Tag: Soup

Squash & Apple Soup

  • Having a bumper crop of apples this year, I have been looking for new apple recipes.
  • I came across this one and it turned out so delicious – a lovely slightly sour taste.
  • I think you could use pumpkin instead of squash but I have not tried this out.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 onion – chopped
  • 2 medium to large cooking apples
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock (I used Marigold powder)
  • A little butter to fry the onions
  • Salt & Pepper to taste.
  • *
  • Soured cream or yoghurt – optional

METHOD

  • Slice the butternut squash into large pieces.
  • Place on a baking tray and put in an warm oven and roast till the flesh is soft.
  • Leave to cool and then remove the flesh from the skin.
  • Fry the onion in the butter till golden.
  • Peel and core the apples.
  • Chop the apples into small chunks.
  • Put everything into the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer till everything is soft.
  • Use a stick blender to make thick liquid.
  • Season to taste
  • *
  • OPTIONAL
  • Add a tablespoon of soured cream or yoghurt to each serving.
  • *
  • Good served with toasted sourdough toast.

Zupa Piwna – Beer Soup

  • I have seen this in several books – thought I should give it a try.
  • Beer soups are very early soups found in many old recipe books and notes.
  • You need a light lager type beer.
  • I used ‘Tiskie’.
  • A bottle is 750ml.
  • *
  • I thought it needed some sweetness and added sugar lumps to taste when it was served.
  • *
  • I have added this for completeness – Polish soups  – but I must admit it was not my favourite 

Ingredients

  • 750ml of beer (1 bottle)
  • 2 whole cloves
  • Small piece of cinnamon bark
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon of milk or soured cream
  • *
  • Several sugar lumps to taste
  • *
  • To serve – fingers of toasted sour dough bread with cream cheese or similar 

Method

  • Heat the beer with the cloves and cinnamon – stirring to keep the froth down. 
  • Leave to simmer for around 3 minutes.
  • Remove the cloves and cinnamon.
  • *
  • Whisk together the milk/soured cream and the egg yolk.
  • Whisk this into the soup.
  • Serve straight away with the toasted sour dough bread and cream cheese.
  • *
  • Not Tested – sponge fingers or sponge cakes could go well with this.

Royal Doulton Burgundy soup plate

I am going to look at other soup recipes that use beer in them – keep a look out.

Pea Shoots & Chicken Soup

  • On my last visit to Gdańsk I noticed that many dishes were garnished with pea shoots.
  • Very near to where I live, in West Yorkshire, there are greenhouses that produce varieties of cress and salad mixes.
  • One of these is a mix that contains pea shoots.
  • I recieved several of these packets recently.
  • Besides using them as salads I decided to use them in a soup.
  • The recipe is based on a couple I have posted before for Early Summer Soup and Green Early Summer Soup.
  • This soup has a base similar to rosȯł (clear chicken soup) with the shoots added near the end of cooking time.
  • I used two chicken breasts but if you use chicken pieces still with their skin on them that will be good as well.

Royal Doulton – Burgundy Soup Plate

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 whole chicken breasts (can use chicken pieces with the skin on)
  • 1 large onion – chopped
  • Around 70g pea shoots or pea shoot mixture
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock – can be from a cube or powder
  • 4 -5 peppercorns
  • Salt – if needed – to taste

METHOD

  • Put the chopped onion, peppercorns and chicken breasts into the stock in a saucepan.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer for around 15 minutes.
  • Remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat (you can chop the flesh into smaller pieces if you wish).
  • Put the flesh back into the liquid.
  • Chop the pea shoots into smaller pieces.
  • Add this to the stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Season to taste and serve.

Pumpkin Soup – 2

  • When I came to file away my hard copy of my post for Pumpkin Soup – 1, I realised that I had made a pumpkin soup about  a year ago! 
  • It was a little different with the onions having been fried in butter.
  • *

  • This soup is a little richer than Pumpkin Soup – 1.

  • It has the addition of  soured cream.

