Tasty soup recipes?

[tosca100]

With the glut of beans we have had lately, I made runner bean soup the other day. No specific amounts of ingredients, I just fried of an onion and some of my strong home grown garlic, added veg stock and beans and cooked for about ten minutes, seasoned and blitzed.

It was OK but I would adjust it a bit as it was too sweet and I didn't want to add too much salt. I will try adding a little curry powder when the onion has softened and see if that helps. You could add some lentils for more body (added with the stock and cooked till tender before adding beans), or some bacon for meat eaters. I put a dollop of sour cream and fresh chives on in the bowl. I will certainly try it again, I have a load of climbing French beans waiting to be picked, and have frozen runners and French beans which I don't like as a frozen veg.

[fabindia]

Roast Mediterranean Vegetable soup

I like the sound of that; will give it a try.

We eat loads vegetables, probably because I am vegetarian and I think you cannot go wrong with a hearty vegetable soup. You can throw just about anything in and usually it turns out fine. Different each time I grant you but that is the joy of home cooking. I have eaten a canned soup in years but I bet Heinz tomato soup is still exactly the same.

Here is a soup (possibly you might call it a dall) that we have as part of 'calorie' reduction days (still doing the5:2)

Ingredients
½ tsp vegetable oil (20 cals)
80g red onion, thinly sliced (28 cals)
¼ tsp turmeric powder (0 cals)
½ tsp black mustard seeds (optional) (0 cals)
½ tsp ground cumin seeds (0 cals)
a pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional) (0 cals)
1 clove garlic, chopped (5 cals)
500g tomatoes, chopped (105 cals)
20g red lentils (72 cals)
3 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped (1 cal)
1 tbsp Greek yogurt (17 cals)
Total: 248 cals

Instructions
• Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and cook until soft and lightly browned.
• Stir in the turmeric, cumin, mustard seed and chilli flakes (if you are using them) and cook gently for another minute.
• Add the garlic, tomatoes and lentils. Stir in 500ml water and a fat pinch of salt. Simmer for about half an hour, topping up with water if necessary, until the lentils are swollen and collapsing.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning. Mix the yogurt with 1-2 tbsp water to make a pouring consistency. Eat the soup scattered with coriander and drizzled with yogurt.

[LisaB]

I know I was looking for a chunky soup, but has anyone got a really, really simple blended soup?

I'm so ill right now, full of cold, all my joints hurt and my throat is so sore
I need something easy to make that I dont have to chew

[mrs boodles]

Sorry to hear you are feeling horrible, there seem to be a lot of `bugs' going round at moment.Leek and Potato soup is easy to do and blends well.
Recipe.(serves 6 but can have it easily)
50g butter
1tablespoon oil (I don`t use this)
6 leeks,sliced
4 medium potatoes
1.2 litres chicken stock (you could easiy use veg stock)
salt and pepper
170mls single cream ( I don`t use this either as it`s just as nice without)

Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan, add the leeks and fry for about 10 minutes or until softened.
Add the stock potatoes sat and pepper, cover and simmer for about 30mins: or until veg tender.
Cool sighty then blend in liquidiser or stick blender.

[LisaB]

Ooo thank you Mrs Boodles, I do love potato and leek soup, but never had it blended. We have all the ingredients in too, Perfect!

Thank you

[starjump]

My mum was given this recipe by an Armenian lady, so we call it Armenian soup!

Soften large chopped onion and one large carrot in a little oil. Add half a teaspoon of cumin and stir. Add a couple of handfuls of split red lentils and about 10 dried chopped apricots. Add vegetable stock and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Cook for about half an hour, or until carrot is very soft, then blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning (might need a bit of salt, depends on how salty the stiock is), serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped parsley.

You say your soups are bland - just wondered what sort of stock you use? I use a marigold low-salt one but not sure if it is vegan?

Hope you are feeling better.

[LisaB]

Oh that sounds lovely! I will have to give it a try one day

I've used loads of different types of stock, my mum says my taste buds are just broken as I find curries are bland when she finds them really hot and full of flavour! I've also been able to eat lemons on their own with no problems since I was young. - I'm starting to think it's just me that's the problem, not the food.

I did just make a spicy carrot soup though I found on the internet, I was very pleasantly surprised! Was sweet and spicy, really lovely.

