Carrot and sweet potato soup

Another simple soup for warming up in winter. I’ve made many pumpkin soups in my time, but I enjoyed this one so much that it will become another favourite in rotation. Both carrots and sweet potato are packed with beta-carotene, which is great for healthy skin and eyes. You could replace the rosemary with parsley. Give this orange soup a go.

1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 sweet potato, chunks
4 carrots, chopped
1 cup of stock + hot water
1/2 tsp of rosemary, ground

1. Brown the onion in some oil in a pot.
2. Boil the kettle for your stock. Make up stock and add to the pot.
3. Add the carrots, sweet potato and rosemary. Add more hot water to cover all the ingredients.
4. Gently simmer until the carrots and sweet potato are soft, about 30 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and blitz well with a hand blender or food processor. Add more stock until you have the consistency you want.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 2-3.

Pumpkin and apple soup

Before the drought, my aunt and uncle used to have a lush native rainforest in their backyard. Unfortunately with the water restrictions it has since been cut back and only the hardy plants remain. Over the autumn, they  found two different pumpkin vines growing from their compost heap. They harvested over  30 pumpkins and my aunt made soup, bread, and curry. We gratefully received one golden nugget and one jap.

I try to keep my soup recipe simple and let the pumpkin shine. Having said that, some pumpkins taste much better than others, so try a different kind if you think you don’t like them. If it’s a special occasion and you have the time, you could roast the pumpkin and apples first (and then follow the rest of the recipe cutting down on the simmering time). The apple and nutmeg give this comforting pumpkin soup a flavour lift.

It’s also worth using a decent stock as there are so few ingredients in this recipe. If you boil the kettle, you can top up with more hot water as you go and the soup won’t lose heat.

1 red onion, chopped
2 apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 pumpkin, peeled and chopped
1 cup of stock + hot water
1/2 tsp of nutmeg

1. Brown the red onion in some oil in a pot.
2. Boil the kettle for your stock. Make up stock and add to the pot.
3. Add the pumpkin, apples and nutmeg. Add more hot water to cover all the ingredients.
4. Gently simmer until the pumpkin and apples are soft, about 30 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and blitz well with a hand blender or food processor. Add more stock until you have the consistency you want.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

Garden tomato and basil soup

Our tomatoes are starting to pick up the pace in our garden. We need to pick them early to stop the caterpillars having a feast before we do. Soup is a great way to hide any less then perfect tomatoes. I used some that had split from the fluctuating rain and my half-hearted attempts at remembering to watering. I recommend using a tomato peeler – it makes the job ultra easy with it’s special serrated jaws. Add some milk to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Make a big batch if you like, and then freeze the leftovers. You could use this recipe as a basis for passata for pasta sauce or a stew base.

Garden Tomato and Basil Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic, minced
1 cup tomatoes, cored, peeled and chopped
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp soy milk or milk
1 tbsp sugar
½ lemon, juiced
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1. Saute the onion and garlic in some canola oil for several minutes.
2. Combine the tomato, stock, soy milk, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan.
3. Simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Take off the heat and add some basil leaves.
5. Puree in a blender or food processor.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with basil.
7. Serve with toasted cheese sandwiches or a crusty bread roll for a easy dinner or quick lunch.

Variation: Use a tin of tomatoes or a cup of tomato juice (e.g. V8) instead of real tomatoes.

Serves 2.

Istarska minestra – Istrian minestrone (Croatian)

Cooked for the Croatian entry of the Euro Cup and Plate challenge.

1 can borlotti beans
1 smoked pork hock
1 cup diced soup vegetables – carrots, swede, turnip …
1 small tin sweet corn
1 bay leaf
1 cup small pasta shells
3 tbsp cooking oil
1 large onion, diced
1 can peeled tomatoes
2 tbps vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, add the pork and cover with water to cook over medium-heat. When the pot comes to the boil, remove from heat and drain the water. Add fresh water to cover the pork hock, diced soup vegetables, corn and bay leaf. Simmer for at least 2 hours to allow the flavours to develop.
2. After an hour and a half, cook the pasta separately.
3. Heat the oil in a separate frying pan over medium-heat and brown the onion. Add tomatoes and borlotti beans, stir briefly and add to the soup along with the cooked pasta.
4. Stir in the vinegar before serving. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove the pork hock, cut it into smaller pieces and return to the soup.

Serves 4.