Like soups? Puree style is simple and flexible

I love soup, and I enjoy making different kinds as much as eating them.

I love that they are one-pot meals that usually need little attention after they come to a simmer.

I love that they are so free-wheeling and forgiving. A little more of this or a little less of that rarely hurts a soup -- and sometimes improves it.

I make lots of different kinds of soup, often making them up as I go.

But for pureed soup, I stick to the same method. I learned this from Didier Monteran, a French chef, and his sister Catherine Jones when I worked for them at La Chaudière, a former restaurant in Reynolda Village.

It's quick, simple and practically foolproof. The hardest part is pureeing the soup without burning yourself.

And once you understand the method, you can use it to create many kinds.

Pureed soup features vegetables, not meat. The best ones are simple. They feature a single vegetable and often no herbs or spices to get in the way of the vegetable flavor. Of course, the more kinds I make, the more I learn that a smidgen of this or that herb or spice can add to the soup while not detracting too much from the featured vegetable.

In essence, these consist of vegetables simmered in liquid and then pureed in a blender or food processor.

Basic formula

To make eight servings, I use 2 tablespoons butter; 1 chopped onion; 2½ to 3 pounds of the featured vegetable; 2 quarts chicken broth, vegetable broth or water; and salt and pepper to taste.

How much vegetable I use depends on how much waste is involved in trimming or peeling it. For instance, I use 2½ pounds of carrots or potatoes, which don't generate much waste. But I use 3 pounds of broccoli because I toss out the ends of the stalks.

First, saute the onion in butter over medium heat without browning until soft. Meanwhile, wash, trim and peel the main vegetable and cut it into roughly equal pieces.

When the onion softens, add the main vegetable and liquid. Bring to a simmer, and gently simmer until the vegetable is soft.

Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. A blender tends to produce a smoother puree, but a food processor does the job. Be careful when pureeing the hot liquid. In a blender, steam can generate pressure that pushes the lid off the blender, making a mess and potentially burning someone. To be safe, let the liquid cool for a few minutes before pureeing and fill the blender only about halfway, pureeing it in batches as needed.

Once the mixture is pureed, return it to the pot, add salt and pepper to taste and the soup is ready.

I often do two variations. Both are optional. First, I add a medium-chopped and peeled potato when I add the liquid. The potato helps thicken the soup.

Second, I often like to finish with a half-cup of heavy cream. This adds body and richness. The cream adds fat and calories, but it amounts to just a tablespoon of cream in each serving -- or 50 calories and 6 grams of fat -- in a soup that otherwise has few calories and little fat.

Exceptions exist, of course.

For broccoli or asparagus soup, cook the tougher stems longer and the florets or spears just a few minutes. Such vegetables as avocado or cucumber shouldn't be cooked, and typically are served cold.

After doing this a few times with different vegetables, try adding different flavors. A clove of minced garlic works in almost any vegetable puree. Add such herbs as basil in tomato soup or thyme in butternut-squash soup. Add such spices as ginger to pumpkin soup or curry powder to carrot soup.

For a different and more interesting flavor, roast the vegetables until brown around the edges before simmering in liquid. Roasted red-pepper soup is a favorite of mine, but roasting also adds a delicious addition to soup made with tomatoes, onions or mushrooms.

This method works with fruit, too. Try cooked pear or apple soup, or raw melon soup.

Garnishes add different touches, too. Chopped parsley or cilantro adds color and flavor to many kinds of soup. Try a dollop of sour cream with carrot soup. Chop some ham into potato soup. Drizzle some pesto over zucchini soup.

I've given you ideas for about 20 kinds of soup. That's just the beginning.

■ Michael Hastings, the Journal's Food editor, can be contacted by phone at 727-7394, e-mail at mhastings@wsjournal.com, or mail at c/o Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. His most recent columns can be read on our Web site at www.journalnow.com.