Why, oh why, do I love soup? Is it because it comes in so many forms and from so many different cuisines? Maybe it’s the versatility; almost any food that you can plunk into a pot can be made into soup. Chicken, clams, lobster, yogurt, garlic, corn, potato, tomato, melon . . .. Then again, it could simply be because I’m too lazy to chew solids. Nah! Can’t be that! Although it’s been served since roughly 6000 B.C., “soup” first entered the English lexicon in the 17th century. Derived from the French word ‘soupe,’ it initially referred to broth poured over bread. The dish quickly evolved into a liquid consumed on its own, without the sodden hunk of bread. Later it came to include not only consommes but also bisques and meat- and vegetable-laden fare. Because heartier soups often appeared as the sole dinner offering in poor, rural areas, many deemed them to be peasant food. Even today people frequently think of soup not as a meal in itself but as accompaniment – “soup and salad” – or as the first course. Yet, these thicker …