Hit me with your best recipes to make thick, tasty and filling soup!

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

Just that really.

I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never made soup.

I’m off work next week for half term and I want to put that right!

Don't add too much liquid. You can always thin it down later if necessary. Check the seasoning. I find soup needs plenty of salt and pepper, but err on the side of caution, as you can always add a bit more if need be.

I like butternut squash - I use onion, garlic, carrot, swede, veg stock and sage. Just fry the onion and garlic, then chuck everything else in, add boiling water to cover it all and cook for 20 min, then blend. The carrots make it really nice and orange and the swede is just there to add more veg
Curried parsnip is another one I do a lot

Start with a base of fried onions and potatoes.

Add any sort of veg or greens & spices - (leeks/wildgarlic/kale/peas/lettace/herbs/carrot/ginger/carroway/coriander/parsley).

Mix 2 stock cups in a little bit of boiling water. Top up with 1.5 litres of cold water and add to pan.

Heat & blend.

Or make lentil soup-

Fry onions, peppers & carrots
Once cooked add 500g of red lentils & 1.5 litres of water with 2 stock cubes (prepared as above)
Bring to the boil and simmer until the lentils are cooked.
Season with salt pepper and lemon juice

Ooh thanks

You all make it sound very simple!

Tomato, Bacon, Lentil soup

Fry onions and bacon
Add stock (chicken or veg)
rinse lentils well & add then bring to boil
Add a carrot and a potato, cubed
Boil until lentils are soft
Add a couple of spoons of tomato puree & seasoning

Blend fully or partially with a stick blender
Add more stock/ water or even milk to get preferred consistency.

yum!

This is gorgeous and filling. Cook for a bit longer than she states. Can halve the quantities.
barefootcontessa.com/recipes/cheddar-corn-chowder

Cut about 20 tomatoes in half, pour over a bit of oil, and roast in the oven at 200C for 40 mins.
Meanwhile, cut up 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 sticks of celery, a red pepper and 3 cloves of garlic. Fly gently in a bit more oil until soft. Tip in the tomatoes, and any juices from the roasting tin. Add about 100ml of water and a stock cube. Bring to the boil, then put on a lid, switch off the heat and leave for half an hour or so. Blitz til smooth (takes longer than you think). Thin with water or cream, depending on preference. Serve with plenty of sea salt and black pepper.

Black bean soup:

Fry onion, diced carrot, diced sweet potato, diced red pepper, garlic.
Add some thyme, paprika, red wine and chilli flakes.

Drain a couple of tins of black beans and mash the beans with a fork or potato masher.

Put in with the vege, plus some water. Shove the pan in the oven and cook for ages, until it all melds together. Mash it some more when ever you can be bothered.

Eat it with nachos, soured cream and guac.

Sorry to gate crash thread but does anyone have a great recipe for ‘proper’ northern broth-ideally Sunderland/Durham.

3litres of water
5 ham stock cubes (yes I know some ppl think that’s too many)
Packets of smoked bacon chopped up
3 large carrots chopped
One medium onion chopped
260g red lentils
50g Pearl barley
2 red chillis chopped.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for an hour. Then blend !!! It’s the best spicy lentil and bacon soup ever

Broth:

Saute (in oil) : one large onion finely chopped, two medium leeks chopped, 3 large potatoes chopped in 1cm pieces, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 chopped carrots then Saute on a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes

Add chopped cooked gammon ( I also, at this point, chuck in any leftover Sunday lunch veg. Swede is particularly tasty) and Saute for 5 min.

Add 800 to 1000ml of chicken or veg stock, then season with plenty of salt. Bring to boil, stir and leave to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. I sometimes add frozen peas at this point.

Finally, add double cream to thicken up. You might need to skim the fat from the top of the soup before this. I usually add 100-150ml cream. Heat for further 5 min, then serve with crusty bread and lashings of butter.

Easiest soup in the world:
Any frozen bag of veg (sprouts, broccoli are my favourites) (and any other bits of veg you like or have hanging around)
Boil them up, tip away most water
Add half or a whole stock pot thing (or stock cube or homemade stock)
Add any cooked meat you have hanging around if you want to up the protein content, not necessary though
Part mash, then chunky whizz up with a hand blender
Add cream (or butter or oil or milk or meat fat)
Enjoy! Flipping delicious and pretty healthy.

