Add Some Fat to the Soup
All the dishes deserve some touch-up, and the soup is no exception. Salt in cereal, a little lemon juice, or some fresh herbs are all welcome for first-class lovers, but the most luxurious of these is a little fat, especially butter or olive oil. It is especially special when added to a bowl of soup.
I’m sure other fancy oils like hazelnut or sesame will work as well, but the ubiquitous olive oil works with just about any soup, be it a hot bowl of creamy mushroom soup or chilled gazpacho. Butter is a little more limited – it’s not suitable for cold soups – but when used correctly, it is very effective.
But before we talk about the features of the soup, it is helpful to understand the benefits of eating a little fat. Fat carries flavor, but the flavor of the fat itself – like the flavor in fermented milk or the pungency of good olive oil – can get lost and confused during cooking. Adding a small amount to the soup right before serving will give the flavor a radiance and a rich, luxurious mouth feel. (Who doesn’t want luxury?)
Olive oil is a pretty versatile finisher, but I think it goes especially well with vegetable gazpacho or “cream” of whatever. It might seem overkill to add oil to an already creamy soup, but high quality olive oil feels silky rather than creamy, and the two textures work in tandem to create a soup that feels very rich without being too heavy or fat.
The oil is a little different and its application is a little more instinctive. Nothing really tastes bad with butter, although it probably does feel strange in cold soup. Think about all the things that restaurants use butter to enhance their flavor, and then get down to business. It can complement beef and barley soup the same way it completes a steak, enhance the decadence factor in a bowl of chicken and rice (or stars) and, as AA Newton previously mentioned, butter and miso go together “ like peanuts. butter and jelly . ” Baked potato soup, corn soup, lentil soup and ramen all become more food-like and delicious with a little oil on top. Adding it to a seafood sponge cake is probably overkill, but I’ve never been very restrained.