Garlic Mushroom Soup

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We have had rain virtually every day here in East Anglia for the last month. The sky has been grey, and it has been chilly for May. So soup seemed to be on the agenda. I decided to whip-up some mushroom soup as I had the ingredients at hand, and it made a yummy, warming filler on a drizzly day.

Ingredients:

• Mushrooms 20-25 chestnut
• Garlic 5-6 cloves to taste
• Potato 170 g/ 6 oz
• Water 1.5 litres/ 6 cups (or so)
• Vegetable Stock Cube 1
• Greek Yogurt 2 Tbs
• Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and cut the potato into 1/2 inch cubes (peeled or unpeeled to taste – I leave mine unpeeled).  Remove the skins from the garlic and dice finely.  Cut the mushrooms into 1/4 inch peices.  In a pot or soup-maker place the veg and add the water.  Pring to a boil and reduce to a high simmer if using a pan, or run one cycle of soup maker (about 30 minutes).  Add the stock and cook for 10 -15 minutes longer or a 1/2 cycle of maker.  Then blitz for about 30 seconds for chunkier, or 1 minute for smooth soup.  Stir in yogurt and salt to taste – that’s it.

 

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Padre

Mediterranean Inspired Vegetable Soup

Padre’s Ramblings

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Winter is still with us (in UK) and soup is always a good cold weather choice. Today I made a Mediterranean inspired vegetable soups that I found very tasty. While it lacks some traditional ingredients such as union or pasta, it is still warming and filling. My previous recipe for this I found it a bit bitter. The addition of a little milk and sugar remedied that but was hit and miss when using tomatoes. This time I used a cheaters short cut and used tomato soup rather than tomatoes, milk, and sugar. The result, I found, was far more satisfactory.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato 1 large (approx 350 g)

• Sweet Potato 1 large (approx. 350 g)
• Potato 1 average (approx. 200 – 220 g)
• Carrot 1 medium (approx. 100 g)
• Basil fresh 30 g
• Haricot Beans [navy beans or similar] 1 tin (400 g)
• Tomato Soup 1 tin (400 g)
• Garlic Powder 1 tsp
• Ground Oregano 1 tsp
• Vegetable Stock Cube 1
• Salt 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
• Water 1 1/4 litres

Method:

Wash the potato with the peel on and then dice it into 1/4 inch pieces.  Peel the carrot and sweet potato and cut them into similar sized pieces.  Roughly chop the basil and it and the chopped veg into a soup maker or large pot, along with the water and salt.  Run for one cycle (soup maker) or boil for 30 minutes.  Then add the stock cube, garlic, oregano, tomato soup, and beans (drained) and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.  Then pulse blitz only for a few seconds, just long enough to break up any bigger pieces, and then serve.  I prefer it this way, though it can be blended to smooth if you prefer.

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Padre

Potato Garlic Soup

This is a really flavourful soup that is really easy to make as well.  It has the filling quality of potato and the umph of garlic.  How can you beat theat?

Ingredients:

• Potatoes 10-12 ounces (with peels)
• Celery 8-10 stalks
• Water 1.5 litres/6 1/2 cups
• Garlic 3-4 large cloves
• Vegetable Stock Cubes 2
• Greek Yogurt 150 g/ 1/2 cup heaped

 

Method:

Wash the potatoes and cut into large cubes.  Coarsely chop the celery.  Add the potatoes and celery to a soup pot or soup maker and add the water and stock cubes.  Bring to boil and then reduce to a high simmer, and cook for 1 hour (or 2 cycles in soup maker).  Peel and quarter the garlic and add it to the pot/maker.  Allow to simmer 5 minutes and then blitz until a thick creamy soup is made.  Then stir in the yogurt and blitz quickly before serving.

 

Padre

 

 

Lightly Curried Fish Soup

To avoid freezer burn, I did some sorting of opened and resealed items.  Among these were a quarter bag of broccoli florets, and two pollock fillets which looked rather tired, but still good to eat.  Rather than making a “bland dish” with the fish which might have been a bit disappointing in their slightly dried state, I decided to make a soup with a bit of spice to revive the items’ potential.  The end was a satisfying soup with a hint of curry, that was filling and worth the effort.  You don’t need to use “tired” food to do this, that is just how the recipe came about.  I am sure with “at their prime” ingredients this dish would be even more delicious.