  • However tomato purée is not used.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g of pumpkin flesh (peeled and seeds removed).
  • 2 red peppers
  • 2 large onions
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon of hot paprika powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of  salt.
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
  • Large handful of flat leaved parsley – chopped
  • 125 – 250ml of soured cream
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • *
  • Small handful of flat leaved parsley – chopped – to serve

METHOD

  • Remove all the peel and the seeds from the pumpkin.
  • Chop the flesh into small chunks.
  • De-seed the peppers and cut the flesh into small pieces.
  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Place all these chopped vegetables into a large saucepan and add the vegetable stock.
  • Add the lemon juice, salt and paprika powder.
  • Bring to the boil and then add a lid and allow to simmer.
  • Cook until the vegetables are soft.
  • Add the chopped parsley and simmer for another 5 minutes.
  • Take the pan off the heat.
  • Use a stick blender to liquidise the soup.
  • Season to taste.
  • *
  • Bring back to the boil and take off the heat again.
  • Slowly stir in the soured cream until it is well mixed in.
  • *
  • Sprinkle with the parsley to serve.

Royal Doulton Burgundy soup plate

Pumpkin Soup – 1

  • I have never cooked with pumpkins before – dynia in Polish.
  • This will be my first try with the first of two soups.
  • This one is the easiest.
  • Having said that, peeling the pumpkin can be difficult.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g of pumpkin flesh (peeled and seeds removed).
  • 2 red peppers
  • 2 large onions
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato purée 
  • 1 teaspoon of hot paprika powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of  salt.
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • *
  • Small handful of flat leaved parsley – chopped – to serve

METHOD

  • Remove all the peel and the seed from the pumpkin.
  • Chop the flesh into small chunks.
  • De-seed the peppers and cut the flesh into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Place all these chopped vegetables into a large saucepan and add the vegetable stock.
  • Add the tomato purée, lemon juice, salt and paprika powder.
  • Bring to the boil and then add a lid and allow to simmer.
  • Cook until the vegetables are soft.
  • Take the pan off the heat.
  • Use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  • Season to taste.
  • *
  • Serve with a little chopped flat leaved parsley.

Royal Standard – Blossom Time soup plate

Leek & Apple Soup

  • I saw this recipe in this book and wondered how it would come out.
  • I adapted the recipe slightly including adding extra apples to the base of the soup – not just the serving part.
  • It was delicious – a sweet warm soup – lovely.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 leeks – the white part
  • 2 eating apples – peeled and cored
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
  • 1 litre of apple juice – this can be from a carton of concentrate
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • *
  • To serve
  • 2 eating apples with red skins – cored and cut into thin slices.
  • 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds – toasted (optional)

METHOD

  • Chop the leeks into circles and then halve these.
  • Melt the butter in a pan and lightly cook the leeks – do not brown.
  • Cube the apple into small pieces and add these to the leeks and cook for a few minutes.
  • Add the marjoram.
  • Add the apple juice and simmer for around 15 minutes until the leeks are soft.
  • Season with the salt and pepper.
  • *
  • Toast the pumpkin seeds in a hot frying pan.
  • *
  • Serve with the apple slices on top and then the pumpkin seeds.

Here in a Meakin vintage serving dish.

Horseradish Soup

  • Zupa chrzanowa – horseradish soup  – this is one I came across recently when I found it on a list on favourite Polish soups.
  • It is often made at Easter* time however it is NOT one my mother ever made!
  • It is a “white” soup due to its use of white vegetables and soured cream.
  • You could call it a “cousin” of zurek – sour rye soup.
  • The original recipes use fresh grated horseradish but this is not so easy to come by in England so I used 2 small jars of creamed horseradish sauce instead.
  • Parsley root is also not to easy to find but the amount of celeriac can be increased slightly.
  • White turnip can be used if you cannot find any celeriac in the shops.
  • The soup is served with halves of hard boiled eggs and sometimes skwarki – crispy bacon bits.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 or 4 slices of streaky smoked bacon – optional
  • 4 -5 Frankfurter style sausages – chopped into small lengths.
  • 2 -3 medium onions
  • Butter to fry 
  • (1 parsley root – if available – chopped)
  • ½ of a celeriac – chopped into small cubes
  • 2-3 medium sized potatoes – chopped into small cubes**
  • 2  litres of chicken stock
  • ½ teaspoon of dried marjoram
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 grains of allspice
  • 4 peppercorns
  • 2 small jars of creamy horseradish sauce
  • 4 hard boiled eggs – halved – 1 egg per serving
  • Salt & pepper to taste – if needed
  • ** You can use already boiled potatoes – cubed and added at a later stage of the soup making.

