Pittsburgh’s hottest new restaurant opening is a warm and cozy soup shop, Brothmonger, on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield. Chef-owner Sarah Coppolo sold her soups around the city for years prior, developing a devout following. It turns out that many people crave the warm embrace of soup. She started out cooking sausage tortellini soup over the phone with her Italian-American mother, and from there has fallen in love with the art of broth. For people who enjoy her soups, Coppolo shared some tips for making your own as the bleak winter months come in. You can also try her recipes on her Substack, brothmailer, including Lemon Chicken Orzo, Mushroom & Farro Soup, and Stuffed Cabbage Soup.
The Brothmonger’s Soup Tips
Season All the Way
“Make sure you season every step of the way,” Coppolo told TABLE. Because soup often has so many parts, it’s key to get balance in each element’s individual character with the product of a cohesive whole. “If you’re sautéing onions for the soup, for example, season then. Just do it every step of the way so everything has its own flavor.”
Timing Is Everything
“Time is very important,” Coppolo explained. Sometimes eating something right out of the pot won’t be the best way to enjoy it, because it will be too hot to really enjoy. “A soup will always taste better the next day,” she said. “The flavors come through and they diffuse into the whole dish.”
Find Your Comfort Food
One of soup’s best qualities is how nourishing it can be, and Coppolo finds comfort in the process of making it. Chicken soup, which takes a long time, is a “comfort food” for her. “I love anything that has chicken broth for comfort food, because the way I make it is very time consuming and collagen-y,” she said. “The day after the election, I just wanted to come in here and make chicken soup.” For people who don’t like meat, pasta fagiole can also have that same comforting, satisfying effect.
Start Easy
For a beginner, Coppolo recommends making something roasted and blended, like butternut squash because if you mess something up, it all gets blended together anyways at the end. “It’s also easy to make sure you’re giving all the ingredients care, because there’s fewer of them,” she said.
Take It Seriously
Soup is not just a side or a conglomeration of letftovers just thrown together. “People are always thinking of soup as good way to use their leftovers, but if you treat soup like a fallback option, that’s going to come through,” Coppolo said. “Just take it seriously as its own thing.”
Story by Emma Riva / Photo of Mushroom Farro Soup courtesy of Sarah Coppolo
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