Ultimate Vegetable Soup

With both Gary and I both having been struck down somewhat in the prime of life recently (90's F.R.I.E.N.D.S reference there) this weekend was all about the sofa, the duvet, and great big bowlfuls of this soup, whilst we tried to nurse ourselves back to health. This is the way my Mum used to make soup, packed full of veggies, thick enough to stand your spoon up in, and seasoned to perfection. It is my ultimate vegetable soup, easy to make, and with nothing but goodness in every spoonful. The recipe is loose, feel free to substitute some of the vegetables to suit, or use vegetable stock instead of chicken. To paraphrase Captain Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean films...

Ingredients 

(makes enough for approx 6 portions)

2 litres Chicken Stock

2 small onions

3 cloves garlic

5 sprigs fresh rosemary

4 medium potatoes

1/2 butternut squash

1/2 medium swede

3 carrots

1 small broccoli head

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Peel and roughly chop all the vegetables...

Place in a large pan with the chicken stock, and simmer for around 1 hour, until all the vegetables are soft...

Using a handheld blender, whizz the vegetables until smooth (make sure there are no chunks of veg hiding at the bottom...

Season with plenty of salt and pepper to taste - don't be stingy with the seasoning. Then serve in big bowls, with plenty of bread and butter for dunking. Perfect!

As a healthy, inexpensive, and definitely tasty meal, I am linking this into this month's Feel Good Food...

Minced Beef Pie: A Real Kick at the Pantry Door!

Looking out of the window today, it's hard to believe that only 48 hours ago, there was snow on the ground. The weather the last few weeks has been somewhat unpredictable, from snow to rain to clear skies and back again - I don't think I remember a time when snowstorm follows snowstorm in the way it has this year. Anyway, on one such evening last week, when the snow was coming down, and Gary and I were trying to come to some compromise over who would brave the weather to get to the supermarket, desperation to keep warm led me to the freezer to see whether there was anything that could be salvaged to form a meal. 

I came up with this Minced Beef and Vegetable Pie, which we had with some leftover oven chips and onion rings. I was very pleasantly surprised by the taste and how well the whole pie held together, so thought I would share it with you all!

Minced Beef Pie

These are the ingredients I used, this made one large pie, plus two smaller pies which Gary had for lunch over the following days. It is really a case of using up what is available, so feel free to add or omit ingredients from the beef mixture as necessary...

For the shortcrust pastry

• 250g plain flour
• 125g butter
• pinch of salt
• 100ml ice cold water
• 1 egg, beaten 

For the Minced Beef filling

• 1 tsp sunflower oil
• 500g lean minced beef
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 Knorr Beef stock cube
• 2 serving packets Bird's Eye frozen mixed vegetables (mixed peas, carrots and brocolli) 
• 1 tin Broad Beans, drained
• 100ml beef gravy made from instant gravy mix

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease a pie dish.

To make the pastry, sift the flour into a large bowl, and mix in the salt. Cube the butter and rub into the flour to produce a fine crumb like texture. Add the water a tbsp at a time. I have quite warm hands, so use a fork for this stage to stir the water through the mixture, and add a small amount at a time until the pastry starts to ball up. I usually do not have to use the full amount of the water. Once the pastry starts to ball, use your hands to gather the mixture together and shape the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refridgerate for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the oil, and then add the minced beef to brown the meat. Add the herbs and stock cube and stir well. Once the meat is fully cooked, reduce the heat, and add the vegetables straight from the freezer, and the broad beans. Stir well. Finally, once the vegetables have warmed through, make up the instant gravy, and add to the pan. Place a lid over the pan and simmer on a low heat whilst you blind bake the pastry.

Split the dough into two halves, wrap one half in clingfilm and place back in the fridge. Roll out the pastry to around 5mm thick, and transfer to the pie dish. Press the pastry into the corners and ridges of the dish, and then trim off any excess. Cover the pastry with a sheet of foil, and place in the oven for 15 minutes to blind bake - so we can avoid any soggy bottoms! After 15 minutes, remove the foil, and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to crisp up.

Remove the pastry from the oven, and spoon in the minced beef mixture. Roll out the remaining pastry to make the lid. Using a pastry brush, brush some of the beaten egg around the edges of the pie bottom. Transfer the pastry for the lid over the top of the dish, and press the edges onto the edges brushed with egg to make a join. Trim of any excess, and make a small slit in the centre to allow any steam to escape. 

