I was wandering around the produce section of my neighbourhood grocery store wondering what I wanted for dinner when the bright, freshness of a bunch of rapini caught my attention –I just had to have it. It was a damp March day and that rapini was making me crave soup.

When I got home I pulled some of my favourite Italian sausage from the freezer, an onion from the cold cellar and a can of Cannelli beans from the pantry. Put it all together with some chicken broth and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and my dinner was a hearty Tuscan bean soup with rapini and sausage – yum, oh yum!

One of the greatest things about soup is its versatility, adaptability and international flair. If you ate soup every day of the year, chances are, you’d never have the same soup twice.

You could start off a Mexican Posole made with pork or chicken, broth, and hominy or a Russian Borscht soup made with fresh beets and served with a dollop of sour cream. The ever-popular Minestrone is but one of the dozens of delicious Italian soups you can make in minutes or you can go with a lighter Chinese Won Ton soup of clear broth and dumplings. International soups are no more difficult to make than your favourite standbys. In fact, many of them are simpler and quicker!

Nothing goes better in the spring season than a quick, light bowl of Hot and Sour Chicken Soup. Simply dice the chicken or use left over chicken, diced. Then add some chicken broth, lemon grass, lime zest and diced red chile and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and strain the broth. Return the clear broth to a pot and add the chicken and a can of diced tomatoes and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 5 minutes. Stir in some extra flavourings such as lime juice, parsley and garnish with thinly sliced green onions! A delicious soup in less than 20 minutes!

You can pick any soup recipe from around the world or you can improvise with staples you have around your kitchen. You can substitute, increase, decrease, exclude, and include ingredients to your heart’s content without fear of disaster, but there are a few tricks to keep in mind next time you pull out your soup pot.

If you find a recipe that tells you to sauté or roast vegetables before you add them to your soup pot, then know this is a winter soup recipe. Roasting caramelizes the naturally occurring sugars in root vegetables, giving them a much richer, deeper and more robust flavor. It’s a fantastic tip for flavour but tuck that recipe away for the winter season.

To thicken a creamed soup without using cream, simply add more vegetables. The more vegetables you have in your pot relative to the liquid, the thicker the soup will be. An immersion blender is an easy way to puree a perfectly smooth soup making for added texture and richness.

Almost all soups when they’re stored in the refrigerator will improve in flavor the next day. The exceptions are soups made with seafood because the delicate flavours tend to fade away and when you reheat them, they get that overcooked flavour.

In fact, Ribollita, the popular Italian soup which means “cooked for a second time” or “reheated” is named because the flavours became much better the second day. In the Tuscan countryside, it was the custom to keep a pot of Ribollita on the stove for a few days.

A delicious bowl of soup is a wonderful, winter, stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal with an array of flavors, textures, and nutrients from every food group. The next damp, spring lazy day plan on making a quick soup unlike any other that has ever passed your lips.

For inspiration, join me at this years Empty Bowls, Niagara’s best soup event. Over 25 chefs compete for the best soup. Bowls are made from local potters and chefs get creative in the pot. It’s for a great cause, Bethlehem Housing and Support Services. Here’s the poster and scroll down for my grocery store inspired soup recipe.

Sausage, Bean and Rapini Soup

2 tablespoons (30 mL) olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon (15 mL) garlic, minced
1.5 pound Spicy Italian Sausage, removed from casings
1 bunch rapini, washed
1 19-ounce can cannellini beans
4 cups (1L) chicken broth
salt
red pepper flakes
parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the sausage meat. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the sausage is cooked, using your wooden spoon to break up the pieces as it cooks. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, cut off the tough ends of the rapini, then chop the stalks and leaves into small chunks. Add the chopped rapini and cannelli beans to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, until the rapini leaves are wilted and the stalks are slightly tender. Season with salt and crushed red pepper, as desired. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a hunk of doughy French bread. Serves 4.