Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and pour in the olive oil. Cook the bacon until crispy. Set aside. Add the onion to the same saucepan and cook until soft. Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add about three quarters of the peas and all of the stock. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to a low simmer for 15 minutes. Blitz the soup with a plunge blender until smooth. Now add the peas that you kept aside, break the bacon into pieces and add those and the butter. Gently simmer the soup for 5 minutes. Serve with bacon and cheese toasties.
45ml butter 30ml olive oil 4 leeks, washed and sliced in coins 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato 15ml sugar 5ml salt 500ml vegetable stock 60ml cream a handful of basil leaves
Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the butter and olive oil. Add the leeks and cook, stirring often, until just before the leaks start to caramelise. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the tomato, sugar, salt and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Blitz the soup with an immersion blender until smooth and place it back on a medium-high heat. Pour in the cream and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Scatter over the basil leaves and serve with toasted cheese sandwiches.
30ml olive oil 30g butter 4 cloves of garlic, minced 3 x 400g cans of cannellini beans 500ml vegetable stock 5ml finely chopped rosemary 5ml finely chopped thyme leaves sourdough croutons to serve
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat, add the olive oil and butter and wait for the pan to heat up. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Drain 2 of the cans of beans and add the beans to the saucepan. Pour the third can of beans, liquid and all, into a liquidiser and blitz until smooth. Add to the saucepan. Pour in the stock and add the rosemary and thyme. Grind over some black pepper and stir together. Bring the soup to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve piping hot with freshly made croutons.
4 large leeks, sliced into coins 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 litre chicken stock 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed 250ml cooked chicken, finely shredded 2 bay leaves 125ml cream
Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add some olive oil to it. Add the leeks and stir-fry until it is really soft. Take about 2 spoonfuls of the leak out of the saucepan and keep aside as garnish. Add the garlic and stir-fry for another minute. Pour in the chicken stock, add the potato, chicken and bay leave and simmer the soup for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and mash the potato against the side of the saucepan. I like my soup to have uneven bits of potato to add texture but you may blitz it at this stage if you prefer. Pour in the cream and season the soup with salt and black pepper. Cook for a minute or two before serving with a fresh loaf of bread.
60ml butter 1 onion, chopped 60ml flour 750ml vegetable stock 1 head of broccoli, chopped into small pieces, stems included 1 large carrot, finely diced 500ml milk 750ml grated mature cheddar cheese
Add the butter to a large saucepan set over medium-high heat and wait for it to melt. Add the onion and cook for 5-10 minutes until soft. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, while stirring. Drizzle in the stock while whisking continuously. Season with salt and black pepper. Now add the broccoli and carrot, bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then. Pour the milk into the mixture and stir to blend. Decant about two thirds of the mixture into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour back into the saucepan and wait for the soup to come back to a low simmer. Add the cheddar and stir through until melted. Serve the soup piping hot with a crusty bread.
The garnish for this vegetable soup was made by horizontally slicing a hotdog roll, drizzling it with olive oil and toasting it in the oven. The garnish on the crouton is homemade mayonnaise with cherry tomatoes and fresh soft herbs.
1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 sticks of celery, leaves included, washed and chopped 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock 2 bay leaves 3 carrots, chopped 400g potato, peeled and cubed
Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add some vegetable oil. Add the onion, garlic and celery and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the tinned tomato and cook for another 10 minutes. Pour in the stock, add the bay leave, carrot and potato and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 50 minutes, stirring every now and then. Mash or liquidise half of the soup, cook another 5 minutes and serve with a fresh, crusty bread.
1,5litre vegetable stock 750g frozen peas 250g broccoli 300g baby spinach 60g almond meal grated zest and juice of 1 lemon a small handful of mint leaves plain yoghurt, to serve
Pour the stock into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the peas and broccoli and simmer until the broccoli is tender – about 5 minutes. Add the spinach leaves, almond meal, lemon zest and juice and mint and simmer for another 2 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning if necessary. Blend the mixture with a stick blender until smooth. Simmer the soup for another 2 minutes, spoon into serving bowls and serve with a dollop of yoghurt.
45ml butter 15ml vegetable oil 2 large leeks, sliced 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 600g potato, peeled and diced 2litres chicken stock 5ml salt black pepper 200g mature cheddar cheese, grated 80g cheese and onion potato chips
Add the butter and oil to a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook while stirring until completely wilted and soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the diced potato, stock, salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Lower the heat to a slow simmer, cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for about 30 minutes. Check on the soup every now and then and adjust the heat as you go. The potato must be very soft. Decant the soup into a blender and blitz together until smooth and silky. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and place over a low heat. Add the grated cheese and stir the soup until the cheese has melted. Spoon the soup into individual bowls. Crush the potato chips in the packet and sprinkle a generous amount onto each bowl of soup. Serve immediately.
This is a nutritious soup with lots of flavour and crowd appeal and is really easy to make. This recipe feeds 6 – 8 people.
45ml butter 2 large leeks, sliced 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 800g potato, diced (about 4 -5 large potatoes) 2 stock cubes (I use chicken but if you want to go vegetarian use vegetable cubes) 5ml salt 1,2ml black pepper 1,2 litre water 250ml cream
Preparing the leeks: Cut off the root ends and thick green parts. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and rinse under cold running water. Pull the layers apart and check that there is no dirt left.
Making croutons: Preheat your oven to 180℃. Cut 4 slices from a day-old bread and slice off the crusts on all four sides. Cube the bread and spread it out on a baking tray. Drizzle the cubes with olive oil and give the bread cubes a mix with your hands. Bake for 5 minutes, shaking the baking sheet halfway through the cooking time, to spread and turn the cubes. Take the croutons from the oven and lightly sprinkle with salt.
My Whisk and I 