stir until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients (except optional garnishes) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes to let the flavors blend. Garnish individual bowls with cheese and crushed chips, if desired. Yield: 8 servings
Miso Chicken Soup with Snow Peas and Tofu
3 pounds chicken quarters
12 cups water
8 slices fresh ginger, smashed lightly with the flat side of a knife
1/2 cup miso paste
1 pound water-packed firm tofu, cut into cubes
3/4 pound snow or snap peas, strings removed
3 tablespoons minced green onion
1. Combine chicken and water and ginger in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce, heat, simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove chicken and cool. Discard ginger. Scoop out and reserve 1/2 cup broth
2. Remove the meat from the chicken, and shred. Discard skin and bones. Add chicken to broth. In small bowl, combine reserved broth and the miso paste; stir until smooth.
3. Add tofu and snow peas to soup and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and add miso mixture, and stir well. Ladle soup into serving bowls; top with green onions. Yield: 6 servings.
The Soyfoods Council is a non-profit organization, created and funded by Iowa soybean farmers, providing a complete resource to increase awareness of soyfoods, educate and inform media, healthcare professionals, consumers and the retail and foodservice market about the many benefits of soyfoods. Iowa is the country’s number one grower of soybeans and is the Soyfoods Capital of the world.
Source: The Soyfoods Council
