Flossie's Delicious Pumpkin Soup

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while, things have been busy! My friend Floss cooked an amazing soup for me this week that I thought I ought to recreate and share - all credit goes to her. It is super fresh and tasty, with very few ingredients and perfect for October.

Ingredients (serves 4)

- 2 red onions, chopped

- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped in half

- 3 carrots, roughly chopped

- 2 sweet potatoes, roughly chopped with their skins on

- 1/4 medium pumpkin or 1/2 a small one, peeled and roughly chopped

- 1 chilli, chopped with or without seeds depending on your spice tolerance

- 1 tin of coconut milk

- 1 litre stock using 1 vegetable stock cube and 1/2 chicken stock cube

- 1 tsp dried basil

- salt and pepper

1. There is no need to use any oil, simply put your onions and garlic into a large heated saucepan and then add the coconut milk. Simmer away slowly while you prepare the veg.

2. Put everything else into the saucepan and cook with a lid on for 20-25 mins on a medium-high heat, until the vegetables are soft. 

3. Blitz the vegetables in a food mixer or smoothie blender - do this a little at a time or the heat might cause the soup to overflow or splash everywhere.

Serve with fresh bread and a sprinkling of seeds.

Twinings - Gingery Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is great for keeping away colds and bugs, or warming you up on these chilly winter days. The kale crisps add a delicious crunchy texture to the soup, and the Root Ginger tea accentuates the fiery ginger flavours. Check out my full recipe here: http://www.twinings.co.uk/blog/2016/january/gingery-butternut-squash-soup

Simple Wintery Soup - Parsnip, Turnip and Carrot - Vegan and Dairy-free

Hello 2014!! It's time for some more recipes.

Ingredients (serves 4)

- 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped

- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped

- 2 turnips, peeled and chopped

- 2 onions, peeled and chopped into quarters

- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

- 1/8 tsp ground ginger

- 1 1/2 litres vegetable or chicken stock

- 2 tsp olive oil

- salt and pepper

1. Firstly, preheat the oven to 190°c and make sure all the vegetables are chopped into similar sized pieces. Place all the vegetables into a large baking tray and coat with the oil, spices and seasoning. 

2. Cook the vegetables for 30-45 minutes once the oven is hot, and remove them when they are soft.

- Usually I just use stock cubes because it's easy, but this particular evening I was making carrot, potato and parsnip mash at the same time as the soup, so I already had some delicious homemade stock available. I would definitely recommend using homemade stock if you can.

3. Start whizzing up the vegetables in a food processor once they have cooled down slightly, and slowly add in the stock. Keep adding the stock until the soup is at your preferred consistency. Finally have a taste and season with salt and pepper.

Easy Minestrone Soup with Homemade Spinach and Basil Pesto

This soup is great because most of the ingredients come from a tin, and the pasta makes it a filling meal.

Ingredients for the Homemade Pesto - fills one ramekin

21g basil leaves

40g almonds

15 g spinach leaves (one handful)

1 cloves of garlic

40g good quality olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

50g cheddar cheese, grated

salt and pepper

1. Start by grinding the almonds with a hand blender (or in a food processor) and then add the basil, spinach, garlic, oil and lemon juice. 

2. Finally mix in the grated cheese and season well. 

Ingredients for the Soup - serves 8

- 3 tins of chopped tomatoes (1200g) and 2 tins filled with boiling water

- 1 vegetable stock cube

- 1 chicken stock cube

- 1 onion, chopped 

- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed

- 2 sticks of celery, chopped

- 2 mini peppers, chopped (or half a pepper, chopped)

- 3 handfuls of spinach pasta or plain pasta, broken into small pieces

- 30g spaghetti, broken into small bits

- 1 tsp of sugar

- 1 tbsp homemade pesto (or jarred pesto)

- 6 basil leaves, chopped

- 1 pinch of chilli flakes (or more to taste) 

- 165g tinned sweetcorn (or frozen sweetcorn), drained 

- 2 large handfuls of frozen peas

- 400g tin of drained and washed cannellini beans (or mixed beans)

1. Start by frying the onion and garlic in a large saucepan with a little vegetable oil. After a few minutes add the tinned tomatoes, water and stock cubes. 

2. Bring the tomatoes to the boil and then put in the pasta, celery, peppers, sugar, pesto, basil and chilli flakes. Cook this for 6 minutes on a medium heat.

3. Finally pour in the sweetcorn, peas and beans. Simmer the soup on a low heat with a lid on for a further 5 minutes. All done!

Spoon some pesto on top of the soup to serve.

http://instagram.com/p/aJU8J8ukt9/

Incredible Easy Butternut Squash and Chilli Soup with Philadelphia Swirls

This is a dead simple recipe that I came up with, and it tastes delicious! 

Ingredients (serves 4 or 6 as starters)

for the soup -

1 small butternut squash (500g), peeled and chopped into small chunks

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped finely

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

2 sticks of celery, chopped

1/2 chicken stock cube and 1 vegetable stock cube

enough boiling water to cover the vegetables

for the topping - 

1 tsp philadelphia cheese mixed with 1 tsp milk or 1 tsp cream

a few mint leaves, chopped (optional)

1. Start by frying the onion in a little vegetable oil for a couple of minutes in a large saucepan, then add the chilli and garlic. You can decide whether to save some of this to place on top of the soup when it's cooked.

2. Next, put all the other ingredients for the soup into the pan, and cover the vegetables with boiling water (roughly filling half of a large saucepan). Place a lid on top and cook on a very low heat for 30-40 minutes, until the butternut squash is soft.

3. Finally, wait for the soup to cool down before placing it in a mixer or blending it with a hand blender. (I left my soup out overnight before blending, which I think helped intensify the flavour).

4. Serve the soup with the philadelphia/milk swirl, or cream, and top with the chopped mint. I found that the mint complimented the butternut squash and next time I will add more mint.

Easy Cabbage Soup

This is another recipe using tinned potatoes, they are great! I didn't have a lot in my fridge, so decided to make something with my large cabbage. It just shows that experimental cooking is easy and cheap.

Ingredients (serves 4 as starters)

half a cabbage, finely sliced roughly

4 tinned new potatoes, chopped in half

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 onion, sliced

half a carrot, peeled and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 pinches of dried thyme

1 vegetable stock cube and 1 chicken stock cube in 1.5L of boiling water

half a chilli, sliced

a pinch chilli flakes

pepper (the stock has enough salt)

1. Start by frying the onion and garlic in a little vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Then add the cabbage, carrot and celery, and stir for a few minutes.

2. Pour in everything else, including the potatoes, and cook the soup on a medium/low heat with a lid on for 15-20 minutes.

3. You can now decide whether to eat the soup as it is (as a broth) or use a hand blender to thicken it up.

Broccoli, Celery and Chilli Soup

I bought some cheap broccoli from my local vegetable shop and decided to make soup with it - along with other bits of pieces in my fridge. One of the other ingredients in this dish are tinned new potatoes, my new favourite thing. Here's what I came up with, it's super delicious and fresh!

Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter)

1 onion, sliced

1 very large clove of garlic, or two small cloves, roughly sliced

one large broccoli, florets only

3 sticks of celery, chopped

3 tinned new potatoes, cut in half

half a chilli, deseeded and chopped

1.2 litres boiling water to one chicken stock cube

8 whole coriander seeds

1 tsp coriander

a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

salt and pepper

1. Start by frying the onion and garlic in a little vegetable oil for minute and then add the celery and broccoli. 

2. Stir for a few minutes and put in everything else. Cover with a lid and simmer for around 15 minutes. 

3. Now you have the choice of eating the soup as it is, or blending it in a food processor. 

Here are the two options: 

broth - 

soup -