Tomato soup, with rice and cardamon

 The cherry tomatoes were blitzed in a blender. The rice was a left over from an earlier dish. I once lived with someone who loved tomato and rice soup. A trip down memory lane. 

Chicken and Torunska sausage soup, with Spinach

 This began as a chicken soup with carrot, diced orange pepper and mushrooms. After a day I augmented the soup with diced spinach and Torunska sausage. A fabulous result. Simmered for an hour on the hob.  

Thick Chicken and Leek Soup

 One whole leek was diced and fried at a medium heat, along with a chopped carrot for about twenty five minutes. While that was going on I diced a whole chicken breast. 

The vegetable and chicken components were added to another pan, along with about three quarters of a pint of water and a chicken stock cube, broken into four. Simmered under glass for an hour, after which the soup was blitzed with a moulinex blender for about five minutes. 

I added the chives, a teaspoonful of paprika, a large pinch of ground coriander, a pinch of sage, and some black pepper. Stirred together, and allowed to simmer for another twenty minutes. Delicious!

Leek and Streaky Bacon Soup

 I made this with some streaky bacon, fried at a medium heat for about ten minutes. Streaky bacon is hard to cut even with a sharp knife (lots of fat) , so you might want to chop it into pieces with kitchen scissors instead. Add a little cooking oil. 

Then I added diced leek, cut into circles, and stir fried under glass for about twenty-five minutes, with a little salt. While that combination was cooking, I grated a medium sized carrot. I added that to the mix, and added boiling water. Cooked under glass at a low heat for about an hour and a half. Stir occasionally. Then I added a half a pork stock cube, and a little paprika. Fabulous soup!

Chicken Soup, with Paprika and Cardamon

 Really simple soup made with diced chicken breast, tomato puree, paprika and cardamon. Plus chicken stock. 

Smoked Pork and Leek Soup

Some smoked pork trimmings in the fridge needed to be used, so I put together this soup. The soup base is essentially half a courgette (diced), one medium sized leek cut into wheels, and one carrot (grated with a rotary grater). Plus a diced handful of fresh coriander, salt, and some ham (or pork) stock. The vegetables were first fried in some rape seed oil (ten minutes at a medium heat).

I added a generous amount of boiling water (about one pint).

I diced about 200g of the pork trimmings and added them to the pot about half an hour later. Cooked at a medium heat under glass for at least 90 minutes.

Completely delicious!
 

Onion Borscht

 A borscht made with white and red onion, along with diced beetroot which had been soused in malt vinegar. Cooked with one chilli to add extra bite. 

Chicken Minestrone

Minestrone has always been a dish based on using up various left-over ingredients. This version used left-over diced roast chicken and carrot. With added garlic and some red chilli. I used arrowroot as a thickener. Great dish!
 

Creamed Ham, Leek and Tomato Soup

Soup made with diced cherry tomatoes, tomato puree, diced leek and diced turnip, plus vegetable and ham stock, plus tomato puree. Cooked for seventy minutes at a low heat under glass. After that I added diced garlic and deseeded red chilli. Plus paprika, oregano, and black pepper. The diced ham went in last, with some red wine and single cream. 

 

Pea and Ham Soup

A pea and ham soup made with some surplus breaded Wiltshire ham. The base of the soup was made with diced turnip, potato, diced leek, and whole yellow peas. Plus ham stock. 

The vegetables were cooked first, for about seventy minutes, after which they were mashed. A pinch of paprika was added, along with a little rosemary. The diced ham was then added, and cooked for another twenty five minutes under glass. Added black pepper. 

Serve as is, or with a bread of your choice. 

 

Carrot Soup with a Garlic and Coriander Naan Bread

 A couple of medium sized carrots grated in a rotary grater I bought from Aldi many moons ago, and diced one small onion. Cooked together in a small pan with some water for about two hours at a low heat under glass. I added some arrowroot mixed with water (cornflour will do as well). Plus two bay leaves. Then I added a pinch of paprika, a pinch of turmeric, black pepper, and some dried coriander leaf. Allowed to cook for a further ten minutes. 

Served with a piece of garlic and coriander naan bread, toasted for a couple of minutes in a standard kitchen toaster. 

Chicken and Brussels Sprout Soup, with Herbs

Fabulous soup made with roasted diced chicken breast (one half). Plus water, chicken stock, and three Brussels sprouts, diced Italian style. Plus one julienned white onion. Cooked together for at least forty-five minutes. Thickened with a teaspoonful of arrowroot.  The herbs tarragon and sage were added ten minutes before serving. 

