Recipes from Side Hustle Soups founder offer ladlefuls of cold weather comfort

For many of us, soup is a sometime thing. Cooler temperatures may have us making pots of chili. A need for a dose of comfort food may have us stirring pots of chicken noodle soup. Summer may have us craving batches of gazpacho as a respite from crunchy salads.

But for Nancy Rinehart, soup is an every day thing, a chance to flex her culinary muscles as she stirs up big batches of as many as a dozen soups each week for her pandemic-birthed baby, Side Hustle Soups.

Rinehart began cooking at downtown Atlanta’s Shakespeare Tavern in the early ‘90s. Her children were in preschool at the time, and conversations with other parents often revolved around how hard it was to get a good meal on the table every day. She started selling soup, using recipes she had developed at the Tavern. She would make big batches, freeze them in glass jars and store them in the preschool’s freezer. It was important to her to be as close to zero waste as possible and parents would return the glass jars, ready for the next batch of soup. Making soup became her side hustle.

When the tavern closed early in the pandemic, she and her husband John turned her side gig into a soup delivery business.

She made the soup in the commercial kitchen at the tavern and John became the driver. “By the time the tavern reopened (after the lockdown ended), we had so much business that we couldn’t coexist in their kitchen. We found a place on Covington Highway and went for it,” Rinehart said.

The Side Hustle Soups menu changes weekly, culling from a rotation of about 70 soups. The four staples are Rainy Day Tomato Soup, chicken and sausage gumbo, Italian wedding soup and chicken noodle. At least four other soups are available, including a vegan option that’s usually gluten-free. “We try to have at least one beef, lamb or seafood soup. Two that are chicken-based.” Customers preorder for delivery the following week or shop in the small retail section at the commercial kitchen in Decatur.

Inspiration for the dozens of soups she makes comes from a variety of places. “We love deconstructing a favorite dish. We might enjoy shrimp scampi at a restaurant and we’ll talk about how we can turn those flavors —the shrimp, lemon, garlic and capers — into a soup. Or I’ll look at a cooking magazine and get inspired by some dish I see in there,” she said. “I love experimenting with flavor combinations that are new to me, but a favorite from childhood is always a sure bet.”

Side Hustle Soups. 4086 Covington Highway, Decatur. sidehustlesoups.com.

RECIPES

Nancy Rinehart of Side Hustle Soups shared recipes for three favorites that are in regular rotation at her soup business. All the soups freeze well. If planning to freeze your soup, cool and refrigerate it, then freeze it in one- or two-person servings. Rinehart freezes her chilled soup in glass jars, making sure to leave plenty of headspace, but also recommends pouring the soup into quart-size freezer bags and laying them flat for freezing.

Caldo Gallego gets meaty flavor from Spanish chorizo and a ham hock. (Aaliyah Man for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Caldo Gallego

“This is a soup from my childhood. In fact, it’s the first soup I remember eating,” Rinehart said. “In the ‘70s, my parents subscribed to the ‘TIME-LIFE Foods of the World’ cookbook series and the recipe for Caldo Gallego caught my mom’s eye. We were living in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and while there were turnip greens available from the Amish farmers, there was no chorizo. She made the soup with pepperoni because that was the closest thing she could find. When the weather turned cold, this was the first soup she made, and she always served it with cornbread.”

• 8 cups water
• 1 cup dried white beans, sorted and rinsed
• 1 smoked ham hock (about 3/4 pound)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 teaspoons Morton kosher salt, plus more if needed
• 1/2 pound fresh turnip greens, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
• 1/2 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 6- to 8-ounce link Spanish-style chorizo
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1. In a large Dutch oven, bring water to boil over high heat. Add beans and boil briskly 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat, cover Dutch oven and let beans soak 1 hour.
2. Drain beans into a colander set into a large bowl, reserving the soaking liquid. Return beans to empty pot. Measure soaking liquid and add enough water to make 8 cups. Add to beans. Add ham hock, onion and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, 90 minutes. Remove ham hock from soup and allow ham hock to cool. Add greens, potatoes and chorizo and simmer 30 minutes, partially covered, until beans are tender and potatoes have cooked through. When ham hock has cooled sufficiently, pull meat off bones. Chop meat and return to soup. Discard skin, gristle and bone. Use a slotted spoon to remove chorizo, cut into 1/4-inch rounds and return to soup. Add vinegar and taste for seasoning.

Makes 12 cups.

Per 2-cup serving: 362 calories (percent of calories from fat, 41), 20 grams protein, 33 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total sugars, 7 grams fiber, 16 grams total fat (6 grams saturated), 45 milligrams cholesterol, 1,609 milligrams sodium.

