There’s always soup for you

There is a moment every fall in Rhode Island when you know soup season has arrived.

I’m not sure about you, but I always resist admitting summer is over. It’s not that I don’t love fall; I do. I just happen to love summer too, and I’m never quite ready to trade one for the other. Change is hard, even when what comes next is pretty wonderful.

Some years fall eases in; others, the temperature seems to drop overnight. We Rhode Islanders respond by wearing sandals with sweaters and insisting summer isn’t quite finished.

The resistance quickly fades as we welcome bright sunshine, crisp air and leaves shimmering in shades of red, orange and gold. Farm stands fill with squash, apples, carrots, potatoes and other signs of the autumn harvest. A salad for dinner no longer seems quite enough, and soup starts sounding like a much better idea. Perhaps it’s nature’s way of telling us it’s time to dust off the slow cooker.

Soup also holds a special place in Jewish food traditions. For many of us, chicken soup immediately comes to mind — the familiar remedy when someone is sick or the beginning of a holiday meal. Depending on your family, it may have been prescribed for everything from a cold to a bruised knee to a bad day at work.

But Jewish soup extends far beyond chicken and matzo balls. Across generations and geography, Jewish cooks have used what was available wherever they lived: lentils and chickpeas, barley and mushrooms, vegetables, herbs and spices.

Perhaps that is what makes soup so fitting for Jewish life: It adapts.

Jewish cooking has long been influenced by place, and Rhode Island in fall gives us plenty to work with. Butternut squash can be roasted and blended until silky. Apples add sweetness. Corn and potatoes can become a hearty fish chowder — a nod to our New England surroundings.

But what I love most about soup isn’t necessarily what’s in the bowl. It’s what a batch allows us to do.

The Jewish tradition of hakhnasat orchim — welcoming guests — encourages us to open our homes and tables to others. Soup may be one of the easiest foods with which to practice it. There’s almost always room for one more, especially if you add a little more broth and hope nobody notices.

It can simmer while friends or family gather in the kitchen, and a warm bowl with a piece of challah for dunking requires little else.

Soup is also a wonderful food to give away.

When someone is sick, grieving, overworked, overwhelmed or simply in need of a hug, a container of homemade soup says plenty: I was thinking about you. And perhaps just as importantly, “You don’t have to figure out dinner tonight.” The pleasure of soup isn’t only in eating it. It’s also in having enough to share.

This October, stop at a Rhode Island farmers market, roadside stand or local grocer and pick up a squash, a few apples or whatever looks particularly good. Bring them home and make something warm.

If cooking isn’t your thing, many local markets and grocers offer excellent soups ready to take home. We won’t tell.

And living in one of the country’s most beautiful regions for fall foliage, why not pour your soup into a heatproof canister, grab your pup or a friend, and enjoy it after a walk through the colorful, crunchy leaves?

Which reminds me of a late-fall hike with a friend in the Blue Hills outside Boston. Afterward, he opened a canister of homemade mushroom soup.

I was touched. I was also slightly alarmed.

I have tried very hard to like mushrooms. There are so many varieties, people adore them, and life would simply be easier if I joined them. But despite repeated attempts, I just don’t like them. My mother doesn’t either, so I prefer to think we’re leaving more for everyone else.

Still, my friend had made the soup and carried it along to share after our hike. Not tasting it was out of the question. I held my breath, took a sip and eventually confessed.

Years later, we still laugh about it. The soup may not have converted me to mushrooms, but the gesture stayed with me. Perhaps that’s another thing soup does so well: it gives us a reason to gather, a way to care for one another, an opportunity to connect and, every so often, something to laugh about together.

Looking for inspiration? 

Easy Fall Harvest Soup

Big flavor in minimal time.

Serves 6. Double the recipe and freeze portions for easy meals later.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion or shallot, chopped

5–6 cups chopped orange root vegetables or squash, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash or pumpkin*

1 apple, peeled and chopped

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pepitas

A sprinkle of za’atar for serving.

*For the best consistency, use at least half squash or pumpkin. My go-to is one medium butternut squash and two carrots.

Directions

1.      Sauté the Onion: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2.      Simmer the Soup: Add the vegetables, apple, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20–25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

3.      Blend: Blend until smooth using an immersion blender or carefully transfer to a blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4.      Toast the Pepitas: Toast the pepitas in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, or in the toaster oven, for about 90 seconds.

5.      Serve: Ladle into bowls and finish with a sprinkle of toasted pepitas and za’atar. Store any extra pepitas in an airtight container for up to two weeks. 

JODI GREENBERG is a member of the board of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.