Let’s make Soup!

Four of my most requested soup recipes to warm the cockles

Whenever the clouds come out and the temperature drops, the first thing I think of cooking is a big bowl of hearty soup, sitting by the fire and doing a cheeky crossword. Obviously having two young kids running around the house makes those moments rarer than hens teeth, but we can dream!

A few things to consider for making great soups:

1. Start with a Good Base: Use homemade or high-quality store-bought broth or stock. This forms the foundation of your soup and greatly impacts the final flavour.

2. Layer flavours: Sauté aromatics like onions, garlic, celery, and carrots at the beginning. This helps develop a deeper, more complex flavor profile.

3. Season Gradually: Season your soup as you cook, but taste and adjust the seasoning at the end. This step may seem obvious, but it ensures the flavours are balanced and not overly salty or bland.

4. Texture is important: We’re not making baby food here, so soup can have a bite, a vibrant pop, crisp or crunch too with the use of vegetables, crispy chili oils, fresh herbs and fried topping such as pancetta, shallots or good old fashioned croutons.

Here are four easy but really tasty soups to get you through those cold days.

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Chorizo, fennel, preserved lemon & greens

Chorizo, fennel, preserved lemon & greens

Makes 4 litres/prep time 15 mins/cook time

Here’s the video

Recipe

2 brown onions

4 chorizo

Half a head of fennel

2 cloves garlic (minced)

2 Tbs tomato paste

1 lt Chix stock + 3 lt water (would still be great with just water as there’s so much flavour from the chorizo and onions)

1 x 650g bag of red lentils

A bowl of greens (I used chard, silver beet, kale)

Olive oil, S&P

1 Tbs preserved lemon

1 lemon

3 bay leaves

Method

Peel and dice the onion and chorizo, and slice the fennel and the greens.

Fry the chorizo first, then add your onion, fennel and garlic. Sweat this down until translucent. Add tomato paste, the bay leaves, then stock and water.

Bring to the boil, throw in your lentils.

Cook until lentils are ready. This took around 30 mins but will vary depending on the variety.

Add the chopped greens.

Season with preserved lemon and S&P.

Serve up a bowl with the punchy rosemary action below (P.R.A.)

How to make P.R.A:

Rosemary, fennel fronds, parsley, lemon zest, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, olive oil.

Chopped and mixed together, then spooned on top - this makes the soup!

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Chicken, lemongrass, turmeric and ginger

Chicken, lemongrass, turmeric and ginger

Makes around 2.5 litres/ prep time 10 mins/cook time 15mins

Recipe

2 poached chicken breasts or thighs (shredded)

2lt chicken stock

200g vermicelli (cooked)

1 knob fresh turmeric

1 knob ginger

3 cloves garlic

1 stick lemongrass

2 Tbs coriander stalks

A pinch of black pepper

2 large red chili

2 shallots

1 punnet cherry toms (halved)

1 handful Thai basil, coriander, mint

Fish sauce

2-3 limes

4 Tbs light sesame oil

Method

Smash up the garlic, turmeric, lemongrass, pepper, coriander stalks and 1 of the chilies in a pestle and mortar, into a paste.

In a heavy based pan, fry the paste in sesame oil until fragrant.  Add the chicken stock, and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes

Season the broth with fish sauce and lime juice.

Serve in bowls with shredded chicken, noodles, sliced shallots, tomatoes, fresh herbs and chili.

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My favourite soups right now (in no particular order):

• Bouillabaisse, a good classic French fish soup.

• Borscht, a beet soup from Eastern Europe, my Russian mother in law makes the best.

• Pea and Ham, who knew that a ham hock and some split peas would taste so good.

•  Laksa, a Southeast Asian spicy, noodle soup.

• Miso Soup, a Japanese soup made with miso paste, tofu, and seaweed.

A seafood Laksa