10 Culturally Comforting Soups

Your fingers are slightly frozen and mouth slightly parched from the cold dry air outside. As is the perennial wintry problem of living in Chicago. You can take refuge at home, but then you may miss out on six months of the culturally diverse food sprinkled throughout the city.

Solution: cultural-infused soup at home.

Chicago winter never seems as treacherous with a smooth heat-radiating bowl in your hands. Or even better the slow sipping of a steaming flavor-infused soup on your couch under a fleece blanket. Below are some easy make-at-home recipes that celebrate the city’s penchant for both never-ending winters and cultural flair. So try one out and spice up an otherwise frosty grey evening.

1. 1
   

   Sante Fe Soup

   Kathryn Ferrara/Chicago Loopster

   Click on the photo to see a step-by-step guide on how to make Sante Fe soup

   The ultimate definition of hearty. This Tex Mex soup is chock full of corn, tomatoes and beans. And the best part? It takes 10 minutes max to throw it all together. Click on the photo to the right to access a slideshow showing you how to make this easy dish.

   Sante Fe soup recipe

2. 2
   

   Irish Potato Soup

   Beketchai/Flickr

   Take everything that is good about a warm buttery baked potato, complete with sour cream and bacon, and then put it in a soup. So much more satisfying than the chilled salads your supposedly dieting friends are enjoying. Did I say bacon?

   Irish Potato Soup recipe

3. 3
   

   Italian Wedding Soup

   Alice Carrier/Flickr

   Don’t worry, no one has to get married with this dish. It was named after the seeming perfect union between the soup’s green veggies and meat. While you can make it with a variety of meats, the most common Italian-American version is with meatballs.

   Italian Wedding Soup recipe

4. 4
   

   Japanese Egg Drop Soup

   Laura Padgett/Flickr

   This light soup goes well with almost any meal. So if you’re looking for comfort but light on the hearty, this one might be for you.

   Japanese Egg Drop Soup recipe

5. 5
   

   Finnish Beer Soup

   Stu Spivack/Flickr

   Yes, beer soup. It may seem a bit suspect with mixing beer, cheese and cinnamon, but it’s a common and well-liked dish in the Nordic countries, including Finland and Sweden where it’s called biersuppe.

   Finnish Beer Soup recipe

6. 6
   

   Mexican Taco Soup

   Collin Harvey/Flickr

   The best part of this soup are the bits of tortilla that turn into small corn dumplings when submerged in this zesty meal.

   Mexican Taco Soup recipe

7. 7
   

   Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup

   avlxyz/Flickr

   A twist on the original. A spicy twist. The trademarks of this soup are the chicken (obviously) and the varied seasonings, including garlic, tahini, ginger and chili-garlic sauce. This is the soup to go far if you want a lot of punch in each bite. And who can say no to Asian noodles?

   Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup recipe

8. 8
   

   French Onion Soup

   Jeremy Keith/Flickr

   This one has been around for a long while, but it’s just as irresistible. Probably because it has the trifecta of French culinary goodness: cheese, butter and baguettes.

   French Onion Soup recipe

9. 9
   

   Hungarian Beef Stew

   Kathryn Ferrara/Chicago Loopster

   While technically not a soup, this dish has all the makings of a comfort dish. And a filling one at that with its chunky meat, potatoes and noodles. If you’re looking for something similar but a thinner, try to traditional Hungarian goulash dish.

   Hungarian Beef Stew recipe

10. 10
    

    Greek Avgolemono Soup

    avlxyz/Flickr

    Egg-lemon. That’s what that long word means in case you were wondering. With just four main ingredients, this just may be the easiest one of the bunch.

    Greek Avgolemono Soup recipe