Category: Soup

Tomato & Pepper Soup

  • The idea for this soup came about from a salad with vinaigrette that was left over.
  • The vinegar gives the soup a tangy taste and the chilli flakes a little ‘heat’ 

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g tomatoes
  • 3-4 Peppers – red, orange or yellow – not green
  • 1 -2 tablespoons wine or cider vinegar
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock 
  • ½ – 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

  • Skin the tomatoes in boiling water.
  • Chop the tomatoes into quarters and fry gently in the sunflower oil.
  • Cut the peppers into medium sized chunks and add to the tomatoes and stir.
  • Add the vegetable stock and the vinegar.
  • Add the chilli flakes and simmer gently until the peppers are soft.
  • Take the pan off  the heat  and purée the contents with a stick blender.
  • Season to taste.
  • Reheat before serving if necessary.

Meakin – Spanish Garden Soup Dish

Swede Soup

  • Swede – brukiew  – in Polish –  is quite a sweet vegetable.
  • The soup is pureed so it is more an English style soup.

INGREDIENTS

  • Around 500g of peeled swede
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 medium potatoes
  • 1½ litres chicken stock
  • Butter for frying
  • 125ml soured cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • *
  • Skwarki(crispy bacon bits) or charred onion bits to serve

METHOD

  • Chop the onion into small pieces and fry gently in the butter.
  • Chop the swede into small chunks and add to the onions.
  • Add the stock and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
  • Peel and chop the potatoes into chunks and add to the soup.
  • Simmer gently for around 15 minutes until both the swede and potato are soft.
  • This may take longer.
  • Take the pan off the heat and purée with a stick blender.
  • Bring back to heat and stir in the soured cream.
  • Season to taste and serve.
  • *
  • Serve here with charred onions.

Broccoli Soup – 2

  • Although broccoli, one of the many cultivars of wild cabbage was introduced into Poland in the 16th century, its popularity seems to have waned until fairly recently.
  • My old cookery book first published in the mid 1950s makes no mention of  this vegetable – brokula -in Polish.
  • When it was introduced into England it was called ‘Italian Asparagus’.
  • I have based this recipe on my recipe for cauliflower soup and puréed the ingredients, which is more in an English style.

Ingredients

  • Around 500g of broccoli
  • 1 litre of chicken stock (can be from a cube or concentrate)
  • 500ml of milk plus a tablespoon or two.
  • 1 tablespoon of potato or cornflour
  • *
  • 125 ml of soured cream to serve
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

  • Cut the broccoli into small pieces of stem and florets.
  • Simmer the stem pieces in the stock till nearly tender.
  • Add the florets and simmer till both are tender.
  • Add the 500ml of milk and bring to the boil.
  • Use a stick blender or similar to liquidise the ingredients.
  • Season to taste.
  • Mix the potato flour with the extra milk.
  • Mix the flour with the rest of the soup.
  • Heat gently, stirring whilst it thickens.
  • Stir in the soured cream before serving.
Royal Doulton – Carnation Soup Plate

Dark Mushroom Soup

  • I have recently returned from a trip to the Netherlands to visit my old school friend.
  • We were invited out to dinner and had a lovely meal, which gave me several ideas for new recipes.
  • Our host had cooked venison and had used venison stock to make a soup.
  • Now I am unlikely to get any venison in the near future so I decided to used beef stock (from a cube) to make this soup.
  • Whilst eating this soup I thought it had ingredients, which could easily be a soup that would be very popular in Poland.
  • These were: fresh mushrooms, sauerkraut and smoked bacon. 
  • I did not have any flat leaved parsley on the day I made this or I would have used it to garnish the soup.

Ingredients

  • 200g mushrooms – white or brown caps.
  • 1 large onion 
  • 3-4 rashers of smoked bacon
  • 100 – 150g sauerkraut 
  • 1½ litres of beef stock (can be from cubes or concentrate)
  • Sauerkraut liquor – to taste 
  • Salt & pepper to taste.
  • *
  • Flat leaved parsley to serve

    Method

  • Chop the onion into small chunks.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into thin slices.
  • Add the onion and mushrooms to the stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then let it simmer with a lid on the pan.
  • Simmer for around 30 minutes.
  • Cut the bacon into thin long pieces.
  • Drain sauerkraut and chop it into smaller strands.
  • Add the bacon and sauerkraut and let these simmer for another 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Adjust the sourness with sauerkraut liquor to taste.
  • Season to taste.
  • *
  • Serve with flat leaved parsley if available.
Soup Plate by Royal Doulton – Carnation

Carrot & Leek Soup

  • This recipe makes two different types of soup – two ways –  chunky and creamed.
  • A light vegetable stock is the basis of this soup.

Ingredients

  • 4 large carrots
  • 2-3 leeks
  • 2 medium potatoes
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • *
  • Several tablespoonfuls of soured cream for the creamed soup

Method

  • Chop the leeks into small slices.
  • Fry them lightly in the butter.
  • Peel and chop the carrots.
  • Peel and chop the potatoes into small chunks.
  • Add then all to the stock.
  • Bring to the boil.
  • Simmer till the vegetable are soft.
  • *
  • Check the seasoning and serve.

