Pea and fennel soup

This is a lovely soup, with the sweetness of leeks and peas, the fragrance of fennel, and the savouriness of garlic. I just love the vivid green of this soup, it really brightens my day!

Quick and easy to make, and reasonably cheap when in season (fennel is really cheap at the moment!) this is a fantastic go-to soup for weekday meals. Serve with crusty bread for optimal eating pleasure ;) 

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
1/2 leek, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
750ml vegetable stock
500g frozen peas - fresh or frozen
1 bunch spinach, chopped.

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add fennel, leek and garlic, sauté until soft.
Add stock, peas, fennel, and spinach.
Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until all the veg is cooked.
Purée until soft and smooth. 

Serve and enjoy!
 

Lazy winter vegetable soup

I remember in my early 20's a friend of mine asking me "How do you make soup?" I remember staring at her with bemusement. How could anyone not know how to make soup? It's as easy as toasting bread - well, some soup is. I realised later that there are some techniques with cooking soup that you do need to know, even though most of them are fairly simple. Anyway, I guess she was never taught to cook at home, another thing I couldn't fathom. I remember making pikelets with my mum when I was very small - maybe 4 years old - and soups with my Babcia when I was maybe 8 years old. I grew up cooking, helping to cook, and trying to avoid having to cut up all the vegetables... I guess not everyone is lucky enough to have these experiences.

Anyway, I digress. I think this is the first soup I taught my friend to make. It is super easy, as all it requires is to prepare the vegetables and use a bought stock - a good quality one though, that relies on the flavour of the ingredients and not an over-abundance of salt. No blending, no roux, no cream to add and hope it doesn't split, just a simple basic vegetable soup. I think it is delicious though, and I make it a lot during winter. Obviously if you have the time and know-how to make your own stock that will make it even better. 

I cut my vegetables on the chunky side, but if you prefer them finely sliced that will work just as well.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots,sliced
1 parsnip,sliced
1 turnip, sliced
1 potato, diced
1 litre of stock

Method

Sauté onion in a little oil or butter until translucent.
Add in the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until all the vegetables are cooked. If soup is too thick, add water to increase the liquid.

Serve with crusty bread. 

Caraway seed soup

Caraway seed soup is a light and tasty dish. It is a simple dish, ideal for fast days, and a perfect starter for a banquet.

Ingredients 

• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1tbs flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups water or veggie stock

Method

• Heat the oil and toast the seeds until they release their aroma.
• Add the flour and let it brown a bit. 
• Add the paprika, and pour the water or stock over.
• Cook for 15 mins until it is silky
• Strain the seeds, and serve with crusty bread.

Pumpkin Soup

There is nothing like a warm bowl of pumpkin soup on a cold autumns evening. This is savoury and filling, and a perfect way to use up those many pumpkins my little garden grew!

serves 4

Ingredients

750g pumpkin
250g potato
2 onions chopped
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
1 litre water

Method

Saute onions, add in pumpkin and potato. Cover with stock and water, and boil until everything is soft.
Puree to soft consistency.
add in 1 tbs of cream and stir to combine.

Serve with crusty bread.

Chestnut and sage soup

As we start heading towards Autumn I start dreaming of soup... and this one is truly luxurious. It has a wonderful texture, and a warming nutty and sweet-savoury taste. It takes a bit of time and effort to roast an peel the chestnuts, but other than that this soup is a breeze.

Serves 2 for main, 4 for entree....

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil with a small knob of butter
1 onion finely chopped
6 chopped sage leaves
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 litre of stock - vegetable or chicken is best
500g roasted and peeled chestnuts.

optional: sour cream or creme fraiche to serve, plus a few extra sage leaves (if you take the time to fry them crispy, they make an awesome granish)

Method

Fry onions in the oil & butter until soft, sweet and translucent. Add in the garlic clove and stir for a minute.

Add in the sage leaves and chestnuts, and stock. Cook for 15 minutes or until the chestnuts are soft and mushy. season with salt and pepper to taste.

Puree the mixture until it is the consistency you desire.Serve with crusty bread, a dollop of sour cream, and enjoy.

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Home made chicken noodle soup

I always loved it when my dad made his chicken noodle soup. So light and filling and yummy. Now that I make it myself I love it for many reasons - because it reminds me of home, because it makes a bucketload of soup (very economical), because it is so easy to make, and because it is good for you! These days I tend to make the soup, and then use the poached chicken for salads or in other dishes. I have the veggies and broth with noodles.

One pot of soup makes many many dishes.

Home made chicken noodle soup

1 whole chicken
3 carrots sliced
2 parsnips sliced (we do lengthways quarters, just a family thing)

1 onion diced
1 garlic finely chopped
water to cover
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley (optional)

salt and pepper to taste
egg noodles for serving

Cook onion on a low heat until translucent in a big old soup/stock pot.  Pile all the other veggies in. Sit the whole chicken on top. Cover with water. Bring to boil and then lower the heat and simmer for about 50mins - 1 hr or until the chicken is falling off the bone. Adjust your seasoning of salt and pepper to taste. Remove chicken. Use a paper towel to skim any fat/froth from top of soup. You can then either shred the meat and return to the pot or use the poached chicken in other dishes.

