cover image Soup of the Day: 150 Sustaining Recipes for Soup and Accompaniments to Make a Meal

Soup of the Day: 150 Sustaining Recipes for Soup and Accompaniments to Make a Meal

Lydie Marshall. William Morrow Cookbooks, $25.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-06-018809-2

Author (A Passion for My Provence) and cooking school owner (Chez Lydie en Provence) Marshall explains the secrets to soups in this winning volume. Her love of her subject matter is evident in her helpful technique advice and her fond recollections of rewarding soup experiences, such as the rare pleasure of her mother's bechamel-enhanced soups, made with butter and milk friends that smuggled into WWII Paris. This book offers friendly reading, with anecdotes of acquaintances who have contributed their favorite soups, and it boasts 150 recipes in chapters on broth, vegetable soups (this chapter is seasonally subdivided), seafood soups, and meat and poultry soups. From hearty Ribollita to Lobster Bisque and two versions of gazpacho, there are soups-many with international flavor-for every occasion. In the final three chapters, Marshall provides recipes for salads, breads and desserts. This dilutes the book's focus a bit, but ideas for interesting accompaniments, including Goat Cheese Fritters, Tuscan bread and Cherry Clafoutis, enable readers to create complete meals.