Please tell me your favourite soup recipies

[WishIwasCherryMenlove]

As the nights draw in, the days get chillier, and my bank balance gets smaller, I would like to start making pots of soup - some to be eaten, perhaps some to freeze. And some that an 18 month old toddler might like.

So what are you favourite/winning recipies?

NB

• I don't have a slow cooker (sorry. Not yet anyway. Hoping Father Xmas might bring me one)
• We don't like really creamy soups like cream of mushroom
• But hearty ones we do like - the sort that would do for a main meal

Thanks all

My favourite is Lentil, Bacon and Tomato.

2 thick rashers smoky bacon, chopped (or chorizo is nice for a change)
4oz red lentils
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 can chopped tomatoes
a little oil
about 1.5 pints chicken stock
pinch of sugar
pepper

• Heat the oil and sweat the bacon, carrots, onions, garlic until softened
• Add tomatoes, lentils, and chicken stock. Season with pepper and the pinch of sugar. (No salt because the bacon is enough)
• Simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the lentils have turned to fluff
• Remove from the heat and blend with a hand-held (stick) blender until smooth
• Check seasoning and, if it's too thick, add a little more water.

Can be poshed up with a swirl of plain yoghurt in the top and some fresh chopped parsley.

These are my DC (aged 11, 7 and 9 months) favourites, but they may be too creamy for you.
Ham, leek and potato,
(I use the stock from cooking a gammon joint, I boil it with a couple of onions, a few sticks of celery. If I feel its too salty I half it then dilute it with water)
2-4 leeks chopped,
half a pan of potatoes (king edwards are good), peeled and quartered,
fill pan with about 2/3r ham stock and 1/3 whole milk,add potatoes and leeks cook until potatoes are tender, take care not to boil,
blend to desired consistency,
add some shredded ham (from above joint) put back on heat to reheat ham gently, season to taste.

Spicy butternut squash
2 butternut squash halved deseeded, roasted until tender then peeled,
2 medium poatoes,peeled and quartered
2 cans coconut milk,
one onion finely chopped,
2 tsp veg bouillion powder or a veg or chicken stock cube
about 1.5 tbsp cumin,
1 tsp turmeric,
chilli powder to taste,
seasoning to taste,
put onion in a pan and soften in olive oil, add spices then squash, potatoes, coconut milk and stock powder, top up with some hot water from the kettle, simmer until potatoes are cooked. Blend to desired consitency, and season to taste.
This is nice with some crispy bacon or pancetta on the top, or with some cooked shredded chicken stirred through.

Thanks all. Cogito I have all those ingredients so you've just sorted dinner for tonight!

I should have probably mentioned that my blender is also rubbish and won't blend anything too hard, but I suppose from teh ones above I could just get going with the potato masher.

Mmm, looking forward to it being cold and having lots of these lovely soups

Chicken chilli noodle

I use left over roast chicken for this usually, but have roasted off a couple of legs when I've needed a bowl of this. Duck is even better if you have/like it.

Firstly I pick the chicken, then boil up the bones for an hour or so with a halved onion and a carrot if there is one.

Then I make a dressing/topping from finely chopped or grated ginger about a thumb size piece, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic, a finely chopped red chilli and 2 table spoons each of fish sauce, lime juice and water.

When you are ready to eat put a portion of noodles per person in the pan with the stock along with the cooked chicken and cook until the noodles are soft and the chicken thoroughly reheated. About 4 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with a couple of spoons of the dressing and a sprinkle of chopped fresh coriander.

You might not be able to convince your small children; the dressing is pungently garlicky, but because you only add this at the last minute you could always just give them a little bit of soy/sesame oil/fish sauce instead.

I fancy some now actually.

oo love these, i was looking for soup recipes earlier!! I always like to havw chunky soup so i always pop in a potato or two to mine.

Schroeder sounds lovely. We have roast chicken a lot. But any specific tips when boiling up the bones? Do you need them picked perfectly clean?

Nah doesn't have to be perfect, just remove the good bits so they don't get over cooked and remove the skin so the stock isn't too greasy.

