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It's soup weather and the SOUPER Bowl is back! Join the fun in Santa Fe, NM this weekend on 1/28/23 from noon to 2:30 pm. We had such a blast last time!
Will Jambo Cafe's Ginger Coconut Parsnip with Roasted Sweet Corn soup make another appearance? How about the Chilled Chocolate Cherry Soup with Espelette Chile Pepper, Almond Nougatine, and Lavender Cream soup from L'Olivier?
Uh oh, this post is making me hungry!
Don't just take my word for it. Scroll for photos from the 26th annual Souper Bowl. And hurry - 2023 VIP tickets have already sold out!
Thank you for supporting The Food Depot, Northern New Mexico’s food bank.
Souper Bowl in Santa Fe, NM
Instant Pot soup recipe at the end of this post.
Sexy Nerd and I had a great time for a great cause at The Food Depot's 26th annual Souper Bowl fundraiser.
We don't live in Santa Fe and you-know-who tried to skip the long drive to the Souper Bowl about 30 minutes before we needed to leave the house. "We can make soup here," he reasoned. "Let's just stay home."
Now? He insists he never said that and he has been telling everyone they need to attend the Souper Bowl next year because it is the best time ever.
Although none of the soups we were expecting made an appearance - tomato, chicken noodle, posole - traditional favorites were replaced with Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo (Rowley Farmhouse Ales), Spiced Thai Coconut Potato Soup (Kingston Residence of Santa Fe), and Moroccan Veggie Stew (La Montanita Co-Op). Not a bad trade!
Cafe Mimosa was even serving Shorba...and patiently explaining to every patron (us included) that Shorba is an Arabic lentil soup.
Souper Bowl 2020 - Winners*
Best Overall Soup: Chocolate Cherry Espelette Pepper (L’Olivier)
Best Vegetarian Soup: Ginger Coconut Parsnip with Roasted Sweet Corn (Jambo Cafe)
Best Cream Soup: Green Chile Chicken Chowder (Del Charro at Inn of the Governors)
Best Seafood Soup: Avocado Gazpacho with Seared Scallops, Chile Dusted Tortilla Strips, and Jicama Relish (Santa Fe School of Cooking)
Best Savory Soup: Winter Squash Soup with Mole Spiced Onions, Pumpkin Seeds, and Granny Smith Apple (AGAVE Restaurant & Lounge)
*The real winners are the hungry New Mexicans who will receive meals because of the generosity of Souper Bowl attendees and The Food Depot volunteers. For every $1 raised, 4 meals are provided.
**Oh, and the attendees are winners too because damn, that was some good soup!
Best Overall and winner of the coveted Souper Bowl trophy, L'Olivier provided a unique option for the sweet tooths in the crowd. Judging by the popularity of What The Truck's dessert table, there were a lot of us!
Chilled Chocolate Cherry Soup with Espelette Chile Pepper, Almond Nougatine, and Lavender Cream - tastes like melted ice cream (and the Chocolate Red Chile Soup in Taos Ski Valley) and I ate more than is pictured here.
Local beer was available for purchase and guests were encouraged to help themselves to a cup of Patrick's Probiotic Soda Water.
To my surprise and delight, Starbucks had a booth with 100% FREE STARBUCKS! I'd already been concerned that 24 soups would leave me a little...overhydrated...but how do you say no to free Starbucks coffee? They even had my favorite drink, Passion Iced Tea.
Chef Nou Kimnath of Nath’s Inspired Khmer Cuisine prepared a flavorful green curry I thought would surely win her the Souper Bowl trophy for the third year in a row.
The Cream of Jalapeno with Latin-Seared Shrimp from Market Street was my top pick. I don't even like shrimp - it was that good! Also, what makes a shrimp "Latin-seared"?
Cold Potato and Leek Soup from Violet Crown
The friendly instructors at the Santa Fe School of Cooking created individual cups of Avocado Gazpacho while encouraging diners to enroll in a class. Maybe our cooking school adventures will be the topic of a future blog post.
Sexy Nerd just said no. C'mon, it will be fun!
Apple Butternut Squash Soup from Amaya at Hotel Santa Fe
Café Bon Appétit at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and the Santa Fe Opera made a creamy Green Chile Chicken soup. The best part was that each portion included a homemade biscuit, artfully attached to the edge of each little cup.
Misir Wot from Vinaigrette
Winter Squash Soup from AGAVE Restaurant and Lounge, featuring mole-spiced onions
Jambo Cafe is well known in NM for their African-Caribbean fusion food. Chef and owner Ahmed Obo did not disappoint with his Ginger Coconut Parsnip soup, which tasted even better than it looked. And it looked pretty good!
In addition to winning the Vegetarian category, Chef Obo was awarded for having the best decorated table.
Peach Mango Gazpacho from El Castillo Life Plan Community
Colorfully rimmed with chile and lime, these were described as soup margaritas. Cheers!
The volunteers from The Food Depot did a great job keeping everyone entertained, even revealing with a loud WOOOO from the crowd that most foodies in attendance were rooting for the 49ers in the upcoming Super Bowl.
Womp womp.
Volunteers also explained that some of the proceeds to The Food Depot are used to provide food for pets. They hadn't originally planned to do this, but realized that seniors were going hungry because they were giving what little food they had to their dogs and cats.
In addition to the privilege of being able to enjoy so many gourmet soups, we loved sharing in the enthusiasm of the chefs and the guests. What a happy place to spend our Saturday!
Cream of Broccoli - Instant Pot Soup Recipe
All this talk of soup, soup, and more soup had me craving, you guessed it, soup while writing this blog post. The best part of my Cream of Broccoli Soup recipe is that it sneaks in a healthy serving of extra veggies. Actually, the best best part is that it is the quickest, easiest soup recipe ever.
Wait. The best, best, best part is that it's delicious! Watch out, L'Olivier.
Cream of Broccoli Soup - Instant Pot Recipe
Serves 4
- 1 Can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup (+ 1 Can of Water)
- 1 Package of Frozen Broccoli (16 ounce)
- 2 Large Handfuls of Fresh Spinach
- 1 Large Handful of Fresh Arugula
- 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Tbsp Dried Onion
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- Chili Oil (optional)
Add all of the ingredients except the chili oil to your Instant Pot in the order listed. There is no need to chop anything or even stir the pot. Set to 7 minutes and end with a quick release. Stir. Garnish each bowl with chili oil.