Friday, March 14, 2008

Gluten-Free Soup : Simple can be Delicious


When it comes to my gluten-free / wheat-free diet requirements, I am all for doing whatever it takes to create a memorable, delicious dish. Often that implies cooking or baking something completely "from scratch", but on occasion there comes along a wonderful pre-made gluten-free food product that can be extended or built-upon to make an even better dish with little effort.

This latest gluten-free soup (pictured above) is one such dish, where the foundation was simply a carton of Trader Joe's brand gluten-free Organic Roasted Red Pepper Soup - low sodium too! It is a creamier soup (dairy based) with a rich red-pepper and tomato flavor. It is already quite nice on it's own. But, I often long for something just a bit more "homemade" or gourmet, and my wife was quick to deliver with a few simple additions:
  • Some caramelized onions - one large Spanish onion, and another Sweet Onion were used
  • Some fresh basil
That's it! It just doesn't get much simpler! I just love what the added onions and fresh basil bring to the soup in the form of added flavor and substance. Fact is, I'm rather sure the result could be passed off as "homemade" if desired, as both of the freshly added vegetables give that clear indication of a recently prepared foods.

I give this Trader Joe's brand soup a big "thumbs up" rating on its own, and an even greater rating when considered as the basis for a wide range of gluten-free soup variations and options.

7 comments:

Lynn said...

I am also a fan of soups and do make my own. My secret ingredient is sofrito. However, we all need a quick fix once in a while and I do like Trader Joes products and onions are a perfect addition to this soup. Thank you for the suggestion.
I also have a GF blog lynn-glutenfreelife.blogspot.com

Lynn Barry said...

soup does a body good...as they say and for those of us who have to watch carefully it is great to find some that we can safely have. Good find!

Anonymous said...

Do you do mail order?

Mike Eberhart said...

505, sorry... no mail order gluten-free soup yet. Hopefully you have easy access to the components for some tasty soup there!

Lynn(s), thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great bowl of soup soon too :)

Gluten Free Steve said...

Oh if only we had Trader Joe's here in Denver. Whenever I travel back East for work I load up on goodies...

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike,

Thanks for all your wonderful information and fun posts! I am a Certified Nutrition Consultant and many of my clients are interested in cutting down on the gluten in their diets, but they feel overwhelmed. Your blog will help to put them at ease. I will make sure to pass it along to them.

In Health,
Elaine Murphy, BA, CNC
WeighToHealth.com

Anonymous said...

This is great information. A pre-made gluten free product will help cut down on preparation time. Soup is always a welcomed warm up in the middle of a cold winter day.

Living a gluten free life has challenges. With information and support we can make the adjustments to a gluten free lifestyle easier to manage.

I am going to forward this blog to my clients to help them realize that there are sensible solutions to living gluten free. Have a great day everyone.