So, it technically became spring in New York City on March 20th, right? There were a few fleeting days where I felt that splash of sunshine as I walked through Soho to barre class, but when this past Monday hit there were frozen tears running down my cheeks, and fleece tights lining my legs.I guess putting all my winter coats into storage this past weekend was a mistake. Whoops. Ah, that’s where boyfriends and their ridiculously comfortable coats (and sweaters, and hats) come into play.

If you’re layered up and still freezing all day, it’s definitely time for some soup. I feel like soup gets a bad rep. People are always bored by the texture – it’s either too creamy or watery or all-vegetables or some horrible combination of all of the above.

The trick is texture and flavor layering. Yep. You need to salt and season the first ingredient that goes down, and every other ingredient thereafter.

Otherwise you wind up with a flavor-lacking bowl that you keep adding salt to but still don’t get satisfaction from, because the layers weren’t built in from the ground up.

So, drizzle some olive oil in your pan, bring it up to medium heat, then add your slivered onions and sauté until caramelized. After the onions have broken down, add your first layer of salt and other seasonings. Then add a couple more vegetables and more seasoning! You can see how the process unfolds from here.

It’s all about building flavor at each step. It becomes very intuitive after a while – you’ll know when you need a hit of salt or pepper, or whatever other magic is going into your dish.

Although I may seem like a soup nazi, I’m not really that harsh. If it’s good, it’s good. That said, I have some cardinal rules that I find everyone loves.

1. Keep it fresh. Integrate a seasonal vegetable to keep it lively and current.
2. Add bacon. Or any cured meat. In this rendition, it’s prosciutto di Parma, an homage to my time living in Italy. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, add some awesome braised tempeh or crispy tofu – I grew up on both and they’re comfort food for me.
3. Round it out. I like to make sure my soup contains some protein, vegetables and complex carbohydrates, like white beans or sweet potatoes. This way, the dish can become a quick full meal on a busy night.

Soups are super easy once you get into the swing of it – almost hard to mess up. You all know the importance of salt by know, so please, be a doll and don’t skip it.

Kale, White Bean + Rosemary Soup with Prosciutto

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
3 cups kale
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup white beans
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 slices prosciutto
½ cup arugula
5 T rosemary
3 T extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Method

Heat olive oil to medium heat in wide-bottom pot. Add slivered onion and cook until caramelized, 5-7 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic, rosemary, and 2 slices chopped prosciutto and cook for a few more minutes, until prosciutto is crispy.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove kale from ribs and chop coarsely. Add to pan and sauté for 5-7 minutes. Add white beans. Allow to cook for 5 minutes.

Add chicken or vegetable stock and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Top with fresh arugula. For garnish, chop one slice of prosciutto and sear in olive oil in separate pan. Finish with additional Maldon sea salt if desired.

Photo: Jake Freeman