A Perfect Bowl of Vegetable Soup

Food traditions and food habits have changed a lot over the centuries. Foods and habits that were common a few centuries ago are now in some cases only found in individual countries. Meat pies, stews and soups were common everywhere in Europe in the past, but are now fairly rare. They have become specialties of certain countries and regions.

One such habit is the vegetable soup that everyone ate as a starter for the main meal. I know of no other country than Portugal where this is still the rule. The habit has somehow survived. Most Portuguese insist on a bowl of vegetable soup before digging into the main dish.

This is a habit I've adopted myself, and I can highly recommend it. Making a soup is quick and easy, and it makes for a perfect starter. It's neither too filling nor boring. If done correctly, it's positively delicious.

I follow no recipe when making a soup. There's the essential clove of garlic and teaspoon of salt, but apart from that anything can be tossed into the pot. Typical vegetables used include potato, pumpkin, beans, carrot, onions and spinach. The vegetables are cut into dices and boiled for 25 minutes. Once boiled, olive oil is added, and the soup is blended with an immersion blender.

As it turns out, the end result depends heavily on the quality of the olive oil. The more fragrant and delicious the olive oil, the better the soup will taste, and there's a huge difference between the typical olive oil found in a supermarket and a fine olive oil bought in a delicatessen.

My wife has a nephew who owns an olive grove, and he gave us a bottle of his finest press for Christmas, and there can be no doubt about its superiority. A dash of his oil elevates our soups to levels impossible to reach with even the best oil found in our local supermarket. Hence, we're now set on exploring in more detail the world of olive oils.

We've had similar experiences with tea and coffee. That too depends very much on quality. There's a huge difference between what's sold in supermarkets when compared to what's sold in delicatessens, and the difference in price is not so big that only the rich can afford the luxury of top quality products. My wife and I have found our preferred teas and coffees, and we will now see if we can find a reliable high end olive oil as well.

Lunch