Soup, beautiful soup--the most basic of cooked foods, the universal cure-all, a nourishing way to use small amounts of food or leftovers, a dish that can always be stretched to feed more ...

Once again award-winning chef Aliza Green invites you into her kitchen to share her time-tested techniques for making dozens of soups, bisques, chowders, and purées. From the basic foundation of stocks to the older, European-inspired concoctions, such as Zuppa Pavese and French Onion Soup, Aliza outlines the origins, ingredients, and steps necessary to create a warm and satisfying culinary experience every time. Explore more than 100 soup recipes, plus variations on each one, from all over the world, and in every style of soup you might want to eat. Recipes include:

--Hungarian Woodlands Mushroom Soup with Sour Cream and Paprika

--Tuscan Pappa al Pomodoro

--Senegalese Peanut and Yam Puree with Ginger

--Provencal Soupe au Pistou with Savoy Cabbage, White Beans, and Leeks

--Wild Salmon Chowder with Sweet Corn & Gold Potatoes

--Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Coconut Soup)

--Cream of Cauliflower with Nutmeg and Chives

--Kerala Red Lentil Soup (vegan)

--Vietnamese Pho Soup with Beef Brisket

--Caribbean Callalou Soup with Crabmeat and Coconut

Accompanied by Steve Legato's clearly detailed, full-color photography, your soup making success will be effortless. Inside you'll find a wide-ranging collection of recipes to suit every palate including seafood, poultry, pork, beef, vegan and vegetarian formulas, and a wealth of information you will use over and over again in your culinary endeavors.

Basic Stocks: The importance of using your vegetable water, roasting juices, trimmings, seasonings, and the right vegetables to get optimum flavor from your stock

Soupmaker's Tips: Ingredients prep--how to correctly wash, slice, and dice ? When fresh versus frozen is important ? Using flavor enhancers such as fresh herbs and appropriate spices ? How to get the best results from the proper utensils ? Invaluable time savers ? Creative serving suggestions

Basic Techniques: How to properly chill soup, the process of cooking dried beans, the correct shredding method for cabbage, the art of cutting leaves into chiffonade, and many more

Aliza Green is an award-winning Philadelphia-based author, journalist, and influential chef whose books include The Butcher's Apprentice, Making Artisan Pasta (Quarry Books, 2012), The Fishmonger's Apprentice (Quarry Books, 2010), Starting with Ingredients: Baking (Running Press, 2008), Starting with Ingredients (Running Press, 2006), four perennially popular Field Guides to food (Quirk, 2004-2007), Beans: More than 200 Delicious, Wholesome Recipes from Around the World (Running Press, 2004), and successful collaborations with renowned chefs Guillermo Pernot and Georges Perrier. A former food columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Cooking Light magazine, Green is known for her encyclopedic knowledge of every possible ingredient, its history, culture, and use in the kitchen and bakery and for her lively story-telling. Green also leads culinary tours. Green's books have garnered high praise from critics, readers, and culinary professionals alike, including a James Beard award for "Best Single-Subject Cookbook" in 2001 for Ceviche!: Seafood, Salads, and Cocktails with a Latino Twist (Running Press, 2001), which she co-authored with Chef Guillermo Pernot. For more information about Aliza's books and tours or to send her a message, visit her website at www.alizagreen.com.

Steve Legato is a freelance photographer specializing in food, restaurant industry, cookbooks and advertising. His work has been featured in Art Culinaire, The New York Times, Food and Wine, Wine Spectator, Food Arts, GQ, Departures, Wine & Spirits, Travel & Leisure, Philadelphia Magazine, Delaware Today, New Jersey Monthly and Main Line Today. He resides just outside of Philadelphia, PA. Visit his website at http: //www.stevelegato.com.