Creamy, wealthy soups are one among winter’s greatest consolation meals. There are loads of methods to thicken home made soup, however till not too long ago, we had by no means thought-about leftover French fries. Turns out, this technique for making soup even creamier is a intelligent approach to make use of these soggy fries from final evening’s takeout order—and it turns any blended soup into an opulent bowl that tastes even higher.
Why You Should Blend French Fries in Your Soup
You most likely already know that potatoes are an awesome thickener for home made soup. Even if you happen to do not purée the soup with a blender, potatoes launch starch as they prepare dinner—thickening the broth with a satisfying velvety consistency. In truth, we have written earlier than about how useful frozen hash browns could be when cooking creamy soups.
In a 2023 Instagram story, The New Yorker meals author Helen Rosner talked about that she makes use of leftover French fries to thicken soup. Scaachi Koula tradition author for Buzzfeed, requested for extra particulars. (Thanks, Scaachi! We have been questioning, too.) Helen shared extra in a follow-up story, explaining that not solely do French fries thicken soup, however placing them within the pot is a great approach to make use of leftover fries which—let’s be sincere—are normally fairly soggy and never very tasty.
How To Thicken Soup With Leftover French Fries
So how does this French fry magic occur? It’s easy. “…Chop them up and add them to your soup after which purée the soup!” Helen defined within the story. Of course, this method will not work with clear soups, or soups that aren’t imagined to be blended. (If you set chopped fries in hen noodle soup, for instance, you may simply have a bunch of moist fries.)
Because fries are already cooked, you’ll be able to add them as soon as your soup is sort of carried out and able to be blended. Putting the fries within the pot a minute or two earlier than turning off the warmth will make sure that your soup stays piping sizzling; in any other case, the fridge-cold temperature of the fries will mood the soup.
You can use a handheld immersion blender to purée your soup, or switch the soup to a conventional blender, working in batches if you need to.
There are simply two issues to contemplate when thickening soup with fries. The first is the salt stage. Most restaurant fries are very salty. If you are planning on including French fries to a home made soup, take into account dialing down the quantity of salt you utilize to season it. Battered fries are additionally not perfect for this, as a result of the dredging batter might not purée properly. Fries which were battered with wheat flour should not gluten free, which issues in case you are cooking for somebody with a gluten sensitivity.
Other Ways To Thicken Soup
No leftover French fries available? That’s okay! You can even thicken soup by puréeing it with cooked beans or lentils. White beans like cannellini beans or navy beans are particularly good for puréeing. This recipe for Creamy Italian White Bean Soup is a good place to begin.
Puréeing hearty winter greens like butternut and kabocha squash will even do the trick. This recipe for Sweet Potato, Carrot, and Red Lentil Soup is the most effective of all three worlds, utilizing potato, squash, and lentils to make a brilliant creamy soup.Finally, including cream, half-and-half, or any dairy with a excessive fats content material will even thicken soup, as on this recipe for Cream of Asparagus Soup.