Brush the top of the pastry with the beaten egg, and place in the oven for a further 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown. 

Serve, and enjoy! 

Minced Beef Pie and Chips

I am entering this recipe into Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Camilla at Fab Food 4 All, and Helen at No Fuss Flavours, as it was made entirely from leftover ingredients found in my cupboard and freezer, and can be adapted to suit anything that needs using up. 

Mary Berry's Bakewell Tart - Great Comic Relief Bake Off Challenge No. 2

Earlier this week I blogged my intention to work through the technical challenges from the Great Comic Relief Bake Off, and shared the results of my first attempt at Chocolate Eclairs - post here

Today's challenge comes from Episode Two, and it is a great British classic - the Bakewell Tart. This challenge uses Mary Berry's recipe - found on the BBC Food website here. I'm not tackling these in the order of episodes particularly, in fact my only rule is to follow the recipe to the letter - a personal challenge for me as I have a natural urge to meddle with things! As we have spent the weekend visiting the in-laws, I decided to make a Bakewell Tart to take with us, as I apparently am unable to stop myself from arriving on people's doorsteps with hampers of baked goods, like some wannabe Bree van der Kamp (of Desperate Housewife fame), not that anyone has complained to date!

The Bakewell Tart was particularly important for me to get right, as I grew up twenty minutes down the road from Bakewell, and spent a huge portion of my childhood there playing in the park, feeding the ducks by the river, and sampling the local delicacy. I really felt I had to do this one justice for the 9 year old me.

I found this recipe really easy to follow, and everything came together really nicely. The only issue I encountered was that my flan dish is slightly larger than the 8 inches specified in the recipe, and because of that I had a little excess pastry case as the filling didn't come as far up the dish as it should have. But I'm being overly critical at that, the tart tasted delicious! I wouldn't change a thing about this recipe, and it's definitely going to become a firm favourite in our house!

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THE RECIPE (taken from BBC Food)

For the shortcrust pastry

• 175g/6oz plain flour
• 75g/2½oz chilled butter
• 2-3 tbsp cold water

For the filling

• 1 tbsp raspberry jam
• 125g/4½oz butter
• 125g/4½oz caster sugar
• 125g/4½oz ground almonds
• 1 free-range egg, beaten
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 50g/1¾oz flaked almonds

For the icing

• 80g/2¾oz icing sugar
• 2½ tsp cold water

Preparation method

1. To make the pastry, measure the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the water, mixing to form a soft dough.
   
   
   Watch technique0:46 mins
2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and use to line a 20cm/8in flan tin. Leave in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   Watch technique0:32 mins
3. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 (180C fan).
   
   
4. Line the pastry case with foil and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for about 15 minutes, then remove the beans and foil and cook for a further five minutes to dry out the base.
   
   
   Watch technique1:23 mins
5. For the filing, spread the base of the flan generously with raspberry jam.
   
   

   

   
   
   
6. Melt the butter in a pan, take off the heat and then stir in the sugar. Add ground almonds, egg and almond extract. Pour into the flan tin and sprinkle over the flaked almonds.
   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   
7. Bake for about 35 minutes. If the almonds seem to be browning too quickly, cover the tart loosely with foil to prevent them burning.
   
   

   

   
   
8. Meanwhile, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in cold water and transfer to a piping bag.
   
   
9. Once you have removed the tart from the oven, pipe the icing over the top, giving an informal zig zag effect.
   
   

   

I am entering this bake into this month's Tea Time Treats, hosted by Lavender and Lovage and What Kate Baked, and run this month by Kate. The theme is 'Puddings' and I can't think of a better entry than this classic!

When Two Become One: Cheesecake Topped Chocolate Brownies

This tray bake combines two of my favourite desserts, and I love that someone looked at a chocolate brownie, and decided that the best thing to do with it would be to cover it in another dessert. 

I have been wanting to test out this for a little while now, and as I have a party to cater for next week, I thought if I could master them they would make a great addition to the finger buffet. I have seen quite a few American recipes for Cheesecake Topped Brownies, however this time I have amalgamated my favourite brownie recipe, and added a simple baked cheesecake topping.

