Westerly Sun Column | Gear Up for the Souperbowl

Apparently there are sports (and commercials) happening later this week…or so I’ve gleaned from the thousands of recent news articles on the subject. I actually love football, but I acknowledge that the Superbowl is not universally appealing. Do you know what is universally appealing? Soup. And thus, I bring you: the Souperbowl.

My colleagues and I are huge soup fans, so we’re constantly sharing new recipes we discover. I actually said to one of them the other day that soup is the great equalizer in my family…we have widely different diets and food preferences, but I can always find a soup recipe that we’ll all enjoy. Essentially, we all root for different teams, but we enjoy watching the game together. I’m done with the sports analogies now.

If you check out the 641.813 section on the second floor of the library, you’ll find cookbook that are dedicated specifically to soups. One of my favorites is “Saveur Soups and Stews”, which has more than 80 deliciously unique (but still simple enough to make) recipes. I’m intrigued by the “Pear, Shallot and Delicata Squash”, as well as “Macadamia Gazpacho with Cured Asparagus”, and I suspect the “Smoked Tomato Soup” would be a hit in my house. “New England Soup Factory Cookbook” by Marjorie Druker is another that offers a great mix of recipes, from basics like “New England Clam Chowder” to more unique ones like “Artichoke Bisque”. It also includes small sections on sandwiches and desserts to round out your meal!

If you haven’t looked at a cookbook lately, I’ll remind you that virtually all of them include at least a small selection of soup recipes. If you know and love a specific author (Ina Garten and Yotam Ottolenghi are two that come to mind), check out one of their books and I guarantee you’ll find a few pages dedicated to brothy delights. It’s also fun to seek out cookbooks on a different cuisine, and see how their soup recipes compare to those you are used to. I picked up “Jubilee” by Toni-Tipton Martin, a book of African-American cuisine with recipes Martin gathered from the last two centuries, along with fascinating narratives about the history of the recipes and the chefs that created them. I’ll be starting with West African Groundnut Stew, a similar dish to the Sengalese peanut stew called maafe, which is one of my absolute favorites.

Swing by the library and check out some of these (or one of the hundreds of other cookbooks on our shelves) and find one that works for you! If you’re headed to a sports and commercial party this weekend, bring a big pot of Saveur’s “Beer Cheese Soup” along with you. I’m sure nobody will mind.

By Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian