Carrot and coriander. Carrots in pan with olive oil dried coriander and cumin. Fry for 2 mins add boiling water and cook carrots until soft. Add small amount of olive oil. Blend with mixer adding water to get right thickness. The olive oil at the end creates an emulsion which is nice and creamy.
Who uses a blender for making soup? Any really simple recipe ideas?
- Thread starter Dave7
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Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
+1 for a stick blender. It's waaaaaaay easier to clean.
Soup is really easy, doesn't have to be complicated. The most basic I make is just a simple vegetable soup.
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 good-sized carrots
2 large sticks celery
1 leek
1 parsnip
tablespoon vegetable oil
2 stock cubes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
Dice / chop the veg, sweat off in the oil with the bay leaf and herbs. When the onion and leek are translucent, add about 2/3 of a kettle of boiling water, the stock cubes and some freshly ground black pepper to taste. Simmer for about 20 mins.
You can also add some small pasta shapes (broken up spaghetti will do), some diced potato or some pearl barley. If you've some leftover meat bones, throw those in while cooking, as they'll add a really good flavour.
I make loads of soups during the colder months, usually dictated by whatever veg I've got in / want using. I don't always blend soups, it just depends on my mood. If I want a thicker soup without blending, I'll throw in half a cup of red lentils. Likewise, if you want creaminess *without* adding cream, then add a floury potato (e.g. maris piper) into the mix.
Other favourite soups here are:
Carrot, sweet potato & red lentil (I'll add thai red curry paste to this sometimes, and creamed coconut)
Leek & potato
Minestrone
Curried parsnip
Polish beetroot soup (Barszcz)
Roast pumpkin
Cullen skink
Potato, bacon & sweetcorn chowder
Dhal (curried red lentil)
Cauliflower & potato
TBH, you don't need anything fancy to make soup. As long as you've got stock cubes and dried mixed herbs, any vegetables will do. It's a good way of using up tired old veg. There's a common misconception that soup is hard to make and needs poncy ingredients. Couldn't be further from the truth.
Soup is really easy, doesn't have to be complicated. The most basic I make is just a simple vegetable soup.
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 good-sized carrots
2 large sticks celery
1 leek
1 parsnip
tablespoon vegetable oil
2 stock cubes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
Dice / chop the veg, sweat off in the oil with the bay leaf and herbs. When the onion and leek are translucent, add about 2/3 of a kettle of boiling water, the stock cubes and some freshly ground black pepper to taste. Simmer for about 20 mins.
You can also add some small pasta shapes (broken up spaghetti will do), some diced potato or some pearl barley. If you've some leftover meat bones, throw those in while cooking, as they'll add a really good flavour.
I make loads of soups during the colder months, usually dictated by whatever veg I've got in / want using. I don't always blend soups, it just depends on my mood. If I want a thicker soup without blending, I'll throw in half a cup of red lentils. Likewise, if you want creaminess *without* adding cream, then add a floury potato (e.g. maris piper) into the mix.
Other favourite soups here are:
Carrot, sweet potato & red lentil (I'll add thai red curry paste to this sometimes, and creamed coconut)
Leek & potato
Minestrone
Curried parsnip
Polish beetroot soup (Barszcz)
Roast pumpkin
Cullen skink
Potato, bacon & sweetcorn chowder
Dhal (curried red lentil)
Cauliflower & potato
TBH, you don't need anything fancy to make soup. As long as you've got stock cubes and dried mixed herbs, any vegetables will do. It's a good way of using up tired old veg. There's a common misconception that soup is hard to make and needs poncy ingredients. Couldn't be further from the truth.
briantrumpet
Legendary Member
- Location
- Devon & Die
Must try this. I've used it instead of butter at the start of the process (my original squash recipe uses 200g of butter!), but I like the sound of an emulsion that is nice and creamy that does down my gullet rather than on the walls.
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Barszcz is really easy, btw...
1 vac pack of cooked beetroot
1 onion
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1 small cooking apple
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 stock cubes
2/3 kettle of boiling water (approx 1.2 litres)
Lemon juice to taste
Much the same method as above vegetable soup. You're aiming for a sweet-sour flavour. This is traditional for Christmas eve (use veg stock only then), but I make it regularly as it's just really good anyway.
1 vac pack of cooked beetroot
1 onion
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1 small cooking apple
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 stock cubes
2/3 kettle of boiling water (approx 1.2 litres)
Lemon juice to taste
Much the same method as above vegetable soup. You're aiming for a sweet-sour flavour. This is traditional for Christmas eve (use veg stock only then), but I make it regularly as it's just really good anyway.
You can get concentrated beetroot syrup as well - boosts the flavour quite a bit. Mrs C uses fresh beetroot when doing it as well, takes a bit longer to cook off though.
Yes, similar principle to mayonnaise. Adding the oil at the end and whizzing with a blender creates a lovely creamy texture without the need for cream or butter. Works with carrot soup, mushroom soups and squashes etc, I sometimes add a teaspoon of olive oil without whizzing at the end of a tomato based recipe to deliberately create a split source which has a nice texture.
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
I know - comes in a bottle, made by Krakus. You can also get a powdered / freeze-dried version. I used to work in a Polish deli as a Saturday job when I was a teenager, and we sold both kinds.
Beetroot soup is traditional for us for Christmas Eve, dad always made it from concentrate. I prefer to make it from scratch. Last year I found a spill of beetroot in a nearby verge when they were lifting the crop. Which certainly came in very handy!
Mrs C is Polish, she usually does it with Uszka, but not sure if that's just something her family does or if it's something more widespread. We're there this year for Christmas, her Mum normally does the full Christmas Eve.
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
My dad was Polish. Well, half Polish, and half ethnically German, but who were "Poles by choice", if I'm being really pedantic.
Yeah, dad always insisted on uszki in the barszcz, but I generally don't bother. Uszki are something of a regional thing, not everyone does them, and not all regions do beetroot soup for Wigilia anyways. I personally like Barszcz with the chopped up veggies left in.
We observe most of the Polish Christmas Eve traditions here chez Casa Reynard, but as there's only two of us plus one cat, we keep it nice and simple. Plus, I do a poncy roast dinner on Christmas Day, so I don't like to go overboard.
briantrumpet
Legendary Member
- Location
- Devon & Die
Did a 'wonky soup' this morning, or, to be more precise, curried carrot & parsnip soup using dead cheap wonky veg from Aldi. I think total cost is about £2, and probably about 15 generous bowls of soup. Interesting that carrots & parsnips must have a much higher dry-matter percentage than butternut squash, as I needed to add *a lot* more milk & stock to make it soupy rather than mortar consistency.
VinSumRox
Über Member
- Location
- Scottish Borders
My standard soup is carrot, sweet potato a d ginger. Fry off the the chopped ginger and an onion or two, add water, chopped carrots, chopped sweet potato, handful of red lentils, chili powder, smoke paprika and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Lid on the pressure cooker, 12 minutes cooking and then use the stick blender.
Any other left over veg can be added as well.
Any other left over veg can be added as well.
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Reheated some cooked chicken thighs in stock last night, so used that as the basis for today's chicken, vegetable & noodle soup.
Highly recommend the "Kucharek" brand of chicken stock cubes and vegetable seasoning powder. Much nicer (and cheaper) than Knorr or Oxo, and blows the socks off Tesco's own brand. Found in the Polish aisle in supermarkets.
Highly recommend the "Kucharek" brand of chicken stock cubes and vegetable seasoning powder. Much nicer (and cheaper) than Knorr or Oxo, and blows the socks off Tesco's own brand. Found in the Polish aisle in supermarkets.
