Garnishing Ideas For Soups

Soups usually fall into one of three categories:

    ~ Smooth

    ~ Chunky

    ~ Clear Broths

Chunky soups and clear broths often don't need garnishing other than perhaps a scattering of herbs, as the ingredients within them are usually decorative enough.  The beauty of clear broths is that all the pieces of meat, seafood or vegetables within the soup are clearly visible. 

On the other hand, smooth soups are a blank, flat canvas.  They have so little variety in texture, colour and shape that they need something to give them a lift.

One way to add some texture to a smooth soup is to turn it into a sort of deconstructed chunky soup.  The 'chunks' in this case are pieces of roast pumpkin and spicy chorizo and they are simply piled into the centre of the soup.  It breaks up the monotony of the flat surface by creating some height in the centre of the bowl and adds contrasting shapes.  You could also choose contrasting colours too.  The different flavours and textures also make the soup more interesting to eat.

A simple idea for a garnish is a swirl of yoghurt or as in the above recipe, a dairy free courgette cream, just drizzled over the surface of the soup then it is just finished off with a sprig of mint for extra vibrancy.  A contrasting colour works best for this technique.

Another way of creating height and adding texture is to garnish with mini dumplings which don't have to be unhealthy.  These ones are made using grated pumpkin.  They not only add height but contrasting colour, texture and flavour too.  And of course you can't really go wrong with a sprig of fresh herbs to add that final touch.

Some other ideas for garnishes include:

The main thing to remember is to add something that will break up the surface of the soup, so a different colour, texture or shape will all help to make your soup look more enticing.

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