Soup

This fragrant and fresh Vietnamese classic is made even healthier with the addition of kale and wild mushrooms.

The pasta absorbs the flavor of the broth as it cooks, and the pasta starches thicken the liquid to a lip-smacking consistency.

You might say I hoard Parmesan rinds. I save them all year long, freezing them in a resealable bag. As soon as that first cold front sweeps in, I transform those long-collected ends into a rich and versatile Parmesan Broth.

This warming chowder is a fantastic way to use leftover turkey (and works great with rotisserie chicken, too.) Smoky bacon, earthy cumin, and mild green chiles add tons of flavor to this hearty soup.

This vibrant soup is especially delicious alongside baguette toasts topped with melted cheese.

A simple puréed soup, known as velouté in French, is the perfect way to whet the appetite and take the edge off hunger without overfilling your guests' bellies before the big feast. Here, chestnuts, which come already roasted in jars, make an earthy and seasonal soup that can be made well ahead of time. Serve in shallow bowls, or even teacups or shot glasses, while guests are still milling around.

For a beautiful, almost bone-white soup, don't let the leeks and onion take on any color as they soften.

Achieve the deep, comforting flavors of slow-cooked pho in an hour with a few clever shortcuts.

Nigella seeds can be hard to find; look for them in Indian or Middle Eastern markets, or find them easily online at www.worldspice.com.

To give this velvety vegan soup a tiny bit of crunch and extra visual appeal, chia seeds are stirred in after the soup is pureed.

If you love dipping bread into tomato soup, you’ll love this rustic Italian dish, known as pappa al pomodoro.

A super-juicy watermelon is key; it should feel heavy for its size and sound hollow when tapped.

Serve up the Polish pair as a hearty soup.

Adding the veggies in phases, from longest cooking first to fastest last, guarantees the ideal texture for each.

Perfecting this recipe required a mother-daughter collaboration. My mom started it off by cutting the kernels off the cobs, simmering the corncobs in the stock, and then scraping the cobs to capture every ounce of delicious corn flavor. Her friend Darryle Pollack taught her the trick of including potatoes and blending part of the soup to thicken it. I added warming spices like paprika and cayenne pepper to complement the sweetness of the summer corn and topped it with charred red bell peppers. Together we created a perfect soup. —Marea

Tanis insists on making broth for this restorative and iconic soup (pho ga) from scratch and warns against overcooking the noodles: "They should be pretty firm and snappy, not flabby."