Tag: Soup

Salmon & Pepper Soup

  • This soup is delicious and I think it will be the basis of at least two other recipes.
  • It is based on one found in one of my recent book purchases in Wrocław.
  • Łosoś is salmon in Polish
  • Did you know that Poland is a big importer of salmon, much of which comes from Sweden?

Ingredients

  • 2 onions
  • 3 peppers – different colours
  • 200-300g fresh salmon -(1-2 whole pieces best)
  • 1½ litres vegetable stock
  • ½ teaspoon hot paprika
  • A little sunflower oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • *
  • Optional – chopped flat leaved parsley or chives to garnish 

Method

  • Cut the onions in half and then slice then 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 salmon and simmer for around 15 minutes.
  • Take out the salmon, remove the skin and cut into chunks.
  • Put the salmon back into the soup.
  • Season if necessary.
  • *
  • Garnish with green herbs if you have them.
  • *
  •  Great with crusty French style bread.

Served in a Royal Doulton – Carnation Soup Plate.

Peach Soup

  • This is a super soup which can be served warm or chilled.
  • A dollop of yoghourt is good with the chilled version.
  • I prefered it warm even though this is summer fruit.

Ingredients

  • 6 peaches or nectarines
  • 250 ml white wine
  • 80g granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of ground cloves
  • Pinch of ground ginger
  • *
  • Optional – dollop of yoghurt for serving when chilled 

Method

  • Quarter the fruit and remove the stones.
  • Put the fruit, sugar and spices in a pan with the wine.
  • Simmer the fruit in the wine for around 15 minutes until they are soft.
  • Blend the mixture with a stick blender.
  • Serve warm or chilled.

Served in Royal Doulton Burgundy and Bavaria China

White Bean Soup – Ułańska

  • I made this soup recently and it was delicious.
  • I am very curious about the name – maybe one of you knows the history?
  • The ułani are the Uhlans – The Lancers.
  • A cavalry regiment famous in many patriotic folksongs such as  
  • ‘Hej, Hej ułani’
  • *
  • What is the relationship between them and this soup?
  • I cannot envisage them having these ingredients on their travels!

Ingredients

  • 200g thick cut bacon – cut into small pieces
  • 2 onions – chopped fine
  • 2 cloves of garlic – chopped
  • 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 tin of cannellini beans – drained
  • 60g ‘big’ dried pasta
  • 250 soured cream
  • Pinch of paprika
  • Ground pepper to taste
  • Sunflower to fry the onions

Method

  • Gently fry the onions in sunflower oil till soft.
  • Add the garlic, mix and fry a little more.
  • Add the bacon and fry for a few minutes more.
  • Add the pinch of paprika.
  • Add the chicken stock and simmer for around 30 minutes.
  • Add the beans and the pasta and simmer until the pasta is cooked.
  • Add ground pepper to taste.
  • Stir in the soured cream and serve.
  • *
  • Option – you can omit the soured cream – still nice.

Served in Royal Stafford – Blossom Time

Rhubarb Soup – 2

  • This is a  variation on my earlier post of rhubarb soup,  in fruit soups, which is usually served chilled.
  • This one is best served warm.
  • It is based on one in a recent book purchase from my trip to Wrocław. 
  • Some of the sweetnest is achieved by using prunes.

Ingredients

  • 100g prunes
  • Rind of 1 lemon
  • 400g of  rhubarb – chopped into small pieces
  • 1½ litres of water
  • 100g of granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of potato flour
  • 180ml of soured cream

Method

  • Put the prunes in the water and leave to stand for an hour.
  • Add the lemon rind and simmer for a while.
  • Add the chopped rhubarb and bring to the boil.
  • Simmer gently until the rhubarb is cooked.
  • Sieve the liquid.
  • Add the sugar to the liquid.
  • Mix the potato flour with a little cold water.
  • Add the potato flour mix.
  • Heat gently with stirring until the soup thickens.
  • Add the soured cream.

Served warm

Can be served with sponge fingers.

Alfred Meakin – Spanish Garden Dish

Butternut Squash Soup

  • I was looking for a recipe for pumpkin – dynia in Polish – soup and found one in what I call my Polish Classic “bible”.
  • I will try this out in the autumn but as there are lots of butternut squashes – dynia piżmowa  or dynia orzechowa– in Polish – in the shops at the moment I decided to try this instead.
  • I have never really cooked with butternut squash before and my main piece of advice is to be very careful peeling it.
  • I found it is best to slice off the top and bottom with a sharp knife or cleaver.
  • I found it easier to then cut it into two horizontally  and have the cut surface on a board.
  • Then use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
  • The soup has a mild sweet taste.

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 2 onions
  • 2 red or orange peppers
  • 1 ½ litres of vegetable stock
  • Around 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 125ml soured cream
  • Salt & pepper & sugar to taste.
  • *
  • Extra teaspoons of soured cream to serve

Method

  • Peel the butternut squash,
  • Chop the squash into chunks.
  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Chop up the peppers and remove the seeds.
  • Gently fry the onions in the butter till golden,
  • Add the peppers and fry for a minute or two.
  • Add the vegetable stock and simmer for around 10 minutes.
  • Add the butternut squash and simmer for another 10 minutes or so.
  • Use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  • Season to taste.
  • Add the soured cream and stir before serving.
  • *
  • Add an extra teaspoon of soured cream to each serving if you want,

Meakin – Spanish Garden soup dish.

Another Carrot Soup

  • This is a French recipe known as Potage à la Cressy because the best carrots are said to be grown in France in the area of Cressy.
  • There are several versions of this soup with potatoes being added in some.

Ingredients

  • 8 medium/large carrots
  • 1 head of celery
  • 2 onions
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 100g boiled ham
  • 4 grains of allspice
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
  • Salt & pepper to taste 
  • Sugar – optional
  • *
  • A few chopped celery, lovage leaves or chives to garnish.

Method

  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Gently fry the onions in the butter until golden.
  • Chop the celery stems into small pieces and add these to the onions.
  • Peel and chop the carrots into small circles.
  • Chop the celery into small pieces.
  • Chop the boiled ham into small pieces.
  • Place then all into a large saucepan with the stock.
  • Add the all spice.
  • Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and leave it all to simmer.
  • Place the lid on the saucepan and let the soup cook for until the carrots and celery are soft.
  • This may take over an hour.
  • Use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  • Season to taste.
  • Add a little sugar – optional.
  • *
  • Garnish with chopped leaves if available.
  • Royal Doulton Burgundy soup plates.

Soup with Rocket

  • The Genus for rocket is Eruca.
  • It is part of the Brassica family.
  • The Polish word for this peppery vegetable is rokulka – 
  • Taken from the Italian word rucola.
  • In America it is called arugula.
  • Chopped rocket is added to this soup just before serving.

INGREDIENTS

  • 400g starchy potatoes 
  • 1 onion
  • 1 can of cannellini beans
  • 100g rocket
  • 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
  • Butter to fry onions
  • Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

  • Chop the onions into small pieces
  • Fry the onion in butter gently till golden.
  • Peel and chop the potatoes into small pieces.
  • Add the potatoes and stock and simmer for around 20 minutes till the potatoes are nearly cooked.
  • Drain the beans from the can and add to the potatoes.
  • Simmer for another 10 minutes.
  • Season to taste.*
  • *
  • Chop the rocket into small pieces and add to the soup before serving.
  • Stir in the rocket  and serve.
  • *
  • NOTE
  • Cook to this point if making the soup ahead of time – reheat and add rocket to serve.

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

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