Your Favorite Guide to Feel-Good Soups

Our community voted Clean Soups: Simple, Nourishing Recipes for Health and Vitality amongst this year's Piglet Community Picks, those that deserve honorable mentions. The book features 60 soup recipes, including foundational broths to start you on your soup-making plus toppings to add pizazz to any blend. Author Rebecca Katz is a prominent food-as-medicine proponent who brings expertise while expressing infectious enthusiasm to whatever she's writing about—even if that's how to freeze soup.

Here are just some of you on why you love Clean Soups:

"This books gives me all the tools to make really good soup and broths."

"Clean Soups is an excellent cookbook to use on your journey to eating healthy. The book has beautiful photography on quality paper. The soup recipes are easy to make and something you could feel proud to serve your family. The recipes I have already tried have been a hit!"

"Beautiful and educational book—I learned a lot about the health benefits of various spices and vegetables."

"The author Rebecca Katz is authentic—it's clear that she cares about her readers."

To find out a bit more about why this book is one of our community's favorites from last year, Food52 superstar sdebrango did a deep dive. Below, she gives her first impressions on the book and answers a series of lightning round questions on what she learned and loved:

First impressions:

"The title piqued my interest and then I fell in love with the beautiful photos. A book of recipes that is centered on clean eating was just what I was looking for and Rebecca Katz has captured that in this wonderful book."

The first recipe to make:

"Magic Mineral Broth is a great basic recipe for vegetable broth. The broth can be used in so many different recipes. That’s what was great: Each recipe was a stepping stone to another recipe.

I first made the Magic Mineral Broth, then used that to make the Thai Coconut Broth which became the Coconut Cauliflower Soup With Ginger and Turmeric. I loved how Rebecca gave so many different options for each basic broth, making her wonderful broths will give you many options for a varied and delicious repertoire of soups.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention her soup toppers: Although I didn't make any of them, they sound delicious. She takes the guess work out of what goes with what, giving you some guidance as to what broth works best with each of the soups in the book, and the same with the toppers."

• A one-sentence review: Healthful and delicious recipes for soup and a step-by-step guide to clean eating.
  
• Skill level required: Intermediate—some of the soups require some experience and level of skill.
  
• Who to buy it for: My friend who has cancer—I think these soups would be so nourishing as she is going through chemotherapy.
  
• Books it’s similar to: Plenty More and Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian.
  
• If the book was a vegetable it would be: A carrot—a basic ingredient that is healthful and versatile.
  
• The best thing you learned: That I don't have to peel everything. Throw it in the pot, peel and all, and you get a nutritious and delicious broth.
  

2017's roster of Piglet Community Picks were chosen by an open call to our community; the reviews you see here are from some of the folks who voted these books into the tournament. To see other Piglet Community Picks reviews, head here.

Clean Soups is available wherever books are sold.