18 clear soup recipes

Misoshiru (Japanese miso soup): the traditional soybean-paste soup built on dashi broth and served with simple garnishes. Two ingredients, endless variations, ready in 15 minutes.

Hungarian white tomato soup (Feher Paradicsomleves) made from just three ingredients: ripe tomatoes, strong chicken broth, and salt. The tomatoes simmer whole, then are strained out to leave a crystal-clear, golden broth.

Turkey noodle soup made from scratch with homemade bone broth, zucchini, carrots, and herbs. A from-the-carcass soup that turns leftover turkey bones into a rich, clear broth.

Homestyle chicken barley soup with carrots, celery, onion, and thyme in a clear chicken broth. Hearty one-pot dinner that uses up leftover chicken.

End-of-month vegetable soup made with whatever is in the fridge: cabbage, potatoes, carrots, celery, bacon ends, and a bouquet garni simmered in white wine. A frugal, flexible pantry-clearing soup.

Homemade beef bouillon simmered for six hours from beef shank, soup bones, cloves, and root vegetables. Strained and reduced to a rich, clear broth.

Italian chicken escarole soup with homemade broth simmered from chicken pieces, onion, celery, and parsley, strained clear, then finished with chopped escarole and grated cheese.

Milanese vegetable soup: a light northern Italian broth with diced eggplant, zucchini, celery, carrot, Swiss chard, and bacon, finished with fresh basil. Clean, clear, and summery.

Homemade Scotch broth simmers meaty beef bones with pearl barley, carrots, celery, and turnip into a clear, restorative Highland soup. A frugal, cold-weather classic from start to finish.

Old-fashioned egg balls for soup made from hard-boiled egg yolks, raw egg yolks, and flour. A heritage 3-ingredient garnish that adds richness to clear broths and consommes.

Homemade vegetable broth simmered with leeks, fennel, turnips, carrots, mushrooms, herbs and white wine. A clear, flavorful stock base for vegetarian soups, risottos and braises. Yields 8 cups in under an hour.

Veal stock roasts meaty veal bones with onions, carrots, leeks, and garlic until deeply browned, then simmers gently for 6 to 8 hours into a clear, rich foundation for sauces and soups.

Pisnyi borsch is a meatless Ukrainian beet soup with dried boletus mushrooms, beet kvas, root vegetables, and fresh dill. A clear, jewel-toned broth served over vushka dumplings for a traditional Lenten meal.

Two whole chickens simmered with leeks, carrots, celery, and fresh thyme yield a crystal-clear broth and tender diced meat. A from-scratch chicken soup that's worth every minute of the 2.5-hour simmer.

DASHI STOCK is Japanese clear soup stock. There are four types made from kelp, dried bonito, shitake mushroom, or dried fish. Dashi stock is the secret of Japanese cooking. To keep this strictly vegetarian, I omit the dried bonito flakes and substitute with soy bean sprouts and or mushrooms.

A culinary school-style white chicken stock made from blanched bones, mirepoix, and a classic sachet of herbs and spices. Simmered for hours and strained into a clear, clean-flavored foundation for soups and sauces.