I need a really good soup recipe

[stnikkilarse1978]

Having guests for NYE and I am doing a big cheese board with lots of breads plus meats and pates.

I wanted something hot to go with this and thought soup would work the best.

It needs to have no meat or fish as we have some veggies.

Any ideas please?

Thanks :)

Carrot and coriander is very easy and delicious.

Parsnip. The best soup ever and so easy it's not true. Yum - I think I'll go and make some now!

With cheese: Leek and potato soup.

Serves 4-6

2 onions
2-3 garlic cloves
a bunch of chives (optional)
2 medium size leeks
2 medium size potatoes
1 carrot
1 celery stick
salt
pepper (or chillies)
1 pt of water

Sweat all ingredients but the potatoes carrot and celery, add potatoes, carrot, celery and water. Cook until potatoes are very well cooked. Blend. Can be served with a swirl of single cream.

It reheats beautifully.

You can also dry a few mushroom in the oven to make mushroom crisps to serve with the soup.

A variation of the above is courgettes (about 500gr of courgettes instead of leaks)
served with courgette crisps.

corgette crisps =thin slices of courgettes brushed with olive oil sprinkled with salt, pepper,bread crumbs and possibly a tiny touch of cheese.

Chinese Shitake mushroom soup (for 3)

Mince half red onion, clove garlic and a carrot. Fry in olive oil til soft. Add pint of veg stock, lemon juice from half lemon,lots of grated fresh ginger, lots of soy sauce, small tin sweetcorn. About 7 mins before serving shred in 2-3 large shitake mushrooms and simmer.You could add fine noodles to make more substantial.Serve with some fresh coriander.

I make carrot and orange or broccoli and stilton or leek and potato soup for catering - so in bulk quantities. Would the broccoli and stilton work with cheese board perhaps?

I use about 4 heads of broccoli

Soften onions and garlic in butter
Add stock to which you add broccoli florets
Once broccoli has softened, blend
Then add Stilton to taste
Stir in creme fraiche and cream - quantities of each depend how tangy versus creamy you want it
Season, plus I add nutmeg and a dash of chilli (teeny bit)

Cauliflower and Wensleydale is another I haven't made for a while but method similar...

I do a lovely tomato red lentil and butter bean soup. Let me know if you'd like the recipe

Tomato lentil & red pepper soup.

I used to saute onions etc before adding stock but don't any more as I really couldn't taste the difference. Makes it loads faster and still tastes good (same for other soups except for mushroom where I saute everything first).

Chop the following and add to a saucepan:

• onion (1 big or 2 small)
• 3 or 4 carrots
• 2 or 3 potatoes

Then add a tin of chopped tomatoes and about 200g red lentils. Add stock to cover (?probably about 500+ml I guess).

I also add: spoonful of dijon mustard, bit of balsamic vinegar and about 1/2 tsp smoked paprika.

Bring to the boil then simmer till veg and lentils almost cooked. Add 1/2 jar roasted red peppers (or do your own).

When all cooked blitz about half of it so you have a slightly chunky soup. Yum yum yum.

Also really nice if you are sauteing to add some pancetta at the start; or to be way out there add some uncooked smoked haddock once the soup is done and poach gently for 4/5 mins to give a lovely sort of chowder.

roast tomato and lentil is lovely

loads of tomatoes cut in quarters into roasting tray - crushed garlic, lots of basil (fresh or dried) - drizzle with olive oil and roast for about 20 minutes

pan of stock with a few handfulls of lentils on the boil

add tomatoes to stock and whizz with a blender

season to taste

if not thick enough, more lentils

lovely with grated red leicester in it

roasted spiced butternut soup with caraway cumin and coriander, serve with squash crisps

Watercress is gorgeous as soup.
Serves 3 (ish)

1 bag of Watercress
1 medium potato (diced)
half an onion (finely chopped)
1 pt chicken/veg stock

Fry onions & potatoes for 5mns (till they look sweaty) - add stock - bring to boil then simmer for 12mns till potatoes soft. Add watercress & cook for max further 5mns. Blend. Serve with swirls of double cream & freshly ground pepper.