Soups......mine always taste the same....do yours?

[pepsi]

Ive been trying out a few soups lately, carrot & butternut squash, potato & leek, pea and bacon and today cauliflower. They all taste nice and everyone has enjoyed them. I use marigold for my stock and I can always really taste it. In fact I have just tasted the cauliflower soup and you wouldnt know there was cauli in it. Is this how it should be or should I just reduce the amount of powder I put in to make the stock. Just wondered, when you cook at home for your family you never know if things are turning out how they should, esp as my dh only ever says things are "alright".

I use marigold but do find it strong in flavour and probably dose it at about half the level it suggests.

I always chop up some celery, onion, a bit of carrot if I've got it as my base, then add whatever on top.

Blue string. That's what you need.

YOu are going to have to explain that one for me soup dragon.

Yeah I've no idea what that meant either!

bridget jones recipe

so if I reduce the amount of stock powder will that really mean I can taste the other ingredients or are soups generally a very subtle flavour.

I just think that powder tastes strong, and can mask the other flavours. Celery seems to be the magic base ingredient that somehow round your soup flavour off nicely.

Otherwise, erm, dont know, just pack as many things in as possible - with carrot soupd I probably use 6 or 7 big carrots. I don't know about cauliflower soup, never done it.

Thanks

People have posted some nice soup recipes on here in the last month or two as well. Search messages with soup in the title?

For more flavour, maybe you want something with spices in - someone posted a nice spicy lentil one with cumin as a base. mmm.

I agree, Marigold is can be overwhelming

Although I do say so myself, I am pretty good at soups. If you have any specific ingredients you would like to use or flavour combinations you would like to try out, then at the risk of being egotistical, I reckon I could sort you out with a tasty recipe

A good chicken one would be nice. Or a veg one with lentils perhaps. My children dont like spicy stuff or anything too tomaty Hubby likes creamy soups. I like anything, especially if it uses old stuff up. Ive got a tin of haricot beans in cupboard so something with that would be good. Right then...Ready, steady cook

right then
get to the butcher and ask for a ham hock, smoked preferably.
Make a mirepoix (aDadonmumsnet's base of celery, onions and carrots) sweat down in good olive oil for 15 minutes, add 2 cloves chopped garlic, some dried oregano - be generous - and some dried tarragon, a couple of bay leaves and some white pepper. Stir that around for 2 minutes. Throw in a glass of white wine, boil off alcohol 2 mins, then add ham hock ( you may need to soak it over night if overly salty) and a litre of boiling water. Bring to boil and simmer for an hour, skimming off any froth. Take out hock, pick off the meat and return to pan, and the haricot beans - one tin may not be enough, do you also have an cannelini? - heat through for 5 minutes and then check seasoning and liquidise the lot.

Garnish with fried shredded spring onions, olive oil and very crisp croutons

Whoops forgot to say put a little tiny bit of marigold in that litre of water.