Soup Up Your Soup

With just the right garnish, a simple soup becomes a nuanced
dish awash in flavor.
Carmelized Onions - a sweet garnish that marries well with
earthy soups, such as lentil, bean or parsnip.
Herbal Pesto - add a dollop to any vegetable- or tomato-based
soup. Any bright green herbal-nut mixture will work well, from
traditional basil and pine nut to mint and pistachio.
Toasted dried ancho or pasilla leaves - toast quickly in a pan,
let cool, crush and sprinkle over tortilla soup along with the
traditional (lime wedges, tortilla chips, cilantro and sliced avocado).
Crispy sage leaves - delicious with squash soups. Remove leaves
from stems and fry them in an inch of oil over high heat until they
turn from light green to dark. Drain on a paper towel.
Stone-ground mustard - stir a tiny bit with a good drizzle of olive
oil (or sour cream, or creme fraiche) into lentil or sausage soups
just before serving.
Poached eggs - slip them into tomato soups for a hearty garnish
and a pretty presentation.
Cashew cream - a creamy and delicious nondairy garnish to balance
spicy soups.
Morels - saute with a little preserved lemon, put a bit in a bowl and
pour asparagus soup around it for a lovely presentation. Try dried
morels when fresh are not available.
- Taste Magazine, March 2013