BBC - Radio 4 Woman's Hour -Soup as a meal

Cheap and nutritious – the ideal winter dish

As the winter continues many of us may want something simple and warming to eat – ideally something that will get a vegetable or two into the children at the same time. And if there’s not much spare cash around a bowl of home-made broth can make an easy, cheap and nutritious meal. To talk about soup-making, Jane is joined by Lindsey Bareham, the author of A Celebration of Soup, who prepares some dishes, suggests some recipes and shares some helpful soup-making tips.

A Celebration of Soup With Classic Recipes from Around the World by Lindsey Bareham is published by Penguin, ISBN-13: 978-0140299762

RECIPES

BROCCOLI SOUP WITH LEMON AND ANCHOVY BRUSCHETTA

Serves 2-4

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 20 min

4 spring onions

2 garlic cloves

knob butter

1 potato, approx 100g

2 heads broccoli, approx 400g in total

1 small lemon

1 ½ (half) chicken stock cube

¼ (quarter) tsp chilli flakes

for the bruschetta:
4 thick slices sourdough bread

best olive oil

2 tsp anchovy paste or 4 anchovies in oil

Boil the kettle. Trim and finely slice the spring onions. Peel and chop the 1 garlic clove. Melt the butter in a medium pan and stir in the onions and garlic. Season with ½ (half) tsp salt, cover and cook gently for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, keeping separate piles, peel and chop the potato but don’t bother to rinse it, cut the florets off the broccoli in small clusters and chop the stalk. Remove the zest from the lemon in paper-thin scraps. Stir potatoes, lemon zest and chilli into the onions, cover again and cook for 5 minutes. Dissolve the stock cubes in 850ml water from the kettle. Add stock and broccoli to the pan, stir and simmer briskly for 8-10 minutes until potatoes and broccoli are tender. Liquidize in batches, return to the pan, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and lemon juice. Toast the bread, rub one side with garlic, dribble with best olive oil and smear with anchovy (chop then pound whole anchovies). Cut in half and serve alongside the soup for dipping and slurping.

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CARROT SOUP WITH LIME AND GINGER

Serves 4

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 25 min

2 chicken stock cubes

400g large carrots

1 medium onion

3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp olive oil

10g ginger

1 tsp black mustard seeds

knife-point dried chilli flakes

1 lime

25g coriander

Put the kettle on to boil. Dissolve the stock cubes in 1 litre of water from the kettle. Peel, halve and chop the onion and garlic. Soften then gently in 1 tbsp olive oil, covered, over medium-low heat for 5 minutes with 1 tsp salt. Peel and finely slice the ginger in small scraps. Add to the pan with the mustard seeds and chilli. Stir then cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, while seeds pop and the onions continue softening. Trim, scrape and dice the carrots. The quickest way to do this is to halve them, then quarter the halves lengthways and dice across the assembled pieces. Stir the carrots into the onions, cook, stirring pretty much constantly, for a couple of minutes then add the stock. Bring to the boil, stirring a few times, reduce to simmer, cover with a tilted lid and simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Blitz in batches. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Add juice from the lime. Chop the coriander, stalks and all, and stir into the soup just before serving.

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CHICKEN, COCONUT AND SWEETCORN SOUP

Serves 2
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min

1 medium onion
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small red pepper or half a pointed variety
1 small red chilli
1 organic (or large) chicken thigh
285g can sweetcorn
1 chicken stock cube
150ml coconut milk or coconut cream
25g coriander

Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a medium pan and gently soften the onion while you slice the pepper into 1/2 (half) cm wide strips, discarding seeds and filament. Cut into dice. Trim and finely chop the chilli. Stir both into the onions and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes (don't forget to wash away those chilli juices). Cut the chicken into small scraps. Stir the chicken into the onion and peppers, toss constantly as it turns white, then add the drained sweetcorns, stock and coconut milk. Simmer gently for 5-8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the soup is piping hot. Chop the coriander, stalks and all and stir into the soup.

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