The chicken breast was cooked with two others in a casserole dish for at least 45 minutes at 180 deg C on the middle shelf of a preheated oven. 

 

Yellow Pepper Soup with Chicken

A simple soup made with half a yellow pepper diced into small cubes, chopped carrots, potatoes, and some leftover sugar snap peas and about one quarter of a chicken breast, finely sliced. I added a dozen mustard seeds, and two small diced cloves of garlic, plus some chicken stock. 

Cooked slowly for two hours. Mash a little before serving. 

 

Ham Hock soup, with Leek and Peas

Ham hock soup, with leeks and garden peas. Utterly delicious. The ham was cooked for an hour and a half in water, and then I added a diced leek. Cooked for another hour, and then I added half a can of garden peas. Cooked for another forty-five minutes. No added salt, no added spices, no added stock. Just delicious as it is!
 

Unsmoked Gammon Soup, with Carrot, Parsnip, Onion and Turnip

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This soup began as a vegetable dish, made with a small white onion, one peeled parsnip, two medium carrots, and half a turnip (peeled). It was complete with some vegetable stock, and half a teaspoonful of white (or black) pepper. Simmered under glass for an hour, and then mashed before serving. 

I then added diced unsmoked gammon from a joint I'd roasted the day before. I also added the juices from the roast (done in a casserole dish). Again, simmered for an hour under glass before serving. I added black pepper as a final garnish. One of the most delicious soups I have made. 

 

Minestrone Soup

Always a favourite, and a great way to use up surplus ingredients from another dish. In this case, some yellow pepper, batonned carrot, chickpeas, white onion, chilli, mustard seed, and basmati rice. I added tomato puree (three squirts), two spring onions, diced, a drizzle of olive oil, plus black pepper, and vegetable and chicken stock. And a handful of broken spaghetti. I added the herbs basil and oregano. Cooked for an hour before serving. 

 

French Onion Soup

A simpler version of this favourite soup than I've made before. Essentially two diced white onions caramelised in some olive oil, along with three diced cloves of garlic.

Allowed to cool, then boiling water was added to the pan. Cooked for twenty minutes to thirty minutes, then the contents of the pan were blended together.

After that, I added the vegetable stock, black pepper, a teaspoonful of dark soy sauce, Bisto gravy granules (essentially a thickener), plus a quarter teaspoonful of paprika.

Cooked for another twenty minutes until the soup has thickened. At that point the herbs Oregano and Tarragon were added (two pinches each).

Served with a slice of buttered wheat-free bread.

Cauliflower, Swede and Carrot Soup

One half of a head of cauliflower chopped into florets, half a peeled swede cut into thin strips, one large carrot cut into chunks, and eight diced cherry tomatoes.

The cauliflower florets, the swede and the carrots were stir-fried in sunflower oil for ten minutes at a medium to high heat, stirring frequently.

The diced tomato was added, along with around a pint of boiling water. The heat was turned down low, and the pot was lidded. Simmered for forty-five minutes.

After that, the contents of the pot were mashed for about thirty seconds (I wanted this soup to be chunky). I added the vegetable stock and two pinches of Tarragon. Simmered again for twenty minutes before serving. Great flavour!

Chicken, Garlic, and Tarragon Soup

A simple chicken soup, made with carrots (two), chopped spring onion (three) diced chicken from one chicken drumstick (cheaper than chicken breast!), Tarragon, spinach, garlic, and chicken stock.

The soup base was prepared first, and simmered under glass for about two hours. The carrots were batonned.

The chicken drumstick came from the fridge. The chicken meat was peeled by hand from the drumstick (the most efficient way), and added to to the pot. I crushed a garlic clove, and added it to the pot. Simmered for at least another half an hour.  A really flavoursome soup!

Sweet Potato Soup

Made with diced leek, carrot, red pepper and yellow pepper, and sweet potato.

Cooked for half an hour until the vegetables were soft, and then mashed. I added some arrowroot powder as a thickener. Plus vegetable stock, paprika, oregano and coriander.

Cooked for another forty-five minutes before serving, with some white pepper.

This is a simple soup capable of endless variation - tomatoes, tomato puree, spinach, courgette, green peas, sweetcorn,  etc.