Soup weather

[Wicksey]

In more ways than one ...... it's a real old 'pea-souper' out there today, can't see further than the edge of the terrace. In the mood for some hot soup so had French onion yesterday topped with cheesey bread and made a traditional Spanish one today - potatoes, chick peas, acelga (like spinach), jamon in a saffrony broth (nicer than it sounds!). It's warmed me up a bit anyway

[palmtrees]

I think we must live on chick pea-based soups/stews in winter (with acelgas). Probably due to Adelina next door feeding it to us endlessly for the first few years when we moved in.

She used to cook too much for her daughter and the marido and the kids (they all prefer burgers) so we always got the leftovers. Very good too it was. The other alternative she did was with broad beans and peas - both fresh when in season. To die for in our view.

Sometimes she added a bit of potato/arroz/pasta depending on the day. Do my own these days but they never taste quite the same. Still good though. Yummy.

[swerve]

You cant beat a pan of soup especially split pea soup with some bacon bones shuved in mmmmmmmmmmm

[Wicksey]

Glad to see there's other 'real' soup fans out there. For the price of one tin of horrible gloopy stuff, or even worse, those packets of dried dusty bits you have to rehydrate with water, you can make a vat of nutritious wholesome soup. Had some really nice spicy pumpkin soup at a firework night party the other week. My Mum hated cooking and used to give us those packet soup mixes .... ughhhhhh. I think that was the only type of fast food those days, apart from Vesta ....mmmm yum ....... Vesta Chow Mein with those crispy finger nails, sorry noodles, that you fried and put on top

[swerve]

Pea soup is even better if you leave it for a day goes very very thick you could even make a sandwich out of it if you tried ha ha

[Cassandra]

even worse, those packets of dried dusty bits you have to rehydrate with water

My husband bought a couple of those last year. He thought he was saving me some work, bless him, and was most confused when I took it as a personal insult and didn't speak to him for ages. Used them as stock in the end 'cos he wouldn't let me throw them away

[silver]

mulligatawny would make a nice change..anyone got a recipe

[Wicksey]

Have a look on google. There's loads of recipes but they all seem very different. Some are like a hearty veg soup with curry powder in and others are more of a spicy stock with mainly meat in.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 939530.ece
this is one from effing Gordon Ramsey

[BENIDORM]

Well..I do...if it is cheap enough....
Personally I see no problem , provided the packaging is ok and the tins aren't too dented, I couldn't care less....And great ingredients for soup and stew.....

[katy]

Wow Mulligatawny! I used to love that...was it made with oxtail?

[palmtrees]

Two totally clear soup recipes. Well not recipes as such, you get the idea, a few ingredients and put it all together.

First My Money. Again from my neighbours. Usually garlic (sometimes onion), tomatoes, water, er and not much else, apart from what you have left-over, maybe a bit of pasta. Sounds naff, but for a light evening meal it serves. Or for lunch with bread and maybe salad.

Secondly, re: the mulligatawny comments. I found a great recipe for a hot soup, chillies, vinegar, miso, some mushrooms - great with setas. It is not mulligatawny but it is hot and it is tasty. I will have a look for it at the weekend. It is also easy by the way.

[katy]

OH says mulligatawny had curry in it?

[Campo Kenny]

Yep, I thought it was an Indian soup..........speaking of ox tails, I love them.
I have one on order for the weekend, for cooking in a litre of red with seasonal veg......OH won't even look at them.

Surely with the quality of the chicken in Spain you could make a cracking old fashioned broth.........they're just not the same here.

Kenny

[peteroldracer]

Mulligatawny soup
by Brian Turner
from Ready Steady Cook
Serves 1
Preparation time:less than 30 mins
Cooking time:10 to 30 mins

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ red pepper, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 chicken stock cube
handful diced pineapple
75ml/3fl oz double cream

Method
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and pepper, frying gently for three minutes, to soften.
2. Add the spices and cook for a minute.
3. Crumble over the chicken stock cube and add a splash of water and the diced pineapple. Let it cook gently for ten minutes.
4. Add the double cream and let it simmer to reduce and thicken. Serve straight away.

[peteroldracer]

Carrot soup with ginger and lemon cream
by Kaia England from Masterchef
Serves 4
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins

Ingredients

For soup:
25g/1oz unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
600g/1lb 5oz carrots, peeled and cut into 2.5cm/1in pieces
675ml/1pint 2fl oz stock
For lemon cream:
finely grated rind of one lemon
55ml/1¾fl oz double cream
fresh chives, for garnish

Method

1. Melt the butter in a heavy large pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 4 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic; cook for another 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the chopped carrots and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
3. While the soup is cooling slightly, prepare the lemon cream. In small bowl, combine the double cream and the grated lemon zest. Cover with cling film and refrigerate.
4. Pureé the soup in batches in a blender or food processor. Return the soup to the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the soup back to a simmer, thinning with more stock, if necessary. Just before serving, grate in a bit more fresh ginger. Ladle into bowls and use a teaspoon to drizzle, or a plastic squirt bottle to draw, a pattern onto the surface of the soup with the lemon cream. Top with finely snipped chives.

On the BBC website ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/ ) there are only 445 recipes for soup......of all sorts!

[Don]

Yup, soup and casserole season is under way - favourites = thick veg, whatever you have plus stock then whizzed. Lentils and chorizo. Portugese cataplana, pork casserole with clams. Chile con carne of course. Russian borsch with beetroot and cabbage.

[Wicksey]

Portugese cataplana,

what's one of those Don??

[Don]

Classic portuguese dish Wicksey, or actually a range of dishes as you can have different ingredients as you can have with paella.

The pork and clam cataplana is basically a pork casserole with white wine, a lot of parsley and quite a bit of garlic, some onion and green pepper. Prawn stock or other shellfish stock goes well as a base then when all is just about ready you throw in some clams, fresh or tinned for 2 minutes at the end. Pork might take 3 hrs or so to cook tender but the clams only a few minutes at most. Absolutely delicious.

[Wicksey]

That's an unusual mix, pork and clams/shellfish stock. I shall have to try it. (You're obviously not watching the England game either, Don!! I'm in my 'den' on this computer giving my OH the chance to watch his footie in peace )

[Don]

Not watching any tv tonight as satellite dish not receiving after yesterday's storm and having a quiet night in.

As for the recipe, google cataplana for ideas. As with paella the name comes from the dish it is traditionally cooked in but the mix is good.

An easy pork shoulder cut needing a few hours stewing, your own stock of choice plus white wine and plenty of parsley. Your choice of how much garlic but a good dose of onions and green pepper - sweet round or long. Only when it is good and tasty with this much do you throw in the clams for the finale.