Now that the wonderfully hot summer weather is sadly behind us, it’s time to think about how to keep warm. One way is to ‘eat warm’ and homemade soup is one of the easiest, warming and filling foods to prepare. It’s also relatively cheap to make and as it keeps well in the fridge, it’s ideal both for packed lunches and quick dinners. Here are a couple of our favourite recipes – all ideal served with a hunk or two of freshly baked bread!
Smoky Sweetcorn Soup (courtesy of Ellie’s Kitchen)
Ingredients – Serves 4:
- 300g frozen sweetcorn
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 stick of celery finely sliced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1-heaped tsp. smoked paprika
- ½ tsp. crushed chilli flakes
- 800ml vegetable stock
- 400ml can of coconut milk
Method
1. In a large pan, cook down the onion, pepper and celery until they are soft.
2. Add the chilli flakes and cook for another few minutes.
3. Add the sweetcorn, stock and coconut milk. Turn the heat up to high and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Season to taste.
5. Allow the soup to cool fully.
6. Decant half of the soup into a different pan.
7. Use a hand blender to whizz up half of the soup until smooth.
8. Add the chunky half of the soup into the smooth half and combine!
9. Finally, serve the soup heated up and topped with fresh coriander and a wedge of lime!
Creamy Mushroom Soup (courtesy of BBC Good Food)
Ingredients – serves 4:
- 25g dried porcini (ceps)
- 50g butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- Thyme sprigs
- 400g mixed wild mushrooms
- 850ml vegetable stock
- 200ml tub crème fraîche
- 4 slices white bread, about 100g cubed
- Chives and truffle oil, to serve
1. Bring a kettle to the boil, then pour the water over the dried porcini just to cover. Heat half of the butter in a saucepan, then gently sizzle the onion, garlic and thyme for 5 minutes until softened and starting to brown. Drain the porcini, reserving the juice, then add to the onion with the mixed wild mushrooms. Leave to cook for 5 minutes until they go limp.
2. Pour over the stock and the reserved juices, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche, then simmer for a few mins more. Blitz the soup with a hand blender or liquidiser, pass through a fine sieve, then set aside.
3. Heat the remaining butter in a frying pan, fry the bread cubes until golden, then drain on kitchen paper. To serve, heat the soup and froth up with a hand blender, if you like. Ladle the soup into bowls, scatter over the croutons and chives and drizzle with truffle oil.
What’s your favourite homemade soup? Why not share it with us over on Facebook and Twitter?