It is soup season again as the air gets colder and the mind turns to warming food. Mind you K& K in the family make soup for their lunches all year round, every week. It is so much more delicious than anything you can buy, even those fancy boxed ones, and a little effort really does reward. Real stock, which is easily made made from your roast chicken carcass, or the left over bits from a jointed bird, kept in the freezer and then thawed when you want them, can be the difference between nice soup and sensational - but veg stock from a good pot of powder dissolved is also excellent. All these recipes are fine with stock from powder and if you are feeding vegetarians you will want to use it anyway. All soups are cheap, freeze well and feed people generously and easily.
My all time favourite is a very easy one I learnt years ago and can make without any reference to a recipe - but here it is:
Leek and Potato Soup
3 leeks evenly chopped
3 potatoes chopped into even pieces roughly the same size as the leeks
1 onion
Stock, enough to cover all the veg.
Tomato Rice Soup
2 cans good quality chopped tomatoes
3/4 litre veg stock ( though chicken stock does make a difference for this one)
2 tbs brown sugar
Juice 1 lemon
3/4 tbs tomato puree
2 tbs rice
This last one is a recipe which I always think of at Christmas, perhaps because it is light and refreshing, it has sherry in it and the combination of flavours somehow seem Christmassy to me!
Tomato, Apple and Celery Soup or also known as Christmas Soup - see picture
2 oz butter
Onions chopped, Tomatoes chopped, Celery chopped, Apples chopped - the original recipe I have says 6 oz of each but I can not be bothered to weigh them and also the only time I did there was too little of everything. So I work on the principle of roughly the same quantity of each, by sight and common sense. Start with how many you are making it for, and if the answer is 4, then use 1 large onion and work up from there, say most of a head of celery, two cooking apples and one and half pounds of tomatoes.
Dry sherry
Ground ginger, a pinch
Stock
3 potatoes chopped into even pieces roughly the same size as the leeks
1 onion
Stock, enough to cover all the veg.
- Soften the finely chopped onion first in butter and a tiny bit of oil to stop the butter burning.
- Add the evenly chopped leeks and potatoes - quite small pieces. Turn them all around in the fat and let them soften slowly.
- Add the stock, or water and stock powder, until the veg are well covered.
- Simmer 20 - 30 minutes. You can cook most soups for a long time and many will benefit but if you have softened your veg thoroughly, this soup doesn't need much longer. Check if the potatoes are soft and if they are, the soup is ready. Taste and check the seasoning - soups need salt and pepper.
- Now blend half the mixture, either in a food processor or in the pan with a hand held. This thickens it and gives it a smoother texture. Now you will see the point of chopping your leeks and potatoes fairly evenly and not too large, as they will be important in the finished appearance and pleasure of the soup. You can add a little cream at the last minute to make it smoother and richer. If you blend it completely and chill it (in summer!) you can call it the classic Vicchysoise.
2 cans good quality chopped tomatoes
3/4 litre veg stock ( though chicken stock does make a difference for this one)
2 tbs brown sugar
Juice 1 lemon
3/4 tbs tomato puree
2 tbs rice
- Simmer them all together for twenty minutes or so.
- Taste. This is crucial. You can now adjust the sugar, tomato puree and lemon content to get exactly the right sharp, sour but tasty impact which this soup is all about.
- Once you think it is right, add the rice and simmer until it is cooked.
This last one is a recipe which I always think of at Christmas, perhaps because it is light and refreshing, it has sherry in it and the combination of flavours somehow seem Christmassy to me!
Tomato, Apple and Celery Soup or also known as Christmas Soup - see picture
2 oz butter
Onions chopped, Tomatoes chopped, Celery chopped, Apples chopped - the original recipe I have says 6 oz of each but I can not be bothered to weigh them and also the only time I did there was too little of everything. So I work on the principle of roughly the same quantity of each, by sight and common sense. Start with how many you are making it for, and if the answer is 4, then use 1 large onion and work up from there, say most of a head of celery, two cooking apples and one and half pounds of tomatoes.
Dry sherry
Ground ginger, a pinch
Stock
- Soften the onion very well.
- Add the other veg.
- Put a piece of greaseproof paper over the contents of the pan and sweat the veg for at least 10 mins.
- Then add enough stock to cover plus about 2 1/2 oz sherry, S&P, ginger then simmer till everything is soft and it tastes good - adjust accordingly.
- Blend it all. The recipe says garnish with apple slices but I never have done - it doesn't taste appley, just unusual and delicious.
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