For my lovely father, Michael, who would eat soup every day if he could!

Copyright

An Hachette UK Company

www.hachette.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2009 by Hamlyn,

a division of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd

Endeavour House, 189 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JY

www.octopusbooks.co.uk

This eBook first published in 2010

by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.

Copyright © Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2009

Some of the recipes in this book have previously appeared in other books published by Hamlyn.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 9780600623007

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

This eBook produced by Textech

Both metric and imperial measurements have been given in all recipes. Use one set of measurements only, not a mixture of both.

Standard level spoon measurements are used in all recipes

1 tablespoon = one 15 ml spoon

1 teaspoon = one 5 ml spoon

Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperature – if using a fan assisted oven, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for adjusting the time and the temperature.

Fresh herbs should be used unless otherwise stated.

Medium eggs should be used unless otherwise stated. The Department of Health advises that eggs should not be consumed raw. This book contains some dishes made with raw and lightly cooked eggs. It is prudent for vulnerable people such as pregnant and nursing mothers, invalids, the elderly, babies and young children to avoid uncooked or lightly cooked dishes made with eggs. Once prepared, these dishes should be kept refrigerated and used promptly.

This book also includes dishes made with nuts and nut derivatives. It is advisable for those with known allergic reactions to nuts and nut derivatives and those who may be potentially vulnerable to these allergies, such as pregnant and nursing mothers, invalids, the elderly, babies and children to avoid dishes made with nuts and nut oils. It is also prudent to check the labels of pre-prepared ingredients for the possible inclusion of nut derivatives.

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introduction

introduction

As we become ever more conscious of the benefits of eating freshly made healthy food, and the financial and environmental consequences of the huge amounts of food that we waste, there could not be a better time to return to making soups just as our mothers and grandmothers did. A homemade soup not only tastes great, but also makes a few ingredients seem like a whole lot more. They can be made at a fraction of the price of a carton of chilled soup from the supermarket and from a huge variety of ingredients. And they are surprisingly quick and easy to make. Once everything is in the saucepan they can be left to simmer while you get on with something else, requiring just 10 minutes or so at the end to finish off.

In the following pages you will find soups to appeal to all tastes, occasions and seasons, from speedy soups that can be put together quickly after a busy day at work, to slow-cooked, hearty winter warmers, perfect for a Saturday lunch. There are elegant soups with dainty garnishes to impress dinner guests and refreshing chilled soups for the hot days of summer. The range of recipes and ingredients is vast and sometimes surprising: there are traditional meat and vegetable broths; oriental hot and sour soups; creamy smooth vegetable soups; chunky fish chowders; classics such as French onion soup; and recipes gathered from world cuisines, such as comforting chicken soup with lockshen, Indian-inspired mulligatawny and the vibrantly coloured Russian borshch.

Soups are the perfect comfort food: healthy, packed with vegetables and, depending on the soup you choose, usually low in fat. Tucking into a bowl of steaming hot soup on a cold, dull day is like turning on the central heating from the inside and guarantees to banish the winter blues.

types of soup

Broths These chunky, clear soups are really a complete meal in a bowl and can be thickened with rice, potatoes or pulses and mixed with lots of diced or shredded vegetables. They can be made even more substantial with the addition of tiny dumplings or pasta towards the end of cooking.

Chowders These chunky soups originated in America and contain lightly fried onions and diced potatoes simmered gently with smoked or white fish, or a mixture of flat fish and shellfish in fish stock, then finished with milk or milk and cream.

Purées Probably the most popular, these soups can be made with a huge variety of ingredients gently simmered with stock then blended in a liquidizer or food processor at the end of cooking for a smooth, silky texture.

Bisques These rich soups are always made with fish and puréed at the end of cooking, then generally mixed with cream or a mix of milk and cream.

Veloutés These smooth soups are thickened with a mixture of egg yolks and cream to enrich the soup at the end of the cooking time. To prevent the eggs from curdling, a ladleful of hot soup is mixed with the eggs and cream before adding to the main pot of soup. It is crucial that these soups are then heated gently and not boiled, just as you would when making a sweet custard, stirring continuously, so that the eggs thicken the soup rather than scramble.

Potages A French term used to describe unstrained soups either poured over bread or topped with a bread croûte. They can also contain rice or pasta.

Consommés Ultra clear soups that are rather out of vogue now. They are made with a concentrated beef stock that is then filtered through a jelly bag with egg shells and egg white to remove any scum.

homemade stock

The best soups are those made with homemade stocks. Traditionally this was made from the bones of the Sunday roast and flavoured with a few vegetable trimmings and herbs, as a way of making use of every part of a joint and using those scraps of leftover meat to make a hearty and filling meal. In today’s age of recycling, it still makes excellent sense to use that scrappy-looking chicken carcass as the base for a delicious lunch or supper. And don’t chuck out those refrigerator and vegetable-basket oddments, either: that slightly wrinkled carrot; those last few slightly bendy celery sticks; the stalks from that bunch of parsley or coriander can all be put into the stock. Add the odd bay leaf from the garden or the green leek or spring onion tops that are rather strong tasting and a sprinkling of peppercorns for extra flavour. The more you add the better it will be.

