At 26, Aaron Deal is already the executive chef of four-diamond French Quarter restaurant Tristan. In just over a year, he has quickly established a reputation for serving creative cuisine that includes one of the best she-crab soups in town.
Inspired by his inventiveness, we challenged Deal to create an answer to the
winter doldrums: an all-soup menu. Not a hodgepodge of ho-hum leftovers built on the bones of the holiday bird, but innovative twists on the traditional passel of classic cold-weather soups with enough variety to keep your taste buds content for the entire season. In short, we wanted winter warmers that offered culinary comfort in a cup.
“Growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, the first sign of winter was my mother’s vegetable beef soup,” says Deal. “I loved that it took all day to prepare and brought our family together.” The soups he offers here are his own unique creations, most with instructions for making ahead, and they’re guaranteed to satisfy during cold months. Whether you serve all four or just one, call family and friends to the table. Soup’s on!