[Babycakes]

I made very simple mushroom soup a few days ago - I softened half a finely chopped onion in a little olive oil, added a punnet of sainsberrys value mushrooms, a pint of veg stock, salt n pepper and a sprinkle of mixed herbs. Simmer for 20 mins them whizzed in the blender with a dollop od natural yoghurt (don't now what a vegan could use instead to get the creamyness?) then thickened it with a bit of dried mashed potato flake things - you know, like Smash only I use the cheap own brand one. Turned out real nice - even my picky other half ate it

Then I did sweet potato, pepper and chili soup. Roughly chop an onion, a couple of peppers, a couple of sweet potato, a bag of tomatoes (take the seeds out) spray with olive oil, sprinkle with ground chili flakes and mixed herbs. Roast in the oven til soft, then whizz in blender with 1 pint stock. I'm doing this one again tonight, but have also added a little fresh ginger - cant wait to try it!

[HedgeHugger]

When I make soup I tend to make enough to freeze as well, so we get 3 'goes' out of a panfull.

I make an onion and chilli soup, using lazy type chilli(pre squished in a jar), we get ours from HomeBargains, very hot!
Fry 6 - 8 chopped/sliced onions in oil or butter or a bit of both in a large pan until soft.
Add 1tsp of chilli or 2 if you like it very hot. A tsp of lazy garlic or a couple of crushed cloves. 1 and a half litres of stock. I use passata (super cheap from Liddle), oxo cubes and water to make my 1.5L up. I will also bung in any odd tomatoes lying around. Boil 'til it's done :)
I blend mine, while cooking.

[saint-spoon]

I have just made a cheap, tasty and nutritious soup which used to be one of my favourites but I haven’t had it for years. Spanish onion soup.
Get a large Spanish onion, it is important that you don’t use normal brown onions because the big ones are milder and sweeter. Chop it up and plonk it into a large saucepan with a splash of olive oil. Sweat it down for five minutes over a low heat with the lid on, give it a stir once in a while. Don’t allow the onion to take on any colour. You can add a clove of garlic or two if you like.
After five minutes add a pint and a half of hot stock, I used a soup base I got from the Chinese supermarket but chicken or vegetable stock from a cube works just as well. Simmer for twenty minutes or so until the onion is cooked. Blitz and stir through a half pint of milk. It is creamy, sweet and delicious.
Three ingredients and three stages, simple and delicious with crusty bread.

[LisaB]

Thought I should add my own that I've found, tweeked and now make every week.

Spicy Carrot Soup

1. Fry 2 small onions for 5 minutes.
2. Add crushed clove of garlic for 2 minutes.
3. Add 1kg of sliced carrots, 1ltr of veg stock, 1 tbsp curry powder. Season with black pepper and dried parsley.
4. Leave to cook for 20-30 minutes.
5. Blend everything up to a nice smooth soup.


I've also tried it with carrot and celery, and carrot and parsnip, both work great!
My favourite soup by far.

[lancashire lass]

I thought I'd just check that I hadn't already posted the recipe elsewhere on DTL and came across this topic of tasty soup recipes which was posted some 11 years ago. Just had a look of previous posts and thought it worthwhile adding to it for others to see the earlier recipes.

Meanwhile, this next recipe is loosely based on what my mother used to cook and was a family favourite. Her method involved slow cooking in a big pan on the stove for several hours (or shortening the cooking time using a pressure cooker), adding vegetables at different stages ... the whole house used to smell divine and we would always be asking if it was ready yet. However, today's cuisine is usually about shorter cooking and vegetables that still retain texture (and all the vitamins) whereas this recipe makes for a "mushy" soup which may lack some nutritional value but is packed with lots more flavour in my opinion. I should mention that when I was growing up, I was rather fussy about vegetables (especially cabbage and Brussel sprouts) but when it was all cooked this way, it had a whole different taste which was more palatable and probably one way my mother made sure I ate a wider range of vegetables) I made it yesterday and it took me back to my childhood:

THICK VEGETABLE SOUP - using winter vegetables (selecting and using quantities appropriate for what you like and how much you want to make. Leftovers reheated the next day taste even better so worth making more than 1 meals worth) with dumplings.