Creamy version

  • Purée the vegetables – a stick blender is good for this.
  • Add the soured cream and serve.
  • Served in:
  • Royal Stafford – Blossom Time
  • Midwinter – Spanish Garden

Fish Soup

  • I thought that this soup would be excellent for Good Friday.
  • The base is a simple vegetable soup with mainly “green” vegetables and a few carrots.
  • You can vary the vegetables that you use.
  • Any white fish will be good and  you just need small pieces.
  • Where my late father used to live the small river formed part of the border between the then Poland and Russia.
  • He would often catch river fish, which he really liked.
  • I am sure he would have enjoyed this soup. 

Ingredients

  • 150g white fish  (Basa, Cod or Haddock)
  • 1 onion 
  • 2 leeks
  • 2 sticks of celery
  • ½ tin of sweetcorn
  • 1 large carrot
  • 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock
  • 2 tablespoons of soured cream
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

  • Chop up the onion and leeks.
  • Fry them gently in the butter.
  • Chop the celery into thin slices.
  • Chop the carrots into small pieces.
  • Mix all the vegetables together and add the stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer till nearly soft.
  • Cut the fish into small pieces and add them to the soup.
  • Simmer till the fish is cooked.
  • Stir in the soured cream.
  • Season to taste.

 

Royal Doulton Burgundy Soup Plate

Optional – If you use more fish you can serve this more as a main dish .

White Onion Soup

This soup is based on the recipe for white onion sauce .

Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions
  • 30g butter
  • 1  tablespoons of plain flour
  • 250 & 250ml vegetable stock
  • 125ml full fat Greek yoghurt or soured cream
  • Salt & pepper

Method

  • Chop the onion into pieces.
  • Cover with 250ml of vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer till soft.
  • Add the butter.
  • Use a blender to purée the onions.
  • Mix the rest of the 125ml of stock with the flour.
  • Add the stock mixture to the onions and bring to the boil.
  • Simmer and stir till the mixture thickens.
  • Add the yoghurt or soured cream.
  • Season to taste. 
Meakin – Midwinter China – Spanish Garden

Bean & Pepper Soup

This soup was inspired by the vegetables in my Tuna & New World Salad 

Ingredients

  • 1 tin of Beans – Cannellini, Pinto or Mixed – drained
  • 4 tomatoes – skinned & chopped
  • 1 small tin of sweetcorn – drained (or cooked frozen sweetcorn)
  • Yellow or Orange Pepper – chopped
  • 2 red chillies – chopped fine
  • 1 bunch of spring onions – white and green parts chopped
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock
  • 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

  • Fry the onions, tomatoes and peppers in the olive oil.
  • Add the sweetcorn and chillies.
  • Add the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer for around 20 minutes.
  • Add the beans and simmer for another 15 – 20 minutes.
  • Add the lemon juice.
  • Season to taste.
Meakin – Midwinter China – Spanish Garden

Lemony Vegetable Soup

  • This soup was inspired when making lemony chicken sauce.
  • The addition of lemon juice just before serving gives this soup a lovely tang.
  • It gives it the sour taste that is loved by Poles.
  • Use green vegetables mostly such as celery, lettuce, white & green part of leeks, chives and kale.
  • A little chopped carrot and  sweetcorn can be added.

Ingredients

  • Sliced or finely chopped green vegetables such as: 
  • celery
  • chives
  • kale
  • leeks – white and green
  • onions (if not using leeks)
  • sorrel
  • *
  • 1 carrot – chopped small
  • *
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 – 1½ litres of chicken or vegetable stock
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt & pepper to taste. 

Method

  • Melt the butter in a pan and lightly fry the leeks or onions.
  • Stir in the rest of the vegetables.
  • Cook for a few minutes.
  • Add the stock.
  • Simmer for 20 – 30 minutes till all vegetables are soft.
  • Season to taste.
  • Stir in the juice of the lemon.
Meakin – Midwinter – Spanish Garden

Lentil Soup

  • This recipe is based on Lentils-Polish style.
  • As autumn is approaching I thought I would share this warming soup recipe.

Ingredients

  • 150g – 200g dried Puy lentils
  • 100g smoked bacon – chopped into small squares
  • 1 large onion or 2 leeks – chopped.
  • 1 courgette – chopped into small pieces
  • ½ tube of tomato purée
  • 1½ litres of chicken stock (can be from a cube or concentrate)
  • 5 grains of allspice
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika (not smoked)
  • 2 tablespoons of butter for frying
  • Ground black pepper
  • Salt might not be needed because of the bacon

Method

  • Cook the lentils in water until they are soft.
  • Fry up the bacon and the onions in the butter.
  • Add the courgettes and put them into a large saucepan.
  • Add the stock, tomato puree and lentils.
  • Add the bay leaves and allspice.
  • Bring to the boil and then let simmer for around 30 minutes.
  • Season with the black pepper to taste.
Here served in Royal Doulton – Carnation (1982 – 1998)