Ingredients:

• White Fish Fillets (skinless) 2 medium
• Potatoes 1 baking or 2 medium
• Broccoli 2 cups of florets separated
• Curry Paste 3 Tbs
• Water 1.25 litres
• Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and peel potatoes (if desired, I personally leave skins on).  Chop potato into 1/2 inch cubes.  Do the same with the fish portions.  Place the curry paste into large soup pan and warm.  Add potato and stir to coat with paste.  Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a high simmer for 40 minutes.  You can either leave it chunky or blitz for a smooth soup.  Add additional salt as needed.

 

Padre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tangy Cheddar Corn Soup

images: Pixabay

While April may not seem the perfect soup season, being in lock down does make soup a useful meal as one works through their stores.  This recipe grew out of precisely that scenario.

Ingredients: 

• Sweetcorn 375 ml / approx 1 1/2 cups (frozen or fresh kernels)
• Cheddar Cheese 100 g/ 3 1/2 ounces (mature)
• Vegetable Stock Cubes 2
• Ground Cayenne Pepper 1/2 tsp
• Milk 250 ml / approx 1 cup
• Water 1 to 1 1/4 litres (quarts)

Method:  

In a soup pot: Pour the water and milk into pot and bring to a point just before a boil.  Add the corn, pepper, and stock cubes.  Stir and then cover.  Cook on a high simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes.  In the meantime grate the cheese.  When time has elapsed, remove lid and stir in the cheese.  Blitz until smooth (or to desired chunkier texture).

In a soup maker: Add all ingredients except the cheese, and set for one cycle [mine is 28 minutes].  Grate the cheese while waiting.  When the cycle is complete add the cheese, and pulse until smooth.

Padre

Broccoli, Spinach, and Goats Cheese Soup

Here is another of my simple soup recipes. This is one of the soups we have turned to for lower carb, and decent fat content.  It has only five ingredients and cooks in less than an hour.  It has a nice sharp cheese flavour and the veggie goodness of the broccoli and spinach.

Ingredients:

• Broccoli 1/3 medium crown
• Leaf Spinach 200 g
• Mature Goats Cheese 200 to 240 g (hard cheese)
• Water 1.5 litres
• Gluten-free Vegetable Stock Cube (1-2 according to taste)

 

Method:

Cut broccoli into florets.   Rinse the spinach and pat dry.  Place the veg into a large pan or soup-maker. Add the water and bring to a boil for about 30 minutes (or one cycle on soup maker). Add the stock cube and return to low boil (or second time through soup maker cycle). Blitz the cooked broccoli until smooth.  Cube or shred the cheese and stir until dissolved (or blitz into mixture is using soup-maker).

Padre

Quick Seafood Soup

Seafood Soup

We have been on holiday in Cornwall over the Christmas break. As one never knows what the availability and quality of food might be in an area, especially when self-catering, and over a holiday, I brought my trusty soup maker with me.

While I did make my standard Broccoli and Cheese soup, I also had the opportunity to make a seafood soup as well, as a kind of treat.  This is a simple recipe, which goes a long way in feeling indulgent even though it is basic.

Ingredients:

• Salmon Filet 150 g
• Smoked Haddock 150 g
• Carrots 4
• Double Cream 150 ml
• Vegetable or Fish Stock Cubes 2
• Water 1.25 litres
• Ground Black Pepper to taste

Method:

Scrape and dice the carrots and add them to a soup maker or large pot. Add the water and bring to a low boil (in soup maker run though one cycle). After about 30 minutes puree the carrots in the water to make a thin stock. Cube the fish portions and add them to the pot (soup maker) along with the stock cubes. Cook for one more cycle or 20 minutes, and then remove from heat.  Stir in the cream and season with pepper.

Padre

Soup Stretcher

Many people have a love/hate relationship with gluten-free products.  It may be that some have a reputation of being “cardboard.” But one gluten-free category does have some flavour merit: Pasta.