So, the ingredients needed are as follows;

For the Brownies

• 115g Dark Chocolate, broken into pieces
• 115g Butter
• 300g Golden Caster Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Pinch of Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 140g Plain Flour
• 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

For the Cheesecake Topping

• 200g Cream Cheese
• 75g Golden Caster Sugar
• 2 Egg Yolks

Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment and grease.

Start by melting the chocolate and butter together over hot water, stir through until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla extract and salt, and combine.

Beat the two eggs into the mixture.

Sift the flour and cocoa into a large mixing bowl.

Add the chocolate mixture to the flour, and fold through until well combined.

Keep a couple of large spoonfuls of the mixture aside for the top of the bake, and transfer the remainder to the greased tin, spreading out evenly to the edges.

In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, caster sugar and yolks together until completely blended.

 Pour the mixture on top of the brownie mixture.

Add the remaining brownie mixture to the tin in random blobs, and then swirl through with a toothpick as below.

Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees, or until the top is a golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave to cool and cut into small 1 inch squares.

Saved by the Cookie Dough

I am quite particular about my cookies. For me, as a bare minimum, they have to be chewy, those crunchy choc chip cookies that you buy in packets (mentioning no brand names!) just don't cut it for me. I spent years trying to find the perfect cookie recipe, and the best by far I ever came across was for Super-posh Chewy Cookies, from the Hairy Bikers - link here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/superposhchewycookie_89623

I adore this recipe, it has white and dark chocolate, cherries, hazelnuts and almonds, and a splash of cherry brandy and in my opinion it cannot be beaten.

My story today however comes from a couple of weeks ago, when I found myself in a (albeit brief) spell of austerity. I started a new job at the beginning of the month, and had to travel away for a few days for my induction. Having misjudged somewhat the dates of my last paycheck from my previous employers, and my first from the new, and then finding that I had pay my travel costs upfront, suddenly my purse was a little light.

I made some sandwiches to take on the train, and looked around the kitchen to see what else I could take with me to save myself from paying the inflated train station prices for snacks, but couldn't find anything. Then I spied a bag of chocolate chips in the corner of the cupboard. I grabbed a recipe book, had a flick through, and found a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe.

In short, these cookies were soft and chewy, exactly how I like them, and the recipe was straightforward, simple, and versatile. I replaced 15g of the flour with cocoa powder (I always use Green and Blacks Cocoa Powder as I find it has a deeper flavour) but you could also replace the chocolate chips with nuts or fruit if you wished.

I packed a bag full of cookies, and I'm not exaggerating when I say at 10pm at night on a train after having made two changes already, these little treats saved the last shred of my sanity!

The Recipe

225g butter
100g caster sugar
220g dark brown soft sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
310g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon salt
335g plain chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas 5.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and eggs one at a time. Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Finally, mix in the chocolate chips. Drop heaped tablespoons onto ungreased baking trays.

Cookie Dough

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven or until edges are golden. Remove from baking tray to cool on wire racks.

Double Choc Chip Cookies

The Pantry Door's 'Saturday Experiment' Feature

It's becoming something of a feature in my life to have a Saturday Experiment each week - something that I have never made before that I have decided to try and master. I bought The Great British Bake Off book today - 'How to Turn Everyday Cakes into Showstoppers'. Having scanned through cover to cover already today, I can assure you that there will be many more Saturday Experiments to come! On a serious aside, I would recommend any aspiring baker to pick up a copy of this tome as soon as possible, as it is packed not only with great bake ideas, but brilliant tips for the basics, from buttercream to making praline, and how to cover and stack cakes. I have added the link to Amazon here, but I bought my copy from the local supermarket.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Great-British-Bake-Off/dp/1849904634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353175309&sr=8-1

Let's bring us back to today's Saturday Experiment however - today, I decided to try and master fudge. I decided this late last night as I was mentally drawing up a list of possible components for this year's Christmas Hampers, and was trying to focus on homemade/baked items that would be a little longer lasting over the Christmas period.

I should take a moment now to admit that I made batch one last night, using a recipe from a book I had at home. Still now I am unsure as to how and where I went wrong with this batch (the recipe incidentally was for a Black Forest Chocolate variety) however when I woke this morning and raced downstairs to unveil my creation, it had failed to set beyond a sort of gooey, crystallised, chocolatey mess.

