I was raised on ‘never again’ soup - mum put just about everything that was left over into the soup pan. I’ve been on a soup blast this week - all in the PC - sweet potato and leek; celery and cashew; carrot, apple and lentil; and, in the spirit of my mum, onion bhaji soup! Hard to choose a favourite soup but I think I’d go for an ancient Cranks recipe, Armenian soup - red lentils, apricots and parsley.
A proper minestrone, with a good variety of vegetables, some white beans and parmesan rinds. But this weekend I am going to try making olleta alicantina - from Alicante in the southeast of Spain- which I think you would love, Catherine! A proper farmer’s soup with a range of pulses and rice. A sample recipe here https://entrenosotros.consum.es/en/olleta-alicantina and a method using the pressure cooker here (Spanish commentary which I am happy to explain but I think it’s obvious what he’s doing) https://youtu.be/r0M_Zf0euNU
I love that it's soup season again! Like Gillian's mum, my most commonly made soup is bottom-of -the-fridge soup 🙂 Some more successful than others. My favourite 'planned' soup changes all the time, but tend to be fairly simple ones, using economical ingredients. Nothing too fussy or time consuming. I wasn't a fan of parsnips as the main ingredient - I'm thinking of curried parsnip - it was just too strong for me. Then I had parsnip and apple, with a swirl of horseradish (and cream if I have any needing using up). I've made a few batches of it now! Oh, and usually a handful of red lentils gets thrown in as a thickener and for a bit extra goodness.
I like parsnip and apple too - that’s another Cranks classic - all my regular soups are from that book although it’s not got a lot going on beyond mixed herbs and the occasional bit of garlic. I guess that’s the early 80s for you (and the Armenian soup does have ground cumin). The carrot and apple I made this week was supposed to have chilli and cumin in it, but OH was off chilli so I used cardamom and ginger instead and it was pretty good.
Hello Catherine. This is such a coincidence. I was teaching on a Healthy Gut course at Cookery School London on Saturday and one of the participants told me about this book and that she is featured in it. Soup is such a nourishing comfort food - and perfect for good gut health which helps everything from our brain to immune system, skin, and bones. And so many people I meet 1-2-1 don't know how to make soup - so this may be a good resource for them. I will check it out. Jeannette
I have two new favourites which I have just discovered and will be on rotation this autumn. The first is a carrot, lemon and ginger soup which has a base of red lentils so it is filling, nutritious and cheap. The recipe was in the Telegraph a few weeks back . The second was the borscht variation which was on one of the Waitrose recipe cards. Beetroot and horseradish with cumin fried chicken peas. It was absolutely delicious. I’m a soup fiend and make it 3 or 4 times a week for most of the year. There is nothing better for lunch IMHO and generally they are low in calories so good all round. I’m attending a Ukrainian polyphonic singing workshop tomorrow where we will have a traditional borscht and apple cake for lunch. Should be good!
I was raised on ‘never again’ soup - mum put just about everything that was left over into the soup pan. I’ve been on a soup blast this week - all in the PC - sweet potato and leek; celery and cashew; carrot, apple and lentil; and, in the spirit of my mum, onion bhaji soup! Hard to choose a favourite soup but I think I’d go for an ancient Cranks recipe, Armenian soup - red lentils, apricots and parsley.
This is our household too and I LOVE the idea of onion bhaji soup! I would totally eat a lamb pakora soup as well....
A proper minestrone, with a good variety of vegetables, some white beans and parmesan rinds. But this weekend I am going to try making olleta alicantina - from Alicante in the southeast of Spain- which I think you would love, Catherine! A proper farmer’s soup with a range of pulses and rice. A sample recipe here https://entrenosotros.consum.es/en/olleta-alicantina and a method using the pressure cooker here (Spanish commentary which I am happy to explain but I think it’s obvious what he’s doing) https://youtu.be/r0M_Zf0euNU
you are right, right up my street!
I love that it's soup season again! Like Gillian's mum, my most commonly made soup is bottom-of -the-fridge soup 🙂 Some more successful than others. My favourite 'planned' soup changes all the time, but tend to be fairly simple ones, using economical ingredients. Nothing too fussy or time consuming. I wasn't a fan of parsnips as the main ingredient - I'm thinking of curried parsnip - it was just too strong for me. Then I had parsnip and apple, with a swirl of horseradish (and cream if I have any needing using up). I've made a few batches of it now! Oh, and usually a handful of red lentils gets thrown in as a thickener and for a bit extra goodness.
I'm a picky about parsnips in soup - a bit too domineering with most things, but apple does really work and I like the idea of horseradish.
I like parsnip and apple too - that’s another Cranks classic - all my regular soups are from that book although it’s not got a lot going on beyond mixed herbs and the occasional bit of garlic. I guess that’s the early 80s for you (and the Armenian soup does have ground cumin). The carrot and apple I made this week was supposed to have chilli and cumin in it, but OH was off chilli so I used cardamom and ginger instead and it was pretty good.
Hello Catherine. This is such a coincidence. I was teaching on a Healthy Gut course at Cookery School London on Saturday and one of the participants told me about this book and that she is featured in it. Soup is such a nourishing comfort food - and perfect for good gut health which helps everything from our brain to immune system, skin, and bones. And so many people I meet 1-2-1 don't know how to make soup - so this may be a good resource for them. I will check it out. Jeannette
I have two new favourites which I have just discovered and will be on rotation this autumn. The first is a carrot, lemon and ginger soup which has a base of red lentils so it is filling, nutritious and cheap. The recipe was in the Telegraph a few weeks back . The second was the borscht variation which was on one of the Waitrose recipe cards. Beetroot and horseradish with cumin fried chicken peas. It was absolutely delicious. I’m a soup fiend and make it 3 or 4 times a week for most of the year. There is nothing better for lunch IMHO and generally they are low in calories so good all round. I’m attending a Ukrainian polyphonic singing workshop tomorrow where we will have a traditional borscht and apple cake for lunch. Should be good!
Oh both of them sounds delicious, but especially the beetroot one. I'll have to have a look for the recipes 🙂
I love all those borscht style soups! One of my absolute favourites is solyanka - I like all the sharp/sour flavours with sweet beetroot.
I was at a Ukrainian singing workshop on Sunday and we had fabulous beetroot soup, rye bread, sour cream and pickles for lunch. Honestly the best.