The secret is to add all the ingredients and then to bring the stock just to the boil, reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer so that the water barely shudders, then cook with the lid half on, half off the pan for 2 hours, or longer if you have the time. Keep the heat very low, as if it is too high you will produce a thick, muddy-looking stock.

At the end of the cooking time, taste the stock. If it seems a little thin, remove the lid and simmer for another hour or two to reduce the liquid and concentrate the flavours. Strain and leave to cool. Skim any fat off the surface of meat stocks and refrigerate the stock until needed for up to 3 days.

Alternatively, you can freeze the stock in a plastic box or loaf tin lined with a large plastic bag for use later. Seal, label and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature, or in the microwave if preferred, minus the bag tie if used.

chicken stock

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 2–2½ hours

Makes about 1 litre (1¾ pints)

1 leftover cooked chicken carcass

1 onion, quartered

2 carrots, thickly sliced

2 celery sticks, thickly sliced

1 bay leaf or small bunch of mixed herbs

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon roughly crushed black peppercorns

2.5 litres (4 pints) cold water

Put the chicken carcass and vegetables into a large saucepan. Add the herbs, salt and peppercorns.

Pour over the water and bring slowly just to the boil. Skim off any scum with a slotted spoon. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, then half cover with a lid and cook for 2–2½ hours until reduced by about half.

Strain the stock through a large sieve into a jug. Remove any chicken pieces still on the carcass, pick out the meat pieces from the sieve and reserve for the soup, but discard the vegetables. Chill the stock for several hours or overnight.

Skim off the thin layer of fat on the top of the chilled and now jellied stock with a dessertspoon. Chill and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

A duck, pheasant, or guinea fowl carcass or a ham knuckle can also be made into stock in just the same way. If you have a turkey carcass then double up the vegetable and water quantities specified above.

If you have a chicken carcass but don’t have time to make it into stock straightaway, you can freeze it for up to 3 months closely wrapped in clingfilm, then packed into a plastic bag. Defrost it at room temperature then make into stock as above.

beef stock

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 4 hours 20 minutes–5 hours 20 minutes

Makes about 1 litre (1¾ pints)

2 kg (4 lb) beef bones, such as ribs or shin

2 smoked streaky bacon rashers, diced

2 onions, quartered but with the inner brown layer still on

2 carrots, thickly sliced

2 celery sticks, thickly sliced

1 turnip, diced (optional)

2 bay leaves, rosemary sprigs or sage stems

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon roughly crushed black peppercorns

3.6 litres (6 pints) cold water

Put the bones and bacon into a large saucepan and heat gently for 10 minutes until the marrow begins to run from the centre of the bones. Turn the bones occasionally.

Add the vegetables and fry for 10 more minutes, stirring the vegetables and turning the bones until browned.

Add the herbs, salt and peppercorns then pour in the water and bring slowly to the boil. Skim off any scum with a slotted spoon, then reduce the heat, half cover with a lid and simmer gently for 4–5 hours until the liquid has reduced by half.

Strain through a large sieve into a jug. Cool then chill in the refrigerator overnight. Skim off any fat and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

If you’re not in the habit of roasting large beef joints on the bone, you can obtain the beef bones from your local butcher; he may even give them to you for free. Use the bones raw when preparing your stock. Lamb stock can be made in the same way from cooked or uncooked lamb bones.

fish stock

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 45 minutes

Makes about 1 litre (1¾ pints)

1 kg (2 lb) fish trimmings, such as heads, backbones, tails, skins and prawn shells

1 onion, quartered

2 leek tops, sliced

2 carrots, thickly sliced

2 celery sticks, thickly sliced thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf few parsley stalks

½ teaspoon roughly crushed white peppercorns

¼ teaspoon salt

1.5 litres (2½ pints) cold water

300 ml (½ pint) dry white wine or extra water

Put the fish trimmings in a large sieve, rinse with cold water, drain and then put them into a large saucepan with all the remaining ingredients.

Bring slowly to the boil. Skim off any scum with a slotted spoon. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Strain the stock through a fine sieve, return it to the saucepan and then simmer it, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until reduced by half. Cool then chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

If you are adding fish heads, don’t cook them for longer than 30 minutes before straining, or they will begin to add a bitter taste.

vegetable stock

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 1 hour 5 minutes

Makes about 1 litre (1¾ pints)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 onions, roughly chopped

2 leek tops, roughly chopped

4 carrots, roughly chopped

2 celery sticks, thickly sliced

100 g (3½ oz) cup mushrooms, sliced

4 tomatoes, roughly chopped small bunch of mixed herbs

½ teaspoon roughly crushed black peppercorns

¼ teaspoon salt

1.8 litres (3 pints) cold water

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the vegetables and fry for 5 minutes until softened and just beginning to turn golden around the edges.

Add the tomatoes, herbs, peppercorns and salt. Pour in the water, slowly bring to the boil, then half cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.

