Spring arrived in Washington, D.C., almost overnight, as it seems to do every year. From one day to the next, dirt-encrusted banks of snow became golden hedges of flowering forsythia. The cherry blossom show is now in full swing, and "Snowmageddon" is a distant memory.
The soups of spring ... wake up the palate and celebrate new life. Their delicate flavors are a reflection, in a bowl, of the rebirth taking place around us in nature, and so require only minimal tampering.
I was more than happy to put away my beat-up old snow boots and snow shovel. However, one piece of equipment that is not going into storage is my soup pot. Too many cooks, it seems to me, associate soup with cold weather, and that's a shame because soup is a wonderful way to showcase the ingredients of spring, especially the young, delicately flavored vegetables that are now turning up at farmers markets, and the flowery herbs that complement them so well. Spring onions, baby leeks, sweet fennel, tender peas and asparagus, glowing radishes and tiny new potatoes are all lovely candidates for spring soups.
These soups bear only a passing resemblance to their fall and winter counterparts. Cold weather soups — often more stew than soup — are long-simmered and sturdy with grains, chunky vegetables and hearty broths. They are meant to give warmth and comfort. The soups of spring, to my mind, have a different purpose. They wake up the palate and celebrate new life. Their delicate flavors are a reflection, in a bowl, of the rebirth taking place around us in nature, and so require only minimal tampering.
This is not to say that all spring soups are alike. Far from it. Spring is a temperamental season. Mild, breezy days often are followed by cool evenings or chilly rains. The nice thing about spring soups is that they can accommodate all of these moods, taking a step back toward winter comfort if need be, or a leap forward into summer.
Given my name, it's no surprise that many of the soups that emerge from my kitchen are Italian. Italian home cooking is seasonal, and cooks take pride in expressing the seasons in their creations, especially soups. One of my favorites from childhood is a gentle soup of rice and lettuces cooked in chicken broth. As the soup cooks, the crisp greens first wilt, then turn pulpy, giving up their bright colors. The resulting soup is muted in tone, with a subtle, almost nutty flavor. The rice and the addition of cheese at the end of cooking give the soup just the substance it needs to stand up to a cool afternoon or evening.
My friend Melchiorre Chessa, a Sardinian-born chef who now lives in Umbria, was raised on another nourishing soup, one that combines fresh sheep's milk with spring vegetables, pecorino cheese and broken noodles. In adapting Melchiorre's recipe, I used goat's milk in place of sheep's milk — it's readily available, and its delicate flavor echoes the flavor of the cheese.
Velvety purees make delightful soups for spring, especially as a first course at a weekend luncheon or garden party. A soup made with freshly shelled English peas is dramatically different from the split-pea version we crave in winter. Spring pea soup sports the splashy color of newly mown grass and a fresh taste to match. It takes only minutes to prepare, and is best enjoyed right away, when both the flavor and color are at their peak.
I am also partial to creamy asparagus soup, to which I add fennel for enhanced sweetness, and pearled barley for a bit of body. Accompanied by a thick slice of country bread, a bowl of asparagus soup makes a lovely weeknight supper.
I have one rule when it comes to making spring soups, and it can be summed up in a single word: integrity. Because of their delicacy, spring soups rely on good ingredients. Start with the freshest vegetables you can find. Woody, bitter asparagus or starchy peas can ruin a spring soup. If you are inclined to make homemade broth to add to your soup, I say go for it. Broth is the foundation of most spring soups, and I have yet to find a commercial product that can match the honest flavor of a homemade one.
I add just enough herbs to perfume my spring soups — I especially like flowery marjoram and the clean-tasting flat-leaf parsley — but not so much that the herbal aroma overwhelms the flavor.
Finally, spring soups are best enjoyed soon after they're made. Their color and flavor dissipate the longer they sit. Much like the season they honor, their beauty is fleeting. But that, of course, is part of the appeal of spring soups.
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