Moqueca is a Brazilian stew of fish and seafood with onion, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, lime and coconut milk. (Aaliyah Man for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Moqueca (Brazilian Seafood Stew)

Rinehart adapted this recipe from one she found in a cooking magazine. When she served it to Brazilian actors who were performing at Shakespeare Tavern, they gave it rave reviews. “It’s just like Mom made!” they told her.

• 1 pound extra-large shrimp (26 to 30 per pound), peeled, deveined and tails removed
• 1 pound skinless 3/4- to 1-inch-thick cod fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus additional for seasoning
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, divided
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, stem removed, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, stem removed, seeded, cut into 1/2inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt, divided, plus additional for seasoning
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can full fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Pepper Sauce (see recipe), plus more for serving

1. In a large bowl, combine shrimp and cod. Toss with garlic and pepper and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel knife, combine tomatoes, onion and 1/4 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems. Process until smooth, about 30 seconds.
3. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add red and green bell peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables have softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato-onion mixture and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until soup has reduced and thickened slightly, 5 minutes.
5. Increase heat to high, stir in coconut milk and bring to boil. Add shrimp and cod. Stir in lime juice and make sure all seafood is submerged in liquid. Cover Dutch oven and reduce heat to very low. Let soup sit on very low heat until shrimp and cod are opaque and just cooked through, about 15 minutes.
6. Uncover and stir in Pepper Sauce, being careful not to break up the cod pieces. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve with additional Pepper Sauce and garnish with remaining 1/2 cup chopped cilantro.

Makes 9 cups.

Per 1-cup serving (without additional pepper sauce): 239 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 18 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams total sugars, 2 grams fiber, 16 grams total fat (10 grams saturated), 85 milligrams cholesterol, 449 milligrams sodium.

Pepper Sauce

If you don’t use all the pepper sauce when serving the Moqueca, it makes a delicious sandwich spread, sauce for quesadillas or dip for cooked shrimp.

• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot pickled cherry peppers
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Morton kosher salt, to taste

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel knife, combine peppers, onion, olive oil and sugar. Process until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Season to taste with salt. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes 3/4 cup.

Per tablespoon (with 1/4 teaspoon Morton kosher salt): 50 calories (percent of calories from fat, 88), trace protein, 1 gram carbohydrates, 1 gram total sugars, trace fiber, 5 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 24 milligrams sodium.

Nancy Rinehart of Side Hustle Soups adapted her Thai chicken soup recipe into a vegan version that features pumpkin puree and roasted, seasoned pumpkin seeds. (Aaliyah Man for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Thai-Style Pumpkin Soup

Rinehart adapted her Thai chicken soup recipe into this vegan version made with pureed pumpkin. “We wanted something for fall that wasn’t pumpkin spice-flavored. We serve it with Maple Sriracha Pumpkin Seeds which add more fall flavors and some crunch.”

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Light green portion of 1 stalk lemongrass, outer layer discarded, stalk pounded, cut into 1/8-inch slices
• 1 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated, roughly chopped, divided
• 1 cup minced shallots, divided
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon peeled grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can full fat coconut milk
• Morton kosher salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Maple Sriracha Pumpkin Seeds, for garnish (see recipe)

1. In a large Dutch oven, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add lemongrass, chopped cilantro stems and 1/2 cup shallots. Cook until shallots just begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth, decrease heat to low and simmer soup 30 minutes. Drain soup through a colander set into a large bowl. Discard solids and reserve broth.
2. Wipe out Dutch oven. Return Dutch oven to cooktop and warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup shallots and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Use stirring spoon to move shallots to one side of the Dutch oven and add remaining tablespoon olive oil. Stir curry paste, ginger and garlic into oil and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir shallots and curry mixture together.
3. Return broth to Dutch oven and add pumpkin puree and coconut milk. Bring soup to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Decrease heat to low, stir in lime juice and taste for seasoning, adding salt as needed. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro leaves and Maple Sriracha Pumpkin Seeds.

Makes 6 cups.

Per 1-cup serving (without pumpkin seed garnish): 268 calories (percent of calories from fat, 71), 5 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams total sugars, 4 grams fiber, 23 grams total fat (15 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 54 milligrams sodium.

Maple Sriracha Pumpkin Seeds

• 1 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer in prepared baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown.
3. While seeds are roasting, in a medium bowl, stir together maple syrup, Sriracha, olive oil, salt, smoked paprika, ginger, cumin and apple cider vinegar.
4. When seeds are golden, transfer to the bowl with spice mixture and stir to coat evenly. Return seeds to baking sheet, spreading in a single layer.
5. Return to oven and bake 5 to 10 minutes or until spice mixture has begun to caramelize on seeds. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Pumpkin seeds will keep in a sealed container for up to 1 week.

Makes 1 cup.