Soup ideas!

[pinkmonkey]

one of my favs is watercress soup

Chop up 1/2 leek, 1/2 turnip, 2 new potatoes and saute lightly in a small amount of olive oil. Add some veg stock (I use marigold swiss vegetable bouillon power) just enough to cover the veg. Simmer for 20 mins. Add a bag of watercress, simmer for 5 mins. Blend and stir in a dessert spoon of creme fraiche, season with pepper and serve.

Can do the same thing with a bag of spinach instead of watercress, I always like to throw in a glug of sherry with that one.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

smooth (i.e. blenderized) butternut squash is king. Apparently a bit of grated nutmeg complements its flavour.

Never tried nutmeg, alway a few chilli flakes though. It's a fabulous soup. Any soup is always improved by stirring in a knob of butter.....

 

[Mrs Miggins]

Jeruslam artichokes make fantastic soup and they're in the shops now!!

Bit farty though....

 

[Mrs Magpie]

I shall be harvesting mine this week.....dead easy to grow...just plant a few and BINGO! I've put mine in a large container (a bath actually) because otherwise they'll take over your garden.

 

[Herbsman.]

Never tried nutmeg, alway a few chilli flakes though. It's a fabulous soup. Any soup is always improved by stirring in a knob of butter.....

Oh yeah I forgot about chilli, I do like a bit of chilli with butternut squash or pumpkin.

Maybe cinnamon would be better than nutmeg

 

[Mrs Miggins]

I shall be harvesting mine this week.....dead easy to grow...just plant a few and BINGO! I've put mine in a large container (a bath actually) because otherwise they'll take over your garden.

Ace! I loves 'em for soup. Can you just use them like a root vegetable? i.e. instead of spuds?

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Yup, I've had em boiled, mashed and done like thin round crisps.

 

[KellyDJ]

This thread has inspired me to make some soup for lunch. I currently have a bit pot of butternut squash and carrot soup simmering away.

 

[Herbsman.]

This thread has inspired me to make some soup for lunch. I currently have a bit pot of butternut squash and carrot soup simmering away.

What's a bit pot?

 

[Mrs Magpie]

A small role in a TV cookery show

 

[KellyDJ]

What's a bit pot?

lol - typo

biG pot

 

[Dirty Martini]

Take a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Melt 1 oz of butter and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Thinnly slice 1 1/2lbs of onions ( a mandolin is good for this) and add to pan. Cover and cook over a low heat for about 15mins. Remove lid, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar( this helps to brown the onions). Raise temperature to hot and cook without the lid on, stirring frequently. This will drive off the excess water and gradually carmelise the onions.They want to be brown, not black. Once the onions are uniformally brown, add 1oz of plain flour and stir vigorously, scraping the brown stuff off the base of the pan for a couple of minutes. Add three pints of boiling beef stock, and 1/4 pint of white wine and simmer for 40 minutes. Kallo stock cubes are better than the rest. The best wine to add is cheap supermarket dry white vermouth.

It's absolutely great, easy to make, tastes amasing and can be served on it's own or with toasted cheese croutons floating ontop.

Just made this, delicious, cheers

Used a good homemade vegetable stock instead, so probably a little bit less depth, and red wine instead of white. My son can't be bothered with soups, but loved this one.

eta: a mandolin is good for slicing the onions, but also for taking the top of your thumb off. Two thick plasters have just about done the job

 

[invisibleplanet]

Aww, DirtyMartini *carefully kisses thumb better*
Yea, a very lovely soup recipe that - I shall be trying it soon too

 

[Dirty Martini]

Aww, DirtyMartini *carefully kisses thumb better*
Yea, a very lovely soup recipe that - I shall be trying it soon too

Heh, thanks

I'm a complete fucknut with kitchen implements, always doing meself damage.

 

[RubyToogood]

I had something once in Italy that I occasionally try to replicate at home. I can't remember whether it was called minestre (sic) or ribollita, but it was basically a sort of minestrone soup with bits of bread added to it, and simmered till the bread disintegrates and thickens it. It's lovely and very filling. I tend to make it if I have some minestrone or tomato sauce left over from the day before.

 

[RubyToogood]

Oh and I made an amazing egg drop soup on New Year's Day when I was feeling peaky. Hm, what did I do?

1 carcass of roast chicken
1 red onion
Boiled up in water for a few hours, then strained and reduced. Then
A few sliced carrots
Some garlic
Added to the pot along with the remaining meat picked off the bones. Simmered till the carrots were done.
Then I beat an egg in a bowl and kept beating while adding some of the soup spoonful by spoonful... did this for a bit and then chucked it into the soup whilst stirring.

It was incredible.

 

[astral]

Just made this, delicious, cheers

Used a good homemade vegetable stock instead, so probably a little bit less depth, and red wine instead of white. My son can't be bothered with soups, but loved this one.

eta: a mandolin is good for slicing the onions, but also for taking the top of your thumb off. Two thick plasters have just about done the job

I'm so pleased you liked it.

You can get guards for mandolin's to protect your fingers (probably a bit too late to mention this) John Lewis do them, you slot the vegetable into the guard and so ensure your fingers remain intact.