And of course I should have said just simmer the bones. Boil em up sounds more fun! .

I'd love more spicy soup ideas actually, if anyone has some good recipes.

I am lovely too

roasted carrot and red pepper...you just oven roast the carrot and red pepper and probably onion (funnily enough) and then blitz with stock and (randomly) lime juice, mmmmm!

I also like Nigella's butternut and sweet potato where you don't peel either, again oven roast.

And I like good old leek and potato, a lot too.

Schroeder i think you and your soup are smashing!
Weevils likes pumpkin soup, basicly an onion softened, add pumpkin (especially after you've scooped the insides out for halloween- no wasty wasty!) a cinnamon stick and chicken stock, season, liquidise.

Love a chicken chowder, onion, bacon, chicken chunks, potato chunks, chicken stock and sweetcorn. Leave chunky, serve with doorsteps with lots of butter!

MMM, all very nice. Just had Cogito's lentil tomato and bacon soup for dinner. sadly no crustly bread to dip, but still lovely.

Keep them coming people!

Have you looked at the other soup thread? It's titled you know what makes a nice soup. Can't link Im on phone. But it has some lovely soups.

A chunky favourite of mine is a chilli con carne soup. Couple ofTin of toms, grated carrot, grated onion, small amount of lean mince, some cayenne and chilli to taste. Brown mince and onion, add carrot for last few mins, bung the toms and spices in and top up with beef stock. Reduce until required consistency, (its a soup. Not a chilli so you want it quite loose) adding kidney beans at last five mins. Drink from soup mugs with crusty bread.

My favourite is a carrot & red lentil soup.

I fry an onion until soft and then add a good heaped tsp of cumin. Add chopped carrot & veg stock and a good handful of red lentils. Blitz it with a stick blender. Very easy but yummy!

Proper Northumbrian broth, nom!

I make a mean minestrone - the key is to get tiny pasta shapes and then to chop your veg to the same size. Older DD actually enjoys doing that. also works chunky style with pasta shells and big veg dice, just takes longer and less kid-appeal somehow.

Start with frying some chopped up bacon or chorizo, add diced carrot, onion, celery, pepper, courgette, add a bit of oil if needed and fry gently. when the onion is cooked, add a splash of sherry or vinegar [or sherry vinegar] and some tomato [puree or passata or half a tin whizzed up]
then add chicken stock - can be a cube but so much more flavour if you make it from bones.
cook the pasta separately, divide between bowls and pour the hot soup on top. garnish if you want to with pesto and grated parmesan.

Oh you stars! This is going on watch and I'm going to spend all autumn and winter trying them out. I am sooo crap at cooking it's unbelievable and never have any ideas, so these will be perfect. Thank you!

Hello,

Not really soup weather at the mo, but having received all your lovely receipes, I thought I would add in one I did last week from The Good Granny's Cookbook (by Jane F-W, mother of Hugh). Basically just very simple veg soup with potaotes, parsnips, carrots, leaks, garlic and onion. Soften onions and garlic in butter then add in the other veg and stir, then add in chicken stock and simmer for 30 mins. I added in some chickpeas and ham at the end, which made it really nice.

Any more souper receipes?

Well, I have my own contribution - Hokkaido pumpkin soup - cubes of potato, carrot and pumpkin in water or stock, then creamed. The recipe says to use 4 tsp of nutmeg but I am a ginger freak so added a couple of ginger, as well as some curry powder and turmeric to give it a bit of zing. Serve dotted with small, lightly boiled florets of cauliflower and sprinkled with fresh parsley. I guess you could add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt too. mmm

Mmm sounds nice butterfly. Have got some pumpkin to use up. 4tsp of nutmeg sounds quite a lot though?!

Yes, I thought that but it tasted great (with the ginger, curry and turmeric in too!) For the kids' portions I also added a dollop of Balkan yogurt to smooth out the spicy taste a bit.

Aha, and I know you said you don't like cream soups much, but I just roughly did it with a hand blender and there were bits of potato, carrot and pumpkin left in.