It really is very simple to make soup. Favourite in this house is broccoli and Stilton. I just fry a chopped onion with a small chopped potato, add a chopped head of broccoli (chop up and use the stalk too) add just enough veg or chicken stock to cover, and simmer til tender. Blend it up with approx 75g of Stilton. You can add more Stilton if you like a stronger taste and extra stock to get it to the right thickness you prefer. I always freeze soup in portions and when you reheat it you need to give it a good whisk and get it bubbling for a few minutes (when first defrosted it looks a bit weird)

Tomato and Basil, butternut squash and chilli, mushroom

The packs of dried pulses and grains are a great cupboard standby to add to stock and some fresh veg for chunky and filling soups.

Carrot, Lentil and Cumin soup
1 carrot - peeled and chopped
1 onion - peeled and chopped
1 celery stick - washed and chopped
1 leek - cleaned and chopped
4 oz red lentils
1 tablespoon cumin
1 bay leaf
2 pints vegetable stock (add stock or water, enough to cover the vegetables in the pan)

Cook carrots and celery in a pan for five minutes. Add onion and leek, cook a bit longer until soft. Add cumin, red lentils and stock. Add tomato puree and bay leaf. Simmer for an hour or until all vegetables are cooked and the majority of the liquid has been absorbed. Leave it overnight if you can so it's properly thick, the flavours have developed and the vegetables are soft.

Cut a butternut squash in half and roast in the oven. Sweat off a chopped onion and a chopped chilli. Add around 1-1.5 litres of chicken stock. Add in the flesh of the roasted squash and simmer for 20 mins. Blitz with a blender then add two big spoonfuls of crunchy peanut butter. Stir and simmer until the peanut butter is melted into the soup. Serve with a big dollop of natural yogurt on top, enjoy!

@ToffeeNotCoffee

Carrot, Lentil and Cumin soup 1 carrot - peeled and chopped 1 onion - peeled and chopped 1 celery stick - washed and chopped 1 leek - cleaned and chopped 4 oz red lentils 1 tablespoon cumin 1 bay leaf 2 pints vegetable stock (add stock or water, enough to cover the vegetables in the pan)

Cook carrots and celery in a pan for five minutes. Add onion and leek, cook a bit longer until soft. Add cumin, red lentils and stock. Add tomato puree and bay leaf. Simmer for an hour or until all vegetables are cooked and the majority of the liquid has been absorbed. Leave it overnight if you can so it's properly thick, the flavours have developed and the vegetables are soft.

I made this earlier. It was lovely!

Wow! Thanks everyone for your ideas.

Guess what we’ll be having for lunch over half term?!

Sweetcorn chowder (not sure what makes it a chowder as opposed a soup) has been very popular with DC recently. I usually have all the stuff in the cupboard and only takes 15mins to make so good for quick lunches. DP likes to add some cooked peas to his but I’m not sold. Could add bacon to if you wanted.

600g sweetcorn (I find tinned works best but frozen fine to)
500ml stock
300g either boiled potato’s or tinned new potato’s work well
15g cornflour
1 garlic clove
Salt, pepper and chilli flakes to taste

Blend 3/4 of the corn, add to a pan with everything else and cook for 10mins. Add the rest of the corn until it’s cooked. Serves 4.

@wewillmeetagain

Cut a butternut squash in half and roast in the oven. Sweat off a chopped onion and a chopped chilli. Add around 1-1.5 litres of chicken stock. Add in the flesh of the roasted squash and simmer for 20 mins. Blitz with a blender then add two big spoonfuls of crunchy peanut butter. Stir and simmer until the peanut butter is melted into the soup. Serve with a big dollop of natural yogurt on top, enjoy!

The peanut butter suggestion is brilliant. I'm definitely going to try a veggie variation of this.

My dad makes soup, his advice? Something to thicken and something to flavour.

To thicken...potato, butternut squash, lentils, chickpeas, parsnips, flour.

To flavour... cauliflower/ brocolli and cheese, curry spices, orange and chilli, any finely chopped veg, leftovers from stew/ roast.

Always add stock cube/gel pot/powder and feel free to add in any veg lurking in the fridge.

Thanks, remus, gonna try that black bean soup. Have a tin lurking at the back of the cupboard

Hope you like it, Grass. The trick is to cook it for AGES!

Jamie Oliver’s spicy parsnip soup is my favourite.
My partner loves it too but he slightly prefers BBC good food’s mushroom soup which is also delicious.