Serve soup with freshly cooked egg vermicelli noodles.

Makes about 10-12 bowls of soup, freezes well (sans noodles), and lasts in the fridge for days.

Jerusalem artichoke soup

This is a really earthy, silky soup, that really hits the spot on a cold rainy day. This recipe makes 4 main serves, or 6-8 entrees.

Jerusalem artichoke soup

Ingredients
olive oil
1 onion sliced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 kg jerusalem artichokes, chopped
1 litre good quality vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste


Method
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent.
Add in the other ingredients and bring to boil.
Turn heat down and simmer until the artichokes are tender.
Blend/puree the soup until smooth.
Season to taste.

Serve with crusty bread, or a garnish of some fried mushrooms or bacon with finely chopped parsley or thyme.

Zupa Grzybowa (Mushroom Soup)

If you google the web for Zupa Grzybowa you'll find that there are probably as many recipes for this yummy soup as there are Polish cooks. Some start off by cooking a roux which will later thicken the soup. Others thicken at the end with a clever combo of sour-cream and flour. Some add barley. All would probably agree that the best mushrooms for that are those that are grown in Poland... but I really have no access to them fresh or dried, so I can't comment! The addition of dried porcini, however, does add a lovely depth of flavour to it. Perhaps one day I will be able to use Polish mushrooms - if so, I'll tell you what they are like. :)

I'm giving you my version which does not use a roux, and is usually not thickened at the end. It freezes well at that point. You can thicken it with sour cream and flour if you wish when re-heating - instructions will be given below. Or you can simply serve with some sour cream on the table for people to add to their liking.

You can very easily make this soup either vegetarian or vegan by using vegetable stock and omitting the sour cream

Zupa Grzybowa

500g mixed fresh mushrooms
100g dried porcini (or if you happen to be able to get dried Polish mushrooms give them a whirl!) - soak these for about an hour before use.
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 litres good quality vegetable or beef stock - use the fresh kind, not one made up from stock powder!
1 cup pearl barley (optional)

cook onions in olive oil until translucent. Add in fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and the water the mushroms were soaking in (run through a sieve to catch any grit). Stir through. Pour in the stock, add in 1 cup of rinsed pearl barley. Put a lid on it and cook at a medium-slow heat for about an hour. If using the pearl barley make sure you cook it long enough so it is soft - the hour usually suffices.


for thickening...
2tbs cornflour
2 cups of sour cream
mix the cornflour and sour cream together. Whisk in a wee bit of the hot soup to loosen it and bring it to the same temp as the soup (so it doesn't curdle when added). Pour into the soup, whisking until it comes to a boil.

Delicious served with toasted sourdough.

As the Polish say smacznego! or Bon apetit!

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup

Moroccan spiced pumpkin soup, with beer bread

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup

This is a really yummy soup - light and spicy and filling. Mmmmm.... yummm .... perfect for a cool winter evening. Mine turned out much oranger than the pic on the Taste.com.au site, but I have to say the flavour delivered!!

Recipe taken from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/9639/moroccan+pumpkin+soup#

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
• 1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red birdseye chilli, finely chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3cm piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1.5kg butternut or Queensland blue pumpkin, peeled, seeded (see note), cut into 3cm pieces
• 1/3 cup (70g) yellow split peas
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Coriander sprigs and soup sprinkles, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over low-medium heat and cook leek, garlic and 2 tsp salt, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add chilli, cinnamon, ginger and cumin and stir for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add carrots, pumpkin and split peas. Stir to coat in onion mixture.
2. Add 1.5 litres water to saucepan and bring to the boil, then simmer for 50 minutes or until split peas are soft.
3. Remove and discard cinnamon stick from soup. Add lemon juice then process or blend soup, in small batches, in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return soup to pan and reheat over medium heat. Serve topped with coriander sprigs and soup sprinkles.

Bean and vegetable soup

Well, seeing as I have had major problems with my neck and arm, I'm not baking at the moment. I'm hoping this resolves soon, because I'm already sick and tired of being sick and tired!!

It's autumn and the nights are cool here. It is perfect weather for soups and stews. This is one of my favourites! It's light but satisfyingly filling - and very easy and quick to make, which means it is an easy throw together meal at the end of a long day at work. Or in my case, an easy but yummy meal to make when I really don't feel well enough to cook anything complicated.

Bean and Vegetable Soup

3 cloves garlic diced
3 spring onions sliced fine (or 1 onion)
3 carrots sliced
3 stalks celery sliced
1 parsnip sliced
1 tin cannelli beans
1 litre of your favourite stock + extra water if needed.
1 tsp fresh thyme



Lightly fry the garlic and onions till translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and boil until veggies are tender - add in extra cup or so of water if it has reduced too much in the cooking.  Serve with crusty bread and butter. Leftovers taste even better the next day or can be frozen for later use.