How to transform canned soup

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Eat in, eat out, eat well. Look for the taste liftout on Tuesdays in the Herald Sun, Courier Mail and Daily Telegraph, on Wednesdays in the Adelaide Advertiser, and in Perth’s Sunday Times.

Think soup is just an emergency dinner? Try these top tips and transform a can into a souped up meal, writes Dan Stock.

It's the classic Sunday night nothing-in-the-fridge dinner that's helped generations of families out of a pickle. Take one can of tomato soup and team with toast soldiers. Voila! Dinner is served.

Soup is the fail-safe staple and you'd be hard pressed to find an Australian pantry without at least a few cans scattered throughout. Andy Warhol famously ate a bowl of Campbell's soup every day for 20 years and his homage to lunch now hangs in New York's Museum of Modern Art.

While the whole point of canned soup is its no-frills ease, it doesn't only have to be thus. A can of soup can be dressed up to impress, or can be used as an ingredient that packs a powerful flavour punch. We asked some Melbourne chefs how they might enhance the humble can.

Make a meal

Joseph Vargetto from Mister Bianco in Kew says the cornerstone of Italian cooking is "cucina povera" - or peasant cooking - which means using what the land around you supplies. "It has brought to us many beautiful marriages of flavours like tomato and basil and humble dishes such as minestrone. Today, we are time poor and sometimes need a head start. That's where the humble canned minestrone comes into play." Joseph suggests sweating some white onions and garlic before adding finely chopped bacon. Cook until lightly brown, add roughly chopped kale, cabbage, parsnip and two tablespoons of raw rice. Once soft, splash some white wine and add some peas, bay leaf and tomato and add the can of minestrone. Allow to boil then simmer for five minutes. Stir in some chopped parsley, drizzle with olive oil, and serve with oven toasted crostini with freshly grated Parmesan.

Tomato

Joseph says tomato soup can be used to make the old favourite, chicken cacciatore. Take deboned chicken thighs and dust in herbed spice flour mix (flour with chopped parsley, rosemary and salt/ pepper). Shallow fry in olive oil until golden brown and drain on paper towel. In the same pan sweat chopped onions and garlic, add sliced Swiss brown mushrooms, green pitted olives and a little pancetta then deglaze with white wine. Add the canned soup and bring to boil. Now add the chicken thighs and simmer for about 10 minutes. Finish with chopped parsley and a little pecorino.

Simon Neale from new Cremorne café Denis the Menace uses tomato soup as the base to make a hearty beef noodle casserole, while Nick Bennett from Arbory Bar & Eatery likes using it to enhance steamed mussels. "Mussels and tomato are good friends and don't take long to cook which makes steamed mussels an easy weeknight option," he says. Steam mussels in a pan with white wine with chilli, garlic and chopped fresh tomatoes. Add a ladle of tomato soup, and reduce a little. Finish with parsley and extra virgin olive oil. "This is great served with a crusty baguette to mop up all the liquid or toss through spaghetti for a quick pasta."

Sam Webb from Stoke Bar and Kitchen in the CBD has a quick and easy party starter - oyster shooters with bloody mary granita. Just add shots of vodka to a tin of tomato soup. Season to taste with
Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco then freeze in a shallow tray. Scrape the frozen mixture with fork to make a granita and garnish on oysters placed in shot glasses.

Cream of mushroom

Sam suggests using a tin of mushroom soup to make polenta, thinning it out with a little milk until it's a nice creamy consistency. "Top with sauteed seasonal mushrooms and garnish with truffled pecorino for easy comfort food."

Darren Mercaldi from The General Assembly at South Wharf says mushroom soup can be used to dress up barramundi with wild mushrooms. Slice some shallots, garlic and wild mushrooms. Saute sliced mushrooms and shallots for about 2 minutes, then add garlic. Add 100ml of the soup and reduce until thick. Place mushroom mix on a plate, place a cooked fillet of barramundi on top and sauce with desired amount of remaining soup.

Maha's Shane Delia suggests using mushroom soup to make the ultimate baked eggs. "One of my favourite cheat day pleasures. Chicken and parsley meatballs, baked eggs in a mushroom sauce, roughly torn olive oil-and paprika toasted day old sourdough. Do I have to really say anything else!"

Pumpkin

Bayleaf Catering head chef Derek Boath has used his experience cooking in some of New York's best restaurants, including Per Se and Sho, to create a deconstructed pumpkin "pie" using pumpkin soup as the base for ice cream. Nick Bennett suggests using a can to make a dinner party-worthy risotto. "A tin of pumpkin soup can make a great flavour base for a risotto. Add a Moroccan feel with ras el hanout (a North African spice mix) then turn it into a dinner party dish by serving it with crispy confit duck leg."

Cream of asparagus

"Bread and butter pudding is a favourite dessert in winter, but I like the idea of using a tin of asparagus soup to put a twist on this much loved comfort food and making a delicious and decadent side," says Nick, who serves his asparagus and smoked mozzarella savory bread and butter pudding with roast chicken. Saute onion, leek and garlic in butter. Add a small amount of white wine, a couple of ladles of soup and some cream, then bring to a light boil. Allow the mixture to cool then add a couple of beaten eggs, salt, pepper and herbs. In a rectangle baking dish arrange slices of brioche, some blanched asparagus and some grated smoked mozzarella. Pour over some of the soup mix and allow the bread to soak it up then repeat until the dish is full. Then bake as if making a sweet bread and butter pudding.

Pea and ham

Paul Tyas from the Grosvenor Hotel says a can of pea and ham soup can be used to make decadent French-style peas, which are great to serve as a side alongside a steak. In a hot fry pan add 200g bacon lardons and start rendering the fat. Once there is sufficient fat add 3 finely sliced shallots and 1 finely sliced garlic clove and sweat until translucent. Add a tin of soup (strained) and boil. Add 500g frozen peas and cook until hot. Add a finely shredded iceberg lettuce and cook until wilted. Finish with knob of cold butter and boil until it emulsifies. Season. and serve.

Chicken soup

"Do you honestly think there is a better comfort food dish than mac and cheese? I find it hard to think of one," Shane Delia says. "Use the cream of chicken soup as the base for your béchamel
cheese sauce and you have just supercharged you midweek rainy day comfort food dinner."

Cream of celery

"It's an oldie but a goodie, fish pie is one of my all-time faves, especially now in the colder months," Shane says. Bring the soup to the boil, add herbs and sweated off onions and greens. Put into a baking dish and fill with whatever seafood you want (raw). Top with some good puff and bake away.

Information in this article correct as of 7th July 2015