You've made a lovely pot of soup, and while it tastes delicious on its own, gilding the lily with a garnish is always a good idea. Garnishing a soup gives your bowl a finished look — and we all know you eat with your eyes first.
A drizzle of good quality extra-virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of cheese can elevate a soup from simple to sublime for a broth-based soup. A dollop of yogurt or sour cream can bring a much-needed creaminess and acidity to a puréed soup. And a handful of crunchy croutons or toasted nuts will certainly add texture to any soup they are tossed into.
Though any of these will bring interest and added flavor to your soup, it can be fun to take an extra minute or two and make the garnish a more integral part of the dish, as we did in both the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup With Gingersnap Crumble, and the Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Soup With Crispy Spaetzle. Both the crumble and the spaetzle are easy to make, and they deliver big when it comes to flavor and texture.
