Homemade soup...what's your secret ingredient?

[desperate4spring]

I'm on a mission towards zero food-waste in our house so am starting to explore the realm of homemade soup.
So far I'm planning to chuck leftover veg into a pan of water and boil until smushy. Then chuck in some other yummy ingredients (?) and blend...

Am I on the right lines? What other stuff do I put in to make it taste nice??

Decent chicken stock
Fresh ground pepper

But also the mix of veg does make a difference.

I tend to do either 'green soup' or 'orange soup' depending what's available.

My fave is a 'green soup', which varies depending on what's in the fridge drawer:
Must have onion or leek gently cooked in butter.
Then a mix of whatever I have from: watercress, spinach, broccoli, kohlrabi, cauliflower, anything from the green leafy brassica sort of family. Plus a peeled and chopped potato and some thyme from the garden.
Simmer in stock until done, blend, taste and season. Stir through some cream.

Carrot and lentil works well as a base for 'orange soup', can also add other root veg. Just onion done in butter, bit of garlic for flavour, add stock, veg and lentils, blend and season when done.

Sauté veg. Add garlic powder, herbs, onion powder, salt pepper. I use 2 stock cubes, a veg and chicken. Love pearl barley in a soup.

Fry a small amount of chorizo first.

Tobasco and fresh coriander are my favourite add tools at the moment.

Start with a base of onion or leek chopped and fried in olive oil with a couple of cloves of garlic. Add salt, pepper, a chopped potato, i use chicken stock cubes always for better flavour, then add your veg. I use any veg that is in the fridge and not mouldy. Enough stock to cover the veg then simmer for 20 minutes or so. Blend. Add cream cheese, or cream. Some things go better together than others. For example cabbage, with courgette, you can use white bean instead of potato to thicken. Sweet potato with carrot, flavour with nutmeg, ginger and paprika (add chorizo after blending for a kick).

You can make decent soup from left over veggies by chopping a couple rashers ( pref smoked) bacon add to finely chopped onion gently sweated until translucent. Put to one side. Heat left overs in stock and liquidise then add onion and bacon with a handful of red lentils and simmer until soft 15-20 mins.
I also use leftover chopped veggies as a pasta sauce by heating them with tin tomato and garlic.

If your veg is already cooked I'd suggest roasting or bubble-and-squeaking it. If you're going to make soup then don't cook it for too long, just make sure it gets hot through with stock and added herbs/spices etc.

Lentils. Makes soup an actual filling meal without bread and super healthy depending what else is in it

I do random leftover veg and it’s fine.

Me too. Last soup I made was cabbage, peas, carrots and a bit of mashed potato (all leftover from lunch the day before)
Veg stock and blend - it was lovely.

I use chicken stock (normally the little stock pots) for all flavours of soup

Always a chopped onion before adding the other ingredients. I generally use stock cubes rather than bothering to make homemade stock.

Think people are expecting people to have all these things the soup hamper service in my area you get leeks onion carrots and potato's 2 stock cubes and bread instructions are chop veg put in pot add stock cubes and fill to above veg with water simmer till soft I have tried it I few times and its been fine if you have nothing else

Chorizo, yes.. or smoked bacon... really good.
if you want totally veggie soup you need someting to replace the salt umami (sp?) flavour.. herbs , Parmesan, red miso all work well

For lentils, I add onions cumin turmeric , coriander , ginger garlic coconut, spinach lemon and .. always butter at the end...

or: carrots, tomatoes , roasted red pepper ( out of a jar is fine) harissa, garlic paprika , chilli to taste, dill or tarragon ...and again lemon and butter ,

Celery for me.
Hate it raw but it really elevates soup.
And stir in a bit of cream at the end.
And for heavens sake use fresh veg!

@Laska2Meryls

a Parmesan rind in a minestrone type soup works wonders ..

Definitely this - I chop the end off the used Parmesan rinds, cut them in half and freeze them. Chuck one in when the soup is simmering and remove before serving. Works in loads of soups and gives it a lovely unguent savouriness.

Also second Henderson's relish and bay leaves. I used fennel seeds and caraway seeds a lot as well

If you're about to blend a soup and want a creamy/ silky kind of texture a can of butter beans works wonders if you want to avoid additional dairy fats.

When making baked potatoes in the oven do a couple of extra and use in leek and potato soup, a handful of grated cheddar at the end after blending and its delicious (reminiscent of Walkers Cheese & Onion in the best possible way!).

Don't just boil your veg!! Sautée it thoroughly first till it's soft and yummy, then add stock (not water!) bring up to the boil for a bit and then blend.

For me proper stock or bone broth always makes it better rather thank passable

Butter, fried onions, herbs, bone broth, wine, cream stirred in at the end.

Home made stock. I freeze down the carcass after taking the meat off, then pressure cook 4 at a time for about half an hour, sometimes I also save the water we drain from veg cooking to use to make the stock or instead of plain water.
Otherwise, herbs, spices, coconut milk, tomato puree, depending on what I'm making. I also save hard bits of cheese for Minestrone , gives it a good depth of flavour, but I take it out before serving.
Roasted veg are good for soups, especially parsnips, carrots, and butternut squash.
I often stir in a teaspoon of creme fraiche into veg soup .
I make the odd mixed veg soup, but prefer a single veg or a pair of veg eg leek and potato, or pepper and tomato.

Can someone explain to me how to make bone broth? I’ve tried doing it with a chicken but just get a stinking, slimy mess.

Can someone explain to me how to make bone broth? I’ve tried doing it with a chicken but just get a stinking, slimy mess.

Do you mean just homemade chicken stock? Put chicken carcass in a big pot add a quartered onion, a couple of carrots, a stick of celery or two, some black peppercorns, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for a couple of hours. Strain.

Oh and unless you're a vegetarian, veg soup is improved by using chicken stock rather than veg stock!

Red lentils boiled in ham stock until mushy. Add diced carrots, swede and leek and more stock, and some salt and pepper. Simmer until soft then add ham hock and simmer for another 10 mins or so. Delish