How you can travel around the world with just a bowl of soup.

Janet Yang’s Hot and Sour Soup Photo: Mark Weinberg

When it comes to seasonal comfort food, nothing signifies the shift to cooler climates than the abundance of soup. It’s everywhere. It’s not just soup’s warmth that brings comfort, it’s the associations and stories that go with it. Start talking about soup you can bet you’ll hear tales about a famous family soup, passed down by generations.  Every culture has its soup. 

Reform Jewish Penicillin by Dr Babs Photo: Food 52

This gorgeous Greek lentil soup, Fakia, is often eaten like a meal in the Middle East and Mediterranean. The base is tomato and loaded with lentils, carrots, onions, olive oil, parsley and a splash of vinegar for kick.

Lentil Soup Photo: Harald Walker

Pho is the traditional beef/chicken soup of Vietnam. The scallion and onion flavored broth is filled with lots of exotic spices like fresh ginger, wild coriander, basil, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and black cardamom.

Traditional PhoPhoto: Bytemarks

From pre-Columbia comes Pozole. With a base of hominy and pork, spices like chile, oregano and cilantro round it out this hearty soup. For crunch, cabbage, lettuce and radish are added.  It’s topped with avocado, and lime juice. Sounds good enough for any country!

Pozole Photo: Specs Machine

Borscht is the divine beet soup originated in the Ukraine and eaten regularly is Eastern European countries. The bright, deep red is from the puree of beets and sometimes tomatoes. It can be eaten both hot and cold, however they are prepared slightly differently for each temperature.

Borscht Photo: Yahoo Food

Sweet and Spicy African Peanut Soup Photo: The Moveable Feasts

The creamy African peanut soup is a staple of African cuisine. It’s made with peanuts and coconut milk and can be garnished with fresh cilantro, crushed peanuts, scallions, sour cream and red pepper coulis. We love this recipe from Oh My Veggies and this one from The Moveable Feasts.

Do you have a famous family ethnic soup and story to share along with it? We want to hear all about it! Please share with us on our Facebook page!