Tag: Zupa

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

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

Broccoli Soup

  • This is a delicate creamy soup.
  • The Polish for broccoli is brokuły and comes from the Italian broccoli meaning a cabbage sprout.

Ingredients

  • Large head of broccoli
  • 1 large potato
  • 1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock
  • 125ml of soured cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  • Peel and chop the potato into small chunks.
  • Chop the broccoli stalks into small pieces.
  • Add the potatoes and broccoli stalks  to the stock.
  • Bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are nearly soft.
  • Add the rest of the broccoli and bring back to the boil.
  • Simmer till soft.
  • Remove from the heat.
  • Purée the soup – a stick blender is good for this.
  • Stir in the soured cream.
  • Season to taste.
  • Bring back to the boil and then serve.
  • Royal Doulton Carnation Dish – 1982-1998

Carrot & Thyme Soup

  • This recipe was given to me by one of my cousins that lives in Wembley.
  • It is from an old French recipe but all the ingredients can be found in England and Poland.

Ingredients

  • 400g carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 6- 8 sprigs of thyme
  • 40g rice
  • 1½ litres of chicken stock (can be from a cube or concentrate)
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Gently fry onion in the butter till it is golden.
  • Peel the carrots and chop them into small circles.
  • Put the onion, carrots and stock into a large saucepan.
  • Strip the leaves of thyme from the stalks and add these to the pan.
  • Add the rice to the pan.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer gently until the carrots are soft.
  • Stir occasionally.
  • Purée the soup – a stick blender is good.
  • Season to taste.
Royal Doulton – Tapestry Soup Plate – 1966 – 1998

Bean Soup

  • This is a lovely winter soup.
  • It would once have been made with reconstituted dried beans but now it is easy to open tins of beans.
  • Any white beans are good such as Haricot, Cannellini or even Black-eyed beans.
  • This can be made in a stock pot on the cooker or in the oven however I find that using a large slow cooker to cook it makes life a lot easier.

Ingredients

  • 2 tins of white beans such as Haricot, Cannellini or Black-eyed beans.
  • 3 large carrots
  • 2 onions
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock – can be from a cube or powder
  • 150g smoked bacon.
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 3 allspice grains
  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram  or 1 tablespoon of fresh
  • Butter to fry the onions.
  • Salt & pepper to season – may not be necessary depending on the bacon and stock.
  • Chopped flat-leaf parsley or chives to garnish when serving

Method

  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Gently fry the onions till golden.
  • Chop the carrots into circles and halve or quarter them.
  • Chop the bacon into small pieces.
  • Drain the beans from the cans.
  • Put all the ingredients into a pot.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer – or use a slow cooker.
  • Cook until the carrots are soft.
  • Allow the soup to cool slightly.
  • Remove about half of the beans and carrots with a slotted spoon and put them in a bowl.
  • Purée the soup left in the pan – using a stick blender is good.
  • Put the beans and carrots back into the soup and stir.
  • Bring back to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes.
  • Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley or chives.

 

Royal Doulton – Tapestry soup plate – 1966 to 1988.

Ogórkowa – Gherkin Soup -2

I posted the recipe for ogórkowa – gherkin soup, which is a classic Polish soup, over a year ago.

It is sour, a taste much loved by the Poles!

It is traditionally made from brine fermented gherkins but you can also use pickled gherkins.

I was sorting out my cutting and notes the other day and came across this recipe from my aunt in Białystok and decided it was time I made this version.

Ingredients

  • 250g gherkins
  • 125ml gherkin liquid
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock (can be from cubes or powder)
  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled – boiled or steamed
  • 3-4 carrots whole – peeled – boiled
  • 125ml of soured cream
  • Chopped dill – some to add and some  to serve

Method

This is easiest to make if you have some potatoes and carrots boiled already.

  • Add the gherkin liquid to the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
  • Rough chop the gherkins.
  • Drop the gherkins into the liquid and simmer for around 20 -25 minutes.
  • Chop the boiled potatoes into rough cubes.
  • Chop the boiled carrots into circles or half circles (depending on the size)
  • Add the potatoes and carrots, stir and simmer for around 5 minutes.
  • Stir in some chopped dill.
  • Stir in the soured cream.
  • Serve with extra dill sprinkled on top.

 

Served in Royal Doulton – Tapestry – 1966 – 1988.

 

Leek Soup

This is a simple soup, which I make using vegetable stock although you can use chicken stock if you prefer.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Leeks
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock (I use Marigold powder)
  • 125ml soured cream
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Butter to fry leeks
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • *
  • To serve – chopped chives or a little grated Gouda style cheese.

Method

  • Chop the leeks into fine rounds.
  • Fry the leeks gently in butter to soften then.
  • Add them to the stock.
  • Bring to the boil and put a lid on the pan.
  • Simmer gently until the leeks are soft.
  • Take the pan off the heat for a few minutes.
  • Purée the soup – a stick blender is good for this.
  • Season to taste.
  • In a small bowl mix the soured cream and egg yolks.
  • Bring the soup back up to the boil and then take take of the heat.
  • Add the soured cream mix and whisk in.
  • *
  • Serve with some chopped chives or around a tablespoon of grated Gouda style cheese.

 

Served in Soup Dishes by Midwinter – Spanish Garden – 1966 – 1982.