HOW TO MAKE A CREAM SOUP
Cream soup is made of a bechamel sauce or a velouté, both providing a thickened base for the main flavoring ingredient that is usually an aromatic and suitable vegetable like broccoli, peas, or asparagus. Of course, cream soups can also be made of meat or poultry, although the simple procedure involving a thick sauce and one cooked vegetable can create a very good soup. Bechamel in its simplicity is milk thickened with flour, while velouté is stock thickened with flour. You can use either of these ingredients, depending on what kind of effect you want to achieve. Even if you choose velouté, it is usual to actually finish the soup off with some cream - thus making it resemble a bechamel base (but it's almost impossible to burn the soup if you add the cream as the last ingredient!).
What makes the meat or poultry cream soups more "complicated" is that you need to work more on trimming the meat from fat and other unwanted pieces. Of course, this can be done fairly quickly anyway, and why not try it for all it's worth? Whatever ingredient you choose as your main aromatic provider it needs to be trimmed, clean, rinsed, and cut into small pieces - so that it cooks quickly and becomes easier to purée. Another important ingredient is the stock - it has to be good and preferably home-made. Don't opt for the commercial stock cubes, as they will never give you the optimal flavor in your soups. After all, all soups should be based on the best stocks, and it's just so easy to make one in your home (see how on our HOW TO pages).
As the thickening agents for the cream soup one can use flour (since it contains starch that will absorb the water). However, for more flavorful thickeners you can use some starchy vegetables like potatoes or corn. You don't even have to use thickeners if you don't want to, as long as there is enough vegetables in the soup to make it thick.
For making the cream soup choose a heavy bottomed pot made of stainless steel or aluminium. You will also need a blender to purée the soup, or you can also use a food processor. Even better silky texture in the soup can be achieved by pouring the puréed soup through a cheesecloth or a very fine sieve.
To make 1 liter/1 quart of a cream soup you will then need:
500 g/1 lb of the main flavoring ingredient (vegetable(s), meat, poultry, or fish)
1 l/1 quart of a prepared stock (or velouté, whatever your choice is)
or some thickening agent or starchy ingredient (flour, potatoes, roux)
seasoning (salt, pepper, bouquet garni)
milk or cream to finish, about 100 mL/3 fl oz
some finely chopped main ingredient to garnish
The procedure:
1. Cook the main flavoring ingredient separately and then add it to the simmering stock. OR sauté the main ingredient and then add the stock or velouté to it. Bear in mind to add the thickening agent now, preferably dispersed in a small volume of stock or in the sautéing mixture. This should be done before adding the stock.
2. Simmer the soup until everything is cooked, adjusting the seasoning from time to time. It can take about an hour for a cream soup to develop a nice flavor and to thicken. Make sure to skim the soup to remove impurities, and also to stir it from time to time to prevent scorching. At the end of cooking add the bouquet garni (if you intend to use it) for about 15 minutes.
3. Purée the soup in a food processor or with a hand-held mixer (watch out since the soup is hot!). Strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth if you wish. Adjust the seasoning one final time.
4. Add the milk or cream, and serve the soup with garnish in it.