Good cook but just can't make good soup. Time to give up trying? .

[Fliproo]

I am a reasonably good cook. Can make a variety of meals from scratch all of which my kids lap up. However, I have tried and tried for many years (!) To make a good homemade soup, and just can't do it. Always turns out bland or awful. When the kids know I'm making soup, they hide. I'm not talking anything super funky. I don't like "posh" soup- no cream of couscous with broccoli here. That's not good "common" soup that I'm looking for. Something like my good Scottish maw or a granny would make. I'm talking lentil, chicken broth, scotch broth, leek & potato etc etc. Super easy stuff. Never blended, never with cream.

I've tried making stock from scratch with a gammon, ham hock, lamb, boiling beef. I'll try stock cubes. I've tried stock pots. Nothing makes a difference. I've tried cooking the veg in the pot with oil before I add any stock. Always bland or awful. I never put anything too funky in. Mostly lentils, broth mix, leek, celery, potato, Carrott and onion. Obviously not all at the same time, but typically thats what I choose from. Other than salt n Pepper, Occasional seasoning like cumin, thyme, chilli plus some random others I can remember.

When I go into restaurants and cafes, I always buy soup and if I like it I'll even try and reverse engineer it, without success. 😂. I tried Jamie Oliver's "store cupboard" lentil bacon yesterday, it was just about edible. I wasn't too fussed, i don't like him anyway. 😅 I followed that recipe to the letter. I also saw a thread on here the other day about someone being in a hotel and they had the best lentil soup ever, so they got the recipe off the chef and it appeared the secret item was lots of butter. So I tried that one tonight. And it was just a buttery mess. (see photo) it was just about edible but so buttery. And I only used half of what they recommended. I've trawled though YouTube, Google and even tiktok trying to find something that works for me. But I must be doing something fundamentally wrong.

So. Do I give up and admit defeat? I spend a fortune on ingredients constantly in search for something "wow" but it never happens. Maybe time to stop torturing myself. Trouble is, I hate tinned soup or those fresh soups you get in tubs from supermarkets now.

If your kids want chunky (non blended) soup then another good way to make gorgeous chicken soup is to boil a chicken carcass but add in lots of garlic and salt. Cook for about 45 mins on a low heat. Drain off the stock (check it tastes yummy) and then cook carrot, onion and potato in that, along with more seasoning, salt etc.

Knorr Aromat or Maggi make a big difference.
Also knorr professional dried soup mixes (tub, Amazon sell them) can rescue bland soups and last forever.

You can remove some of the veg etc and blend the rest, then add back in again. That'll give you a gorgeous silky smooth soup with the required "bits" in it.
The other way is to go for something like minestrone which has loads in it.

I think you need good ingredients too - whenever I try the "odds and ends and cuttings of veg" type of soup, it tastes exactly like that - like something that should have been thrown away.

And yes to all the PP - more salt than you think.

@halfsiesonapotnoodle actually I usually use a mug! So more than a tea cup. Sorry very vague! It's quite a flexible recipe though, can add swede or whatever or meat eaters can add ham or a bone while it cooks (veggie for me though)

Another tip if you want "lumps".
I blend my soup then add a few beans (aduki, black , borlotti etc) or a handful of broken dried noodles, some tinned sweetcorn.

This

app.ckbk.com/recipe/jewi78218c04s001r023/chicken-soup-with-knaidlach

It takes time but it is incredible. The fresh garlic at the end transforms it. I don't make the matzo balls though.