I decided to cut back to basics, fudge apparently wasn't quite as easy as I expected, and went back to trusty Google to find a new recipe. The one I settled on in the end was on the Carnation website (as in the evaporated milk people). I note however that there are many many variations of recipes out there just for basic fudge before you even get into different flavours. Some call for milk, some double cream, some evaporated milk. And then again, some caster sugar, some demerara, and some golden. I think that fudge may take a series of experiments to find the best basic recipe, before I start trying to get creative with it.

Anyhow - here is the link to the recipe, and my step by step efforts...

http://www.carnation.co.uk/recipes/67/Ultimate-Fudge

So, the basic instructions are pretty simple, but I wanted to share what I learned in between each step... (the tricky bits they don't tell you!)

Start by weighing all the ingredients and putting them all into a heavy non-stick pan together. I would add, use as large a pan as possible, as the mixture expands quite a lot when on full boil, and cut the butter into small cubes first, rather than putting it in one block, as it will melt and combine with the other ingredients quicker.

Step One: Put all the ingredients in the pan

Gently heat the mixture, stirring constantly, until it reaches the consistency below.

Step Two: Gently heat until the sugar has dissolved

Now we bring the mixture to the boil. The Carnation recipe gives a method for testing the temperature of the fudge using a glass of cold water, but I would strongly recommend getting hold of a sugar thermometer if you can. Things I learned during this stage... 1) boiling fudge is very hot - whilst you need to stir this constantly, please keep your hands and fingers out of harms way as best as possible. 2) you need to keep stirring, and most importantly, scraping the bottom of the pan. I didn't quite do this enough, and ended up with a few little bits of burnt mixture in my fudge, which you cannot taste, but they do spoil the look. And 3) make sure you get to the 118 degrees specified, any less and you will not get the right consistency at the end.

Step Three: Boil to 118 degrees Celsius

Once you have reached the magic number, remove from the heat, and beat the mixture until it thickens. Try and do this away from the stove, and use either a whisk or a spatula. The mixture will start to cool, and thicken - keep scraping it away from the sides of the pan, otherwise you will loose half of your fudge as it sets to the pan (plus it will be a nightmare to clean later). You want the mixture to be just a touch thicker than the picture below, before transferring to a lined tin, and spreading evenly.

The beauty I found with this particular recipe, is that it does not require cooling overnight, and after a couple of hours it was firm enough to slice and enjoy with our afternoon cup of tea (whilst also enjoying Arsenal run rings around Tottenham!). It is quite a crumbly fudge, and whilst delicious, I think I will still try a couple more variations until I find my favourite.

The End Result: Creamy, Crumbly, Buttery Fudge

Now I have started this mission to master Fudge, I am reminded of a favourite little shop I used to frequently visit in Bath when I was at university, located just off the Abbey Square. The shop does nothing but fudge, in all the flavours you could ever want or imagine, and makes them right there in the shop front in full view of salivating tourists and onlookers. I looked them up online when I logged on tonight to remind myself of their glorious creations, and noticed they have an online shop now, and also sell a Make Fudge At Home Kit... Santa, if you're reading, I have been a very good girl this year... Check them out of you love fudge - http://www.fudgekitchen.co.uk

The Only Muffin Recipe You Will Ever Need

It's been a little while since I posted a recipe up here, as I have been concentrating on my cake decorating and the projects I had promised friends. Tonight I wanted to share with you the easiest, most versatile muffin recipe you could wish for. I'm writing it tonight as I have sat here working most of the evening craving something sweet, and had nothing in the house to eat. I glanced upon a packet of chocolate chips in the back of the cupboard, and before I was really aware of what I was doing I found myself mixing flour and butter in a bowl...

I had a phase last year where I made muffins every week to take in the car for breakfast, and experimented with so many recipes and variations, breakfast muffins, oat muffins, chocolate, raspberry, blueberry, wholemeal, you name it! I adapted from a range of recipes, and this is the method that I settled on, it's quick, easy, and so so adaptable.

So, the ingredients list is;

380g self raising flour (or 355g and 25g cocoa powder if you want chocolate muffins)
100g butter
200g caster sugar (I always prefer golden caster sugar as it has a slightly more caramel flavour)
300ml milk
1 egg
...Plus 100 - 200g of whatever you want your feature ingredient to be - chocolate chips, blueberries, chopped dried apricots, cherries - the possibilities are endless!