METHOD

  • Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry gently to remove the fat and make skwarki. These will be used to garnish the soup.
  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Fry these gently in the butter till soft – do not brown.
  • Put the stock into a large pan and add the onions, the parsley and celeriac.
  • Also add the marjoram, bay leaves, allspice and peppercorns.
  • Heat gently until the vegetables are becoming soft.
  • Add the sausages and horseradish sauce and heat for another 5 minutes or so.
  • Season to taste.
  • *
  • Served with the bacon pieces and the halved hard boiled eggs.

Served in Royal Doulton Carnation soup plates.

*Horseradish is in the Easter basket that is blessed. It is a symbol of the bitter sacrifice of Christ.

Lemon Soup

  • Once again this is a soup my mother never made.
  • It does fit in with the Polish love of ‘sour’.
  • It is very refreshing and would be good on  hot summer’s day.

INGREDIENTS

  • 150g of cooked rice – pudding or risotto works well. (around 50g per person).
  • 1½ litres of stock – I used 2 chicken stock cubes & 1 teaspoon of vegetable stock powder
  • 4-5 lemons
  • 2 tablespoons of potato flour (or cornflour)
  • 125ml of soured cream
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

METHOD

  • Cook the rice and leave to cool.
  • Bring the stock to the boil and leave at a gentle simmer.
  • Mix the potato flour with a little water and add this to the stock,
  • Stir well until the soup thickens.
  • Add the juice of 2 lemons.
  • Season to taste.
  • You can add more lemon juice if you wish.
  • Remove the skin from the other lemons and cut them into thin slices.
  • Add the lemon slices to the hot soup.
  • Put some rice into a soup dish for serving.
  • Pour the hot soup over this including some lemon slices.
  • Serve straight away.
  • *
  • Squeeze the juice out of the lemon slices when you are eating the soup.

Pumpkin Soup

  • All the shops here in England are filled with pumpkins for Halloween, which is celebrated by many.
  • In Poland it is the Christian feasts of All Saints & All Souls on November 1st & 2nd that are celebrated with many people trying to get home to their relatives graves to clean them up and put grave candles on them.
  • As there are all these pumpkins – dynia -in Polish- I thought I would try out a pumpkin soup.
  • This is a very tasty yet simple soup.
  • I have added a couple of options.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pumpkin – small to medium – around 500g of flesh.
  • 1 large onion
  • Butter for frying the onion
  • 1½ litres of vegetable or chicken stock
  • ¼ teaspoon of ground paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • *
  • OPTION 1 – ½ a red pepper
  • OPTION 2 – 1 red pepper
  • OPTION 3 – roasted pumpkin seeds (not tested)

METHOD

  • Peel the skin off the pumpkin.
  • Cut the pumpkin into pieces – leaving the core.
  • Cut the flesh into small chunks.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Fry the onion until it is golden – even turning slightly brown.
  • Add the pumpkin and the fried onion to the stock and heat to boiling.
  • Turn down to simmer.
  • Simmer until the pumpkin flesh is soft.
  • Add the paprika.
  • Use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  • Bring back to boiling and serve straight away.
  • *
  • OPTION 1
  • Chop up ½ a red pepper and blanch and simmer for a few minutes.
  • Add some to each serving of soup.
  • *
  • OPTION 2
  • Chop up  1 pepper and add it after you have puréed the soup.
  • Simmer for around 10 minutes.
  • *
  • OPTION 3 – NOT TESTED
  • Add some roasted pumpkin seeds to each serving.
  • You can clean up and roast the pumpkin seeds from your own pumpkin.
  • *
  • Royal Doulton Carnation rimmed soup plate 
  • Royal Doulton Burgundy rimmed soup plate 
  • Johnson Snowhite bowl.

White Fish & Pepper Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 onions
  • 2 red peppers
  • Around 250g of white fish – cod, plaice, basa etc
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • ½ teaspoon hot paprika
  • A little sunflower oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • *
  • Optional – chopped parsley or chives to garnish 

Method

  • Cut the onion in half and then slice it thinly.
  • De-seed the peppers and then cut into long thin slices.
  • Lightly fry the onion and peppers in a little sunflower oil till soft.
  • Add the paprika and the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for around 10 minutes.
  • Add the pieces of fish and simmer for around 15 minutes.
  • Take out the fish, remove any skin and cut into chunks.
  • Put the fish back into the soup.
  • Stir.
  • Season if necessary.
  • *
  • Garnish with green herbs if you have them.
  • *
  •  Great with crusty French style bread.

Served in a Royal Doulton Burgundy rimmed soup plate.