 

[Gavin Bl]

Nettle soup is really good - just pick a carrier bag full (remember gloves! ) of small bright green ones, or the tops, and rinse 5 or 6 times to get all the badger wee off.

fry off an onion, carrot and garlic - add a spud if you want it thicker.

add yer nettles* and some stock/salt, boil till tender, and blend it all up. finish with a bit of butter. Taste gets a it mellower if it stands for a day.

Its really good, and the comiong spring os a good time for fresh young nettles (or any time when theres been plenty of rain).

Extremely good for you apparently.



* - or add squash and carrot
or a big bag of frozen mixed veg
or roasted chestnuts
or parsnips & other winter veg (beetroot gives a fab colour but only add a little)
or carrot and pea

finish off as per the nettle - all really good, all freeze well

 

[Chester Copperpot]

I made french onion soup the other day and it was lush. I even did the giant croutons with melted cheese on top.

 

[sheothebudworths]

I made a black eyed pea and bacon soup yesterday - well tasty.

 

[Geri]

I got a Covent Garden Soup Company book for Christmas so I am looking forward to trying out some new recipes.

My favourite soup that I make is curried parsnip. You basically fry some parsnips, throw a loaf of curry powder onto them, boil them up with some stock and then blend it.

 

[ringo]

Stilton and broccoli soup is delicious

Per person you'll need:
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 head broccoli, finely diced
a handful of grated raw potato
1/2 pint vegetable stock

Fry onion and garlic until transluscent,
Add raw potato, broccoli, stir, immediately add stock
Simmer for 10 minutes (with pan lid on)
Mash-up a with potato masher (cos mucking about with liquidisers is too much for me).

Then add 3-4 oz stilton and 125 ml cream (per person, remember!)- warm through (do not boil else risk curdling of cream).

Eat

Did this with Blue Vinney for lunch, came out lovely, ta.

 

[Dirty Martini]

I'm so pleased you liked it.

You can get guards for mandolin's to protect your fingers (probably a bit too late to mention this) John Lewis do them, you slot the vegetable into the guard and so ensure your fingers remain intact.

Cheers, I'll have to get a guard. I've only seen them in smaller sizes though.

---

I made this today, very nice. Bear with me on weights, I just used what I had.

Roasted pumpkin and sweet potato soup

One large wedge of pumpkin, I reckon about 1 kg
One largish sweet potato
One large potato
Handful of sage
Olive oil
Water

1. Peel sweet potato, cut into 2-3 inch wedges
2. Cut pumpkin into wedges, a bit thinner than the sweet potato.
3. Place in roasting tray, smear olive oil over each piece, season, scatter sage leaves over top. Roast for c. 40 mins on 200 degrees.
4. Cut potato into smallish pieces, cover with plenty of water, bring to boil, cook for about 8-10 mins.
5. Slip skins off pumpkin wedges and cut into bite sized pieces. Cut sweet potato ditto. Add to potatoes. Make sure you get all the sage leaves and olive oil into the soup.
6. Simmer for 10-15 mins.
7. Put into blender to obtain a smooth soup. Check seasoning, add more water if you want a thinner soup (I did this, I think it's better that way).

So, no stock used -- the roasting gave the flavour. It's quite a subtle tasting soup because of it

 

[Dirty Martini]

I got a Covent Garden Soup Company book for Christmas so I am looking forward to trying out some new recipes.

My favourite soup that I make is curried parsnip. You basically fry some parsnips, throw a loaf of curry powder onto them, boil them up with some stock and then blend it.

I've got one of those Covent Garden books, the first one I think. Very good book, lots of good bean recipes in it too.

I'd try the parsnip soup if I could get the parsnips

 

[miss direct]

I have a big bag of parsnips at home and will give it a go, cheers.

 

[madzone]

I'm boiling some chicken broth as we speak. I'm notoriously unlucky with any soups containing homemeade stock as I never get them used up in time and they go off but hopefully todays will be ok. I made the stock by boiling up the roast chicken carcass with an onion (didn't have anything else in the house) When it had cooled I picked the meat off the carcass and strained the stock.

I sauteed and onion in some melted butter, added chopped potatoes, chunky chopped carrots, the stock, meat and some more hot water. Then I added the broth mix (45p in Lidls) which I'd soaked overnight, salt and pepper and it's boiling away as we speak.

Fingers crossed

 

[RubyToogood]

Did it come out ok?

I've just made carrot and red pepper soup, in an attempt to use up the enormous jar of red pepper paste I got from the Turkish shop (it's like tomato puree, but made with peppers, containing just sweet peppers and salt).

Soup was excellent:

1 onion, chopped
6 carrots, chopped

Fry these gently in a bit of olive oil

Chuck a clove of garlic in and some water, simmer till cooked.
Liquidise with about 3 tabsps red pepper paste, some marigold bouillon powder, a small pinch of smoked paprika and more water. Reheat.

It's reminiscent of cream of tomato, but different.

 

[madzone]

Did it come out ok?

It did Me, him and the next door neighbour had it for lunch yesterday (with the killer granary rolls ) and we finished the rest of it off today. It was more like a stew today because the pearl barley had thickend it all but it was all the better for it

 

[miss direct]

I have spicy parsnip soup waiting for me at home! Yay.

What's the best thing to have with soup do you think: croutons: a roll: toast, or other?

 

[madzone]

I have spicy parsnip soup waiting for me at home! Yay.

What's the best thing to have with soup do you think: croutons: a roll: toast, or other?

Crusty roll and butter