How to make just about any soup
Come winter, soup becomes a staple to my diet. So much so that I swiftly turn into a soup-making machine, whipping up a couple of them each week. As soon as the cold air hits, soup is my antidote to the dreaded winter cold and, as someone who works predominantly from home, it becomes a crucial way to keep warm. The best thing about it? It’s dirt cheap to make, which is great during months that are packed full of social functions. More soup = more money to spend on celebratory festive beverages. Win win.
I defy anyone who says that they’re incapable of making soup. It’s the simplest thing you can possibly put together and even the most incompetent of home cooks, would be more than able to whip together something hearty. All you really need is a knife, chopping board, stockpot and a blender.
The formula is simple: oodles of veg + veg/chicken stock (homemade preferably) + seasoning = Bob’s your uncle.
Once you’ve mastered the art of the basic formula, you can then get adventurous with added flavours and extras. Add in some chicken. Play around with different combinations. Add in some herbs. Pop in a blob of stilton. You can make it whatever you want it to be.
Good for:
Cheap eats
Winter warmers
Healthy eats
Lunches
Serves about 4-6 people
Can be frozen
INGREDIENTS
Essentials:
1 roughly chopped onion OR 3-4 shallots
2 sticks of chopped celery
1 leek
Seasoning
1 litre of vegetable/chicken stock
Mix of any of the following, all roughly chopped:
1/2 a cabbage
Handful of green beans
Carrots (I usually put in a couple)
Potatoes, peeled
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Swede
METHOD:
In a big stock pot (I got this one from Sainsbury’s Home - it was cheap and cheerful and holds a strong amount), heat a good chunk of butter or if you’re keeping it super healthy, a good glug of olive oil or rapeseed oil (a good glug = 3-4 tablespoons). Add the chopped onion and celery and cook until softened and slightly transparent (roughly 5-7 minutes).
Add the rest of the chopped veg and give it a good stir. Prepare your stock. If I’m out of homemade stock, I love the Knorr Stock Pots. I pop in 1-2 of these directly into the veg pan and then add in 1 litre of water or until the veg is just about covered. There’s no science to this - don’t be afraid of it. Add a good amount of seasoning.
Bring the whole lot to the boil and leave to simmer on a low heat for 15-20mins or until all the vegetables are softened. Give it a taste periodically and season accordingly.
Take it off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Either use a hand blender or transfer into a Nutribullet (or similar) as I do. Return to the pan and heat it if needed (or pop a bowl in the microwave). Serve with some nice, fresh crusty bread and I like to put a sprinkle of parmesan or similar.
TOP TIP: If you have any parmesan in the fridge, I like to add the rind of the parmesan to my soup whilst cooking - pop it in when you put in the veg/stock. It adds a really great depth of flavour to the soup.
The premise of every soup is the same. I alway start with the softened onions/shallots and usually celery but you can try pretty much any combination of vegetables. Here are some combinations I love:
Butternut Squash - I chop up one big squash (squash often tastes creamy without the need to add actual cream) together with 2 carrots and add into the chopped onion. I add garlic into this - usually 2 crushed cloves just after the onion starts to soften along with 2inches of freshly grated ginger. If you like it a little spicy you can add some chilli too. Bring to the boil. Cool. Blend and serve with a blob of creme fraiche.
Leek & potato - classic. Use 2-3 leeks and 3 potatoes (peeled and chopped) and add to the onion/celery.
Broccoli & stilton - anything with cheese makes me happy. Use the essentials ingredient list above but add in a full head of broccoli - roughly chopped. Once cooked, stir in about 120g of stilton (again, no science to this - be as liberal as you’d like to be).
Let me know what combinations you try out.