First, BARLEY (or dried soup mix, or add just the lentils and dried peas to the barley if you want) - this needs to be cooked for a long time (at least an hour) so that they are soft / break down in the soup as well as impart flavour. I decided to wash the dried barley and then into the pan before pouring boiling water over then the lid on earlier in the day and just left it to cool down. By the time I started cooking later on, the barley had taken up the water so reduced cooking time which meant I could add the vegetables to the pan straight away.

Choice of VEGETABLES - typically root veggies such as onion, carrots, swede as well as celery, but you can also add leeks if you want. Brussel sprouts and finally savoy cabbage (you can use other cabbage but personally I think savoy works better) is added when the root vegetables have cooked and softened. I add frozen peas right at the end of cooking (not really necessary if you have used dried peas earlier)

HERBS - my mother used to add bouquet garni but using dried mixed herbs are just as tasty. I also added a vegetable stock cube so didn't need salt but don't forget to add pepper to taste.

MEAT - you could cook this soup as a vegetarian option as it is quite tasty on its own but my mother's recipe called for a cheap cut of meat, typically shin beef. This is one of the reasons why the cooking took all day for the meat to break down and add flavour. My cheat recipe - a can of stewed steak in gravy means it can be added at the end of cooking rather than at the beginning.

So now the METHOD:

1. Rinse off the water from the soaked barley. Add enough boiling water (from the kettle as it is quicker than heating on the hob) which will also cover the vegetables when ready to add later on, and when it comes back up to a rolling boil, pan lid on and simmer. If using a cheap cut of meat (diced) which requires long cooking, this is the stage it should have gone in but my cheat canned stewed steak is left to the end.

2. Meanwhile, start chopping the root vegetables and celery. Add to the pan and at the same time, crush a stock cube and stir in before bringing back up to boil before turning down to simmer. Add salt to taste if needed and pepper. At this stage I have also added the Brussel sprouts (I think they taste nice and add flavour to the soup when mushy but it's up to you how you like your sprouts cooked)

3. When the root vegetables have cooked, add the sliced cabbage and again, bring up to the boil and then leave to simmer. The "thick" in the title is the sheer amount of vegetables in the pan compared to water content after cooking - jokingly, supposedly when you can stand a spoon up on its own. In my case, when the cabbage and Brussel sprouts have been cooked to the mushy stage (I can almost hear the sounds of disapproval but there is more flavour this way than at the usual "just cooked" stage)

4. Add the frozen peas and the can of stewed steak.

5. While bringing the pan back up to the boil, make the dumpling mix (2 parts self raising flour to 1 part suet, a bit of sodium bicarbonate for extra fluffy dumplings, a pinch of mixed herbs (optional) crushed between fingers and some salt & pepper. Mix the dry ingredients then add just enough cold water for a soft dough mix but not too wet) When the soup is boiling, spoon in portion size dumpling mix on top (remember these will expand to about 3x the size from the mix when cooked) and put the lid on straight away. Leave to boil for a few seconds so that there is steam trapped under the lid then turn down the heat. After about 10 minutes, check the dumplings have cooked.

6. You can serve right away as is, but I took the dumplings out and added a little (for a little extra "meatier" flavour rather than for thickening so really not much) gravy granules to the soup, stirred and brought to the boil. If I'd used a beef stock cube instead of the vegetable, I could have omitted the gravy granules but I didn't have any yesterday. Serve with the dumplings.

If you don't like dumplings (who doesn't like dumplings?) you can serve the soup with thick slices of bread (with or without butter) for dunking / break up into the soup instead.

RESURRECTIONS (aka Leftovers) always taste better the next day. You simply reheat on the hob and (if you don't have enough for a meal on its own) pour over chips / roast potatoes.

[Spreckly]

When my husband was alive, I made extra mashed potato for our evening meal, and used it the following lunchtime to add to whatever veg we had in, well seasoned.

[Trev62]

RESURRECTIONS (aka Leftovers) always taste better the next day.

I have always found that a good curry or chili tastes better the day after it has been made. No idea why!

[lancashire lass]

I have always found that a good curry or chili tastes better the day after it has been made. No idea why!

It's do with the volatile oils in the spices, ageing and our senses of taste and smell. Volatile oils are made up of molecules of different sizes - large molecules are less viscous than smaller ones. So when we taste (or smell e.g. perfume), our senses detect the lighter molecules first. Meanwhile, the heavier molecules blend with the oils and fats in the food and when reheated, give food a different flavour.