Pour through a sieve into a jug. Cool then chill for up to 3 days.

If you have some opened white wine or dry cider then you can add 150 ml (¼ pint) wine in place of the same amount of water.

Mix and match vegetables depending on what you have. Chopped fennel or peeled and diced celeriac give a flavourful addition. Half a red or orange pepper and a few dried mushrooms are also ideal.

stock cubes & ready-made stock

In our grandmothers’ day, it would have been unheard of to make soup with a stock cube; nowadays, juggling work with family life means that time-saving short-cuts are a must. Very few people make enough stock for all their cooking needs and while it is great to have a few handy-sized bags of stock in the freezer, most of us cheat and use shop-bought products.

While there is nothing wrong with using stock cubes there are some soups for which homemade stock is crucial, such as the light, delicate-tasting Chilled Lettuce Soup (see page 74), Vichysoisse-style soups (see page 64) or clear consommé style broths such as Italian Tortellini in Brodo (see page 208) or Chicken Soup with Lockshen (see page 214). The strength of flavour varies hugely in shop-bought stock cubes, so choose cubes or powder that are low in salt and make them up with a little extra water so that their flavour is not overpowering.

More and more supermarkets now sell tubs of chilled ready-made stocks and for a special-occasion soup such as Crab Bisque (see page 132) or French Onion Soup (see page 226) they give a much more authentic taste. They are more expensive, but much closer to the taste of homemade stock.

get ahead

Soups make such a warming, satisfying lunch that it is well worthwhile to freeze portions away in individual plastic boxes or plastic bags for occasions when you don’t have time to cook from scratch. So, rather than always having a sandwich at work, why not take a frozen pack of soup with you so that it defrosts while you work, then give it a quick blast in the microwave at lunchtime.

If you don’t have many plastic boxes, line a rectangular loaf tin with a freezer bag, fill with soup then seal, squeezing out as much air as possible. Freeze until solid then remove the bag from the tin, rinsing with cold water to loosen the bag from the tin if needed. The frozen block then makes for an easy stacking shape in your freezer. Just remember to label and date it, so that you will know what it is when you come to defrost it. There is nothing more frustrating than defrosting an item expecting it to be savoury, only to find it is fruit purée or something else sweet instead.

reheating

Only ever reheat foods once. If your family is planning to tuck into a batch of soup at different times, then ladle the amount required at any one time into a smaller saucepan or microwaveable bowl and then reheat thoroughly, leaving the remaining soup in the refrigerator until needed. Don’t add extra liquid until the soup is heated through, as many will thin again once hot. Keep a watchful eye on the heat if eggs and cream were used in the recipe; the soup needs to be thoroughly reheated but not boiled rapidly, or the eggs will curdle. Stir frequently so that the soup heats up evenly.

finishing touches

A swirl of cream – this always looks special, yet what could be simpler than to drizzle a tablespoon or two of double cream or natural yogurt over a bowlful of puréed soup? Alternatively you can drop small spoonfuls of cream into the soup and then run a cocktail stick through them for a teardrop effect, or add a spoonful of thick Greek yogurt or crème fraîche into the centre of the soup and then sprinkle it with a few snipped herbs.

Herb garnishes – a few finely chopped fresh herbs can be all that is needed to liven up a pale puréed soup, such as fennel vichyssoise. For a crispy herb topping, shallow fry a handful of sage, basil or parsley leaves for a few seconds. For a topping with punch try a sprinkling of gremolata – a mix of chopped parsley, lemon rind and chopped garlic – or salsa verde – a mix of chopped herbs, anchovies, garlic and olive oil. You could make up some herb-infused oil, store in a bottle and drizzle over the soup at the last minute. Or you can cheat and add a small spoonful of ready-made pesto.

Citrus curls – tiny lemon, lime or orange curls can be sprinkled over the top of the soup for a delicate zing. Use a zester, or the finest section on a grater.

Spicy sprinkles – try a little freshly grated nutmeg, a few roughly crushed peppercorns, a few crushed, dried chillies for extra heat or a little paprika or turmeric for added colour.

Flavoured butters and oil – mix a little butter with chopped blue cheese, anchovies and chilli, garlic, lemon rind or freshly chopped herbs. Shape into a log, chill, slice and then add a slice to the hot soup just before serving. Alternatively make up some mayonnaise-based sauces and flavour with garlic to make aïoli, chilli for rouille, or lemon rind and juice for a citrus burst.

Ice cubes – for chilled soups, add a few whole or roughly crushed ice cubes for added texture and impact.

Croûtons – fry diced or sliced bread (half– one slice per serving of soup) in a mixture of butter and sunflower oil or just olive oil until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and then float on bowls of soup just before serving. Croûtons can also be flavoured with garlic or spices. For French bread or ciabatta, rub the fried bread with a cut clove of garlic or spread with a little olive tapenade, pesto or crumbled blue cheese. For a lower-fat option, bake croûtons sprayed with a little olive oil in the oven until crisp.