Tag Archive for 'Soup'

Beetroot, sweet potato and carrot soup

beetroot, sweet potato and carrot soup

Oh yes! No cakes today for you, my friends! I have a lovely, healthy recipe instead: beetroot soup!!  As mentioned before I LOVE soups and often make them, particularly in winter. (And let’s be honest: we are still there aren’t we? Today there must have been one degree! Complete with a flurry of snow. :-() They are sooooooooooooooo easy! People who buy them ready made should be shot. You basically throw any vegetables you have in a pot together with a potato and an onion (which are key ingredients) , boil them up in some vegetable stock and when they are soft you liquidize the lot. Hey presto! You have soup! What could be easier?  I know Candi is not a big fan of soups…or at least the people in her life. But what a quick and easy way to eat your five a day vegetables, don’t you think? This one has a fantastic colour, as you can see from the picture: a real dark velvety red. I made it using red/orange vegetables (beetroot, carrots and sweet potato- which is orange here!). Quick and delicious. P.S. Today is Mother’s day here in the UK. So happy Mother’s day to all the mums who read this blog! Let’s face it: it’s one of the hardest jobs!!!! Continue reading ‘Beetroot, sweet potato and carrot soup’

Pasta e fagioli soup

pasta e fagioli

This is a nice, hearty soup ideal for those LOOOOONG winter nights when it starts getting dark at 4. How I hate this time of the year! By the way, I am using the Italian name for this recipe for two reasons: firstly it’s a well known Italian dish and secondly it sounds much better in Italian than in English. Its translation would be: pasta and beans soup . But would that sound appealing to my UK friends? I don’t think so. But if I give it its Italian name, hey presto! It sounds exotic and outlandish. In truth it is a humble peasant dish. Nothing exotic about it. I usually make it with chick peas. But I had run out of them so I used borlotti beans instead. It tastes nice with either. I cook it quite a lot when I’m pressed for time (which is very often these days) as it’s a quick soup to make but very tasty too. There are many different versions out there. I would be interested in knowing how you make it, Candi. Anyway my recipe is simplicity personified… Continue reading ‘Pasta e fagioli soup’

Cream of mushrooms soup

Cream of mushrooms soup

I reckon it’s time I blogged another of my favourite soups. I was going to say legendary but perhaps it would be a touch too arrogant! As my readers (both of them…he he) will know I LOVE soups and I possess quite a repertoire. I know that some people find them boring but I am a huge fan! Nothing better than a hearty soup with a chunky piece of bread when the weather starts getting chilly ( the whole year round here in England, then!!!). I think I have waxed lyrical about them before. Anyway….This week in my veggie delivery box there were loads of mushrooms. As I had already bought some myself I ended up with quite a humungus quantity in the fridge so I decided to make a soup. As I didn’t follow a recipe ingredients are  roughly guessed. In truth you can’t go wrong with soups, most of the time. I DID use one thing  you can’t find here in the UK, mind, and it’s the Star Porcini stock cubes! FABULOUS stuff if you are cooking with mushrooms. I used the last one tonight so I must stock up next time I’m in Italy. Actually I take it all back. I’ve just googled them and would you believe it?? You CAN buy them here in the UK after all. I have just found them on Amazon!!!! Unbelievable!! It has made my day!!!! :-) Continue reading ‘Cream of mushrooms soup’

Cream of Jerusalem artichokes soup

Jerusalem artichokes

Hands up who has ever come across a Jerusalem artichoke… Well, if you had asked me a week ago what Jerusalem artichokes looked like I wouldn’t have had a clue as I have never used them in cooking before. I thought they were a type of artichoke, judging by the name….I know now, as I found them in my weekly veggies delivery (they must be in season, then), that they look NOTHING like an artichoke!!  As you can see from the picture, which I took to enlighten other ignorant people like me (I have still got a long way to go, haven’t I?), they are a root vegetable and  look like a cross between a potato and ginger . And by the way in Italian they are known as topinambur. Weird by name, weird by nature it would seem…  I had heard of topinambur but, again, I wouldn’t have known what they were and I most certainly wouldn’t have made the connection with the Jerusalem artichoke.  The things I am learning doing this blog! I do believe they eat them in the Piemonte region (with bagna cauda, for example, which is a hot dipping sauce made with oil, butter, anchovies and garlic)  but I am not sure how widely used they are in the rest of Italy. Perhaps Candi will enlighten us.  Anyway,  faced with a bag of what looked like ugly, gnarly potatoes, I started consulting my cookery books and trawling the internet for ideas on how to use these bizarre looking vegetables. Continue reading ‘Cream of Jerusalem artichokes soup’

Root vegetables soup

I love a good soup, me! And I often cook one in the course of a normal week. Particularly in winter. There is nothing better, on a cold, wet day (sorry, this is England! ) than a bowl of homemade soup, sprinkled with parmesan ( lots of it ! I AM Italian after all) and  accompanied by some nice bread. And they don’t require any great culinary expertise either. Even a man could cook one, provided he knows how to peel a vegetable ( he he, this is a joke in case it is not clear.. )!  But seriously I  really can’t understand people who buy them ready made as they take no time at all.  I often throw in my pressure cooker whatever vegetables I have available and BINGO! We have soup! The last one I made was particularly nice so I’ve decided to share it with you.

Continue reading ‘Root vegetables soup’