Pea and Spinach Soup

This bright green bowl of happiness will be ready to eat in ten minutes or less. A bold statement I know. This really is the quickest soup to make and in fact I think that it might be almost as quick to make as a packet of dried soup!

Squash and Coconut Soup

Well if ever there was weather for a vibrant and warming soup, then this is it! We woke this morning to a cool and rainy weather and a chilling 1ºC not to mention the wind chill factor...burr! Time for some warming comfort food.

Chunky Black Bean and Chicken Soup

This recipe came about after I had some leftover chicken and stock from my previous post - Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker - so I decided that I could put both to good use in this warming nourishing soup. 

Potato and Leek Soup

I think it would be true to say then her in Ireland we often get our harshest weather right after the festive period, with that in mind I think that there is nothing better than a hearty soup. Don't get me wrong I love nothing more than warming up to a bowl of soup on chilly days, it gives me the excuse to light the fire and watch something on Netflix!

Broccoli and Parmesan Soup

There is nothing nicer than a warm bowl of soup after school, it's warming and nourishing goodness just feels so good after a busy day of learning. Because broccoli is a good source of fibre and as a result takes longer to digest it will make concentrating on homework that bit easier too. This soup is quick to make and freezes perfectly so it is the ideal midweek snack.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
1.5ltr Chicken stock
700g Fresh broccoli (about two medium heads)
1 Clove of garlic, peeled
Rind (or heel) of parmesan or grana padano cheese (or any hard cheese)
Seasoning

Method
Bring the chicken stock to the boil in a large saucepan.

Cut the broccoli into florets and roughly chop the stalk, everything will cook at the same time if the stalk is chopped smaller than the florets. Bash the garlic clove with the heel of your hand so that it breaks apart slightly. Gently tip all the broccoli, bashed garlic glove and the rind of the parmesan cheese into the boiling chicken stock, bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid partially on for 8-10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. Remove what is left of the parmesan rind from the soup and discard.

Liquidise the soup with a hand blender until smooth. Taste and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Reheat if needed and serve immediately.

Serve with some brown bread or with warmed ciabatta and perhaps a splash of cream.

Ham and Bean Soup

 

This week so far we have listened to high winds howling and bitterly cold rain beating against the windows!! This stormy weather always brings out the same need in me, vast quantities of comfort food! I'd like to think that warming bowls of chunky soup ward off the bad weather and somehow make it all disappear. Let me introduce one of my favourite winter soup recipes, I hope it helps keep the cold out for you too.

 

This is a really useful soup if you have leftover ham along with some winter vegetables lurking in the fridge. I used what vegetables I had, feel free to substitute as you please. This is only a guide, I think this would work just as well with onions or celeriac instead of the parsnip. I made this soup last year as a means of using up leftover baked ham and we enjoyed it so much that I took note of what I did this year so I could pass it on to you. I prepared the vegetables in advance (keeping the potatoes in water so they don't turn brown) so I could relax with my family, when the appointed time arrived I only needed to spend a short time cooking, before serving up bowls of winter warming goodness.  

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2tbsp Vegetable oil
3 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 Medium carrots (350g), peeled and sliced
2 Medium parsnips (300g), peeled and sliced
2 Sticks of celery, sliced
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp White pepper
600g Waxy potatoes, peeled, quartered and each quarter divided into five (I used Roosters)
1ltr Chicken stock (good quality stock is best)
2 Bay leaves
500g Cooked ham, cut into 2cm dice
1 x 400g Can mixed beans (or any beans of you choice)
1tbsp Dried parsley

Method
Prepare the vegetables, bearing in mind that you want the vegetables to be as evenly sized as possible and also that they will fit nicely on a soup spoon!

Place the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Cook the garlic, carrots, parsnips, celery, salt and pepper until the vegetables are softened. Stir occasionally to prevent the vegetables from sticking. This should take 5-7 minutes. Don't brown the vegetables, especially the garlic, burnt garlic becomes very bitter and will taint the whole soup.



The parsnip will have begin to break up at this point, I like to think that it thicken the soup slightly. Add the potatoes, stirring constantly, cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock and diced cooked ham, bring to the boil. 





Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the drained can of mixed beans and simmer for a further 8-10 until or until the vegetables are tender but not falling apart. Garnish with the dried parsley and serve in warm bowls with fresh Brown Soda Bread slathered in real Butter. Winter warming food heaven!!

Memories of Home - Meat Balls and Mash

I think that most Irish mothers made this dish or a variation of it and for very good reason too, it's delicious. I have memories of cycling into Kilbeggan in the late 80's to the local butchers and buying a "pound of mince" and heading home to make meat balls. As children we usually ate our meat balls with pasta and tomato sauce but you can also try this recipe with curry sauce and some boiled rice if you prefer. Just to assure you, the oxtail soup isn't a very dominant flavour in this recipe, it's just like a mild gravy. I made double, cooked it right through, cooled and froze half, so I'll have a day off cooking some day soon.I took this recipe from All About Home Economics which is in daily use in this house anyway!

Serves 4

Ingredients
400g Minced beef
50g Breadcrumbs
1 Onion, finely grated
1 Clove garlic, chopped
1tbsp Parsley
25g Cheese, grated
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 tsp Salt
Pepper
750ml Oxtail soup packet
1kg Potatoes, scrubbed and pierced

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C/350F/Gas 4.
Place the potatoes in the oven (make sure you pierce the potatoes with a knife or a skewer otherwise they'll explode, and that takes ages to clean up!)
Mix beef, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, cheese and seasoning together in a large bowl. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Shape into about 16 balls (walnut sized).

Brown the meat balls in a large frying pan over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, drain well.

Meanwhile make up the soup as directed and set aside. Place meat balls in a large casserole, pour over the oxtail soup and place in the oven for 45 minutes.

Scoop out the baked out the potatoes and mash with butter and milk (or not!) 

Serve in the casserole with the mash and fine beans.

Speedy Tomato Soup

 

 

This is a basic recipe for soup, and as it happens I'm having it for tea myself this evening. Now if you wish to spice it up then a pinch of crushed chillies will add the desired heat, alternatively a handful of small cooked pasta shapes or mixed beans added at the last minute turns this soup into a meal. This is a proper speedy soup if like me, you use prepacked chopped frozen garlic and frozen chopped onion  (using both straight from the freezer!)

Makes 1ltr

Ingredients
400g Can chopped Tomatoes or 400ml passata
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
400ml Chicken stock

Method
Sweat the garlic and onion in a medium sized saucepan with the lid on for 4-5 minutes on a medium heat. Do not brown the onions. Tip the canned chopped tomatoes  or passata into the saucepan. Refill the can with boiling water and dissolve a chicken stock cube in the can, empty the stock into the saucepan.





Bring to a boil, add the salt and sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes.




Remove from the heat and using a hand blender, blend until smooth. Serve either hot or cold.