Gluten-free pasta is incredibly variable however. It can be made from rice, corn (maize), potato, tapioca, and a broad range of other “friendly” starches. In addition, the cooking time can vary between 3 and 12 minutes.

Other considerations are the fact that most gluten-free pasta does not reheat well. This creates a situation where you need to cook less of it to avoid left-overs, or overeat, or throw-away.

In my experience the size of the packaging seems to promote “left-over” uncooked noodles and such. This led to a wide range of partial packages in the cupboard, any of which were less than a full serving size, and with the aforementioned cooking time variation, it was potentially waste.

That is where soup comes in. These miscellaneous partial pasta portions make a great “soup stretcher.”  I take the various noodles, shells, and tubes and break them into similar sized pieces. These are stored in a single large Kilner or Mason jar and a large handful can be added to the soup maker when the favourite recipes are being made. This adds some volume to the mix, and as it is stewing for a considerably longer time than the recommended cooking time, the pasta either makes a “noodle” element to the soup, or dissolves to thicken the broth.  All in all a win-win, as it uses surplus pasta, and makes for a heartier soup.

Padre

 

Morphy Richards 48822, Stainless Steel Soup Maker: Review

American “Turkey Day” has now come and passed, and the days are getting chilly. That must mean it is “Soup Season.” [Okay, to be fair “Soup Season” never really ends in my house, but for many it is this time of year when the broths and soups begin to grace the tables]. It being Foodie Friday, it seemed a suitable occasion to write my second gadget review.

I have mentioned my Morphy Richards soup maker before, but not as a thorough review. My machine is a Morphy Richards 48822, stainless steel model.  It has a 1.6 litre capacity, and settings for chunky soup, smooth soup, and a blitzing function. The manufacturer’s manual said that the blitzer aspect could also be used to make smoothies, but I have never been so inclined in a device that a- heats up, and b- has been used to make multiple pots of soup [thereby have some burned on remnants].

As my wife prefers creamy and smooth soups, I experimented with the smooth setting.  I found that some more dense or fibrous veg didn’t always soften fully in a single cycle, and once blitzed burned in the bottom corners if run again [thus the previous note about smoothies].  Now to be fully fair here, it made lovely soup in a single cycle if not dealing with Swede, or similar.

To meet my needs, however, I generally run my ingredients through the two cycles of  the chunky cycle to make sure they are ultra soft, and then use the internal blades to make a perfectly smooth soup, blitzing it myself.  Timing is usually comparable to the pot method [each chunky cycle being 28 minutes], but there is somewhat less slicing and dicing, and the final blitz is a “one stop” process.

While it is billed as a 1.6 litre appliance, I find that it runs better at 1.5, as the internal sensors sometimes cut off the process when it begins to boil with the full capacity is reached.

Cleaning is relatively easy, though it does require a bit of scrubbing and care [especially if it is allowed to fully cool]. The upper section, which has the controls, and blade arm attached requires a soapy cloth or sponge to clean. A careful stream of running water over the blades is helpful.  But as it is an electrical device water needs to be kept away from parts further up.  Similarly as the heating elements are in the base this too needs care. The jug can be filled with water for cleaning, but can’t be immersed. After cleaning a good towel dry is usually enough to have it ready to start again.

All in all, I do really like this machine, and think it is one of my “good” purchases.  While I am a traditionalist in most things kitchen, this is one of my modern concessions, as it does allow me to put my focus on other things once it is up and running.

Padre

Simple Carrot and Coriander Soup

This is another easy to make soup.  It has a nice veggie taste, and only a few ingredients. The turmeric and carrots give it a rich colour, and even with the days getting warmer the soup provides a fresh-feeling meal.

Ingredients:

• Carrots 5 medium to large
• Water 1.3 – 1.5 litres
• Vegetable Stock Cubes 2
• Coriander Leaf  1 tsp dried
• Turmeric  1/4 – 1/3 tsp dried

Method:

Peel and slice the carrots and add to a soup pot or soups maker.  Add the dry ingredients and water.  Bring to a high boil and then reduce and allow to stew for 50 minutes to an hour.  Blitz well until it takes a firm even consistency.  A little more coriander can be sprinkled on as a garnish when serving.

Padre