Week 3 – Bread. Technical Challenge – Dampfnudel What? I hear you cry! Like all of the #GBBO contestants this week, these are a new one on me and given the generally poor results (Paul Hollywood described the 3rd place contender as ‘edible’!), it’s fair to say that I’m approaching these with a degree of…
Category: Soup
Yorkshire Leek & Onion Soup
This is a simple alternative to that French classic, using fresh leeks and onions harvested from the garden. This is a soup you just can’t rush – the flavours come from the slow sweating of the onions and leeks, allowing the sweet flavours to develop without overcooking. This is a vegetarian version which gives a…
Leek and Stilton Soup
A classic combination and a great way to use up new season leeks and a block of old cheese. The relative slow cooking and inclusion of the leek greens means this soup does lose it’s bright colour, but the flavour is great. A really rich soup which can be spoilt if you add too much…
Pumpkin and Sunflower Seed Soup
This recipe uses a starchy pumpkin like a kabocha or acorn squash rather than the firmer ‘crown prince’ or butternut squash, which blend down to give the most perfectly smooth texture and amazing dark golden colour. Because of this texture, it really needs something else to provide a little interest and toasted sunflower seeds go…
Spicy Tomato & Lentil Soup
I love a good tomato soup, and at this time of the year when the tomato plants are abound with fruit I always try something a bit different. One reason is, I suppose, that I just haven’t managed to come up with a recipe which really does my wonderful fresh tomatoes justice. Over the years…
Spicy Lentil, Chickpea and Sweetcorn Soup
It’s official – Summer is well and truly over. It’s only 23rd of August 2014 but I’m seriously thinking about switching on the central heating. It’s only my skinflint Yorkshire roots holding me back, so I’m in need of an alternative central heating. This is a really simple and flavoursome soup which can be turned…
Roast Pumpkin Soup – Halloween Special!
What better meal for halloween, than a roast pumpkin soup? It’s not that widely known that pumpkins come in 3 ‘types’ – those that are good for lanterns, those that are good for cooking and those which have great seeds. It’s a bit unfortunate that in this day and age there isn’t a multi-functional pumpkin…
Oxtail & Cannellini Bean Soup
There was a time when you could pick up Oxtail for virtually nothing from the butchers – another hearty peasant food from days gone by. However it seems to have mad e a revival recently – this is good in so much as it’s more widely ‘visible’, but at the same time seems to have…
Habanero Chicken Soup
Yes, another uninspiring title, but it does what t says on the tin. Not that it’s in a tin…. This recipe uses some of the veg I’ve dehydrated from last season. There’s not a huge following for dehydrated food in the UK, but when you grow your own, there’s no better way of preserving some…
Chorizo & Chickpea Soup
One of those basic recipes which just turns out to be amazing. Full of Spanish flavour, this hearty soup deserves a 5 star rating. Serve with fresh chunks of crispy bread to absorb the most amazing flavours. One thing to note: My Habanero chillies are home grown, and in their first year. The fruit is…
Sopa de Lentejas
More of a Mexican take on the Spicy Lentil Soup recipe, this uses 2 relatively mild dried chillies to bring in a breadth of flavour. Again, the chillies here add interest and not just heat – the Anchos bring a full fruity flavour and an intense dark colour whilst the Meco (pronounced May-Co) chipotle adds…
Quick Chicken Noodle Soup
What a great soup – the balsamic gives a rich,sour effect. You can use fresh chicken and poach this in the stock – obviously you’ll need to increase the cooking time. Cooking Time – approx 30 minutes Serves 2-3 Ingredients 200g Egg Noodles 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil 1 tbsp Ginger, grated 4 Mushrooms, cleaned &…
Spicy Lentil Soup
Along with my famous Chilli Con Carne (the recipe that finally got my parents eating spicy food), this was a regular spicy staple from my Uni days. It’s developed a little over the years – the veg are optional and until recently this was the only surviving recipe where I used shop-bought curry paste instead…
Thai Chicken Soup
This was discovered quite by accident in one of those supermarket recipe leaflets. A bit of tweaking later, and voila! Try and use the heart of a fresh kale – a great winter vegetable. Failing this, use pok choi, spring greens, brocolli, beansprouts, anything to give a bit of crunch. You can use a shop…
Hot Tunisian Lamb Soup
This is absolutely superb. A bit on the concentrated side, and may suit some better as a starter than a main course. This is a hot soup – beware!!! Cut down the chilli powder rather than the fresh chilli to reduce the heat. If you can source some good quality Lamb stock, use this instead…
Creole Onion Soup
I love soups of all kinds, but French Onion Soup has to be one of my favourites. Not surprisingly, the strong french influence in Creole cooking has resulted in an interesting spin on this old favourite. Unusually, this variant uses cream. Alter the amount of Cayenne to change the spicyness. This soup improves with reheating…
Chilli Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup
This has got to be one of the simplest soups I’ve cooked. In fact, I’m really quite proud of this recipe – it was cooked totally on instict and was perfect first time – unusual even by my standards! The Rice is optional, but turns this into a complete meal. Otherwise, serve it with bread,…
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