Soup is a great addition or centrepiece for a meal in any season, but it’s an excellent way to warm up on a cool day. The French have been perfecting soups for centuries, creating dishes that range from rich stews to subtle, savoury medleys. Beans are an inexpensive but nutritious …

In Provence, with ready access to fresh seafood use cod (cabillaud) or sea-bream (daurade). We decided to serve this fish and fennel chowder around our outdoor fireplace enjoying an al fresco dinner with friends.

Also known as Fourmade, is at its very core a hearty soup made by impoverished people to provide an inexpensive and healthy filling meal. This soup surprisingly rich and luxurious tasting. Once you make the basic recipe try embellishing with leeks, chickpeas, grated Parmesan, cooked rice or even croutons fried in olive oil.

Paula Sachs recipe turns traditional gazpacho on its head with this green melon version. The soup is easy to make, best served well chilled and suitable for vegan diets. No cooking required, which is terrific on hot summer days.

There are some ingredients that remind you of a place you’ve been or, in this case, a place you lived. The state of Maine is one of those places with its fabulous seafood – lobster, clams and Gulf-of-Maine shrimp. Summer eating in this coastal state is all about lobster roll …

Hint: if the soup is too salty, add more water.

Traditional Provencal cuisine used hyper-local ingredients, picked from the potager (kitchen garden), foraged in the hills, and hunted nearby. In a region where dairy and beef were only available for the wealthy, ingredients such as coconut milk, curry and lime definitely were not part of any cook’s pantry. Today, Provencal …

Luckily, this recipe for Creamy Mushroom and Chestnut Soup is so delicious it has stopped my brown food colour rant in its tracks.

Marseille Fish Soup – Soupe de Poissons You will want to make a big batch and freeze what you don’t eat. Making fish soup at home can be a very messy, labor-intensive process.

This Cauliflower Soup recipe enhances the flavour of what can be a bland vegetable with coconut milk and fresh ginger for a slightly Asian touch. It’s the perfect soup to make ahead for a dinner party or to have for lunch on a cold spring day.