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees, and line a bun tin with 12 muffin cases.

Start by sifting the flour into a mixing bowl, and adding the butter chopped into small cubes. With your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until you create a breadcrumb like texture. This usually only takes a minute or two.

Add the caster sugar to the flour, and stir until combined.

Beat the egg, and add to the milk. You may wish to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract at this point if it compliments the flavours in your muffins. Slowly poor the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, and combine well until all the flour has been incorporated. Add your additional ingredients (fruit etc) to the mixture, stir through, and then divide into the 12 muffin cases.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the muffins are a golden colour, and firm to touch. Remove from the oven, and place on a cooling rack.

And then dig in! These are delicious still warm from the oven with a cup of tea in the evening, as an easy breakfast on the go, or as a treat in packed lunches. Once they have cooled, 2 minutes in a warm oven will perk them up nicely.

The muffins I made tonight in the photo above are triple chocolate - with cocoa powder, and dark and white chocolate chunks mixed in. You really can go to town on mixing this recipe up however, here are some variations I have made in the past...

1. 150g fresh blueberries and a teaspoon of cinnamon
2. 100g fresh raspberries and 50g white chocolate chips
3. 50g chopped crystallised ginger and 50g chopped dried apricots
4. For a healthier breakfast option, try using a wholemeal self raising flour, and adding dried fruit and nuts
5. Replace the butter at the start of the recipe with mashed banana for a high fibre, low fat option, and add 100g chopped walnuts

I would love to hear any other ideas out there for new flavours for these muffins, please post below if you have any to share...

Vx

A Fond(ant) Trip Down Memory Lane

There are often things that you remember with a fondness, that, when you experience them again never quite live up to the memory. I remember French Fancies as a special treat, something that you only got at birthday parties, as they were too special for everyday. The only acceptable version was Mr Kipling's and oh! what a treat they were. Soft sponge cake, the sugar sweet iced coating, and the creamy buttercream topping. And so, I hope you understand my disappointment when I chanced upon these little beauties a few weeks ago, and with a now heightened sense of nostalgia, found the sponge to be mass produced and flavourless, the vegetable oil buttercream lacking, and the fondant icing overpoweringly sweet. 

I decided that this weekend's Saturday Experiment should be to try and recreate my childhood favourites, and set about the task in earnest this morning. I started out the way I often do these days - google, and found a range of recipes, which varied in their execution. I started by making a simple sponge cake for the centre, using my preferred method. I use a tip from an old friend, and measure out my eggs first, and then match the weight of butter, sugar and flour to them. Once all the ingredients are combined, I personally like to add a splash of milk to the batter to loosen it, as I find this makes a moister sponge when cooked. 

Once the cake was cooked and cooled, I sliced it into one inch squares, and topped each square with a blob  of buttercream. (Real, made with butter buttercream for that matter!) 

Now came the tricky part, coating each fancy with fondant icing. The trick I discovered, by trial and error, is getting the consistency of the icing just so, that it is fluid enough to move the sponge in easily to get the coating, but stiff enough so as it sets on the sponge rather than run straight off when on the cooling rack. Trust me, the whole process is a sticky, gooey, kitchen annihilating mess, saved only by a Mary Berry tip I read about securing the sponge pieces on a fork when coating in the fondant. 

The end result, although not as neat and uniform as Mr Kipling's I admit, I was really pleased with. The sponge is moist and buttery, the icing not as thick, and therefore not as over-powering. All in all, not bad for a first attempt, and enough to rekindle my love affair with Fondant Fancies. I just need a cup of tea now to wash them down! :)

Lilac Fondant Fancies

A Cake for All Occasions

It's Sunday night, and I'm wrapped up in the warm, with a tummy full of Black Forest Gateaux, and the muffled soundtrack of (slightly early) fireworks in the background, and I realise that I haven't posted on here for a couple of weeks. I make no excuse for this, it's been a crazy exhausting few weeks, however I haven't stopped baking, and have advanced my cake decorating skills somewhat. So I thought I would briefly bring you all up to date with the latest creations from The Pantry Door...

First was a gift for two very good friends of mine, who welcomed their second little boy into the world at the beginning of October, and I wanted to mark the occasion. This little lemon cake was decorated with a patchwork quilt, and adorned with teddy bears and little feet, and travelled over 200 miles to be eaten!

Patchwork Quilt Birth of Baby Cake

I have discovered an amazing You Tube channel recently called Cupcake Addiction Tutorials, it's by an Aussie girl who demonstrates the most amazing techniques, and explains them in such an easy and down to earth way. You can find her here http://www.youtube.com/user/mycupcakeaddiction?feature=results_main

I stumbled upon the channel looking for a tutorial on how to make buttercream roses on cupcakes, and found a great how-to to make stiletto cupcakes. Naturally I had to try both out, and these were the results!  

Next up were two actual orders for a friend, who had asked for a cake for Dad's 65th birthday, and then requested an additional cake for a 3 year old boy. After consulting with her, we decided that the Dad cake would be themed around wine, and the little boy's around rockets. Considering my lack of drawing skills, I sketchily tried to explained to her my design ideas, with little support from my illegible doodles. In my minds eye, I had designed a wooden cask shaped cake, draped in grapes, and labelled with the vintage year of her Dad, and a star spangled space cake with a rocket aimed for the moon. I cannot thank her enough for trusting me to bring these ideas to life! The wine cask is a four layered lemon sponge with lemon curd and buttercream, whilst the rocket cake is chocolate with a ganache centre.

'Shoot for the Moon' Rocket Cake

Vintage Red Wine Cask Cake - with Fondant Grapes

Just when I thought I might be able to hang my apron up for a few days, Gary forlornly reminded me that the house had smelled of cake for days, and he hadn't been able to even taste a sample. I had been wanting to test out James Martin's recipe for Cola cake for a while, so decided to use the opportunity, and make a cheeky little cake to tuck into at home...

'Monster-in-a-Box' Cola Cake

I'm off to wash the dishes now! Baking resumes tomorrow night! V x :-)

If In Doubt - Make Soup

When I talk about a kick at the pantry door, the absolute essence of the philosophy is that moment when, for any one of a number of reasons, you find yourself in the kitchen, with all your cupboard doors ajar, the fridge door wide open, and you are asking yourself what on earth to make for dinner. Maybe it's not quite payday. Maybe you have neither the time nor energy to get to the shops. Maybe, as often happens in our house, you have a mixture of half used packages and leftovers that don't quite know how to assemble themselves into a proper meal.

Whenever this happens in my house, I make soup. Soup is one of the most under-rated, healthiest, lowest in calories, tastiest, and absolute easiest things in the world to make. It needs no recipe, culinary expertise, little time to make, and its possibilities are endless. I use one simple rule when I make soup - the volume of liquid must slightly outweigh the weight of the solids, normally 500g mixed vegetables to 700ml stock.

Today I made a soup from a bag of sweet potatoes that needed using up. I used a chicken stock cube to make my stock, and added to it the sweet potatoes peeled and chopped, three sweet peppers that were close to their best, and a generous helping of thyme. I left the pan to simmer for an hour whilst I got on with my chores, and returned when the vegetables had softened to the point that they were starting to break up. I added half a bag of spinach that was sitting in the fridge, cooked it through and then blended until smooth.

Gary and I enjoyed big steaming bowlfuls for lunch, with piles of buttered bread, and the remainder has been divided into individual pots and frozen, so that we can defrost and cook a single portion whenever the mood takes. This also makes a cheap and easy healthy lunch option if you work in a place where you have access to a microwave.

Making soup like this, the possibilities are endless, these are some of my favourite options;

Spicy Vegetable

Start by frying a chopped garlic clove and a fresh chilli, then add the stock and vegetables. If you do not have a fresh chilli, 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes could also be used. Butternut Squash or Parsnips are ideal flavours to compliment the spice.

Smoky Bacon and Lentil

Start by frying chopped onions and bacon in a little oil until golden, then add the remaining vegetables, potatoes, and red lentils. Then add the stock.

Chicken and Vegetable

Follow the recipe above, adding 200g cooked chicken. Leftover meat from a Sunday Roast is perfect, alternatively grill 2 chicken breasts, dice and add to the soup before blending.

I would love to hear some of your variations or favourite soup recipes, please post below!

Enjoy! V x