Butternut Squash and Wensleydale Cheese Soup

For such a simple soup this is remarkably tasteful. I was going to add some exciting spices, but at the last minute I decided not to, as my friend was a bit poorly and a ‘safe’ soup was needed.

If you don't have access to wensleydale cheese, then you can use any other mild and crumbly cheese. 

Serves 2

1 tablespoon butter

1 large leek

1 large butternut squash

600ml water

1 teaspoon salt

100g wensleydale cheese

Finely chop the leek. Melt the butter in a large thick-bottomed saucepan. Add the leek, and sweat for a few minutes while you peel and finely chop the butternut squash. Add this to the leek and stir well. Add the water and salt, and bring to the boil.

Simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Mash them with a potato masher (or an electric mixer if you’re lucky enough to have one).

Grate the cheese and sprinkle it into the soup. Stir, and serve. 

Creamy Yellow Split Pea Soup

There’s something very comforting and warming about soups that make them perfect lunch fodder during winter. At least I think so. And pulses are both healthy and filling. Also, even better, they are relatively cheap, which means you can use more money on something else, like a new handbag or those shoes you’re been drooling over for weeks..

Serves 2 to 3 people

180g dried yellow split peas / 440g ready boiled ones

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large yellow onion

1 clove of garlic

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

⅛ teaspoon mustard seeds

⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

750ml water

1 vegetarian stock cube

a pinch of herbal salt

100ml double cream

If using dried yellow split peas, they should be prepared according to instructions on the packet. Usually they need to soak in water for at least 12 hours (I like to leave them for 24 hours to make them a bit softer) and then they should be boiled for about 40 minutes or until soft. I normally boil them for just over an hour, but then I like my peas a bit soft. They still won’t be as soft as tinned peas, but they’ll be pleasant to eat.

Peas, as all pulses, grow when soaked in water, so 180g dried ones turn into about 440g boiled ones. If you think this is a bit of a hassle to do every time you’re about to make pea soup, then you can boil a big load and freeze whatever you don’t use in portion packs – ready to be used at a later date.

Once your peas are ready to use, and you are starting the soup itself; chop the onion and warm the oil in a saucepan. Turn down the heat and sweat the onion in the oil, chop the garlic and add. When the onion is soft, add the turmeric and stir well.

Use a pestle and mortar to crush the cumin and mustard seeds (or use ready ground ones if you prefer). Add these to the onions. Add the cayenne pepper, and continue sweating the onions for a couple of minutes, to soak up the flavours.

Boil the water and add to the saucepan, along with the stock cube. The reason it’s good to use warm water is that this prevents the onions cooling down, and so it doesn’t slow down the cooking process.

Leave the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste to with herbal salt, and use a hand-held kitchen blender to whizz the soup until it is quite smooth. It can be nice to leave some lumps though, so blend it as much as you feel like, or not at all.

Finally add the double cream and bring back to the boil.

Soups are delicious served with bread; if you are feeling particularly adventurous you could toast a slice of bread and chop it up into croutons.

Winter Soup

There’s nothing like a bowl of warming soup on a cold winter’s day. Not only does it warm you up all the way to your toes, it also fills you up with lots of vitamin goodness. This soup uses cabbage and swede, ingredients that are not only full of vitamins, but also usually quite cheap. The lentils add a bit of useful protein. Make sure that the soup is left to simmer for at least 30 minutes, as the lentils need this time to become ready.

Serves 2

1 large onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

a pinch herbal salt

1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

1 large carrot

200g swede

150g white cabbage

1 litre vegetable stock

50g curly kale

50g red split lentils

2 tablespoons tomato puree

salt and pepper to taste

bread and cheese to serve

Chop the onion into small pieces and sauté with the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and the dried herbs. Chop the carrot, swede and cabbage into small pieces and add to the pan. Stir occasionally.

Make a litre of vegetable stock, and add to the pan. The stock should be made with warm water, so as not to reduce the cooking temperature of the soup. Chop the curly kale into pieces, and add to the soup, and then add the lentils.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the tomato puree, and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Finally add freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.  

If serving with bread and cheese, toast the bread, then add to the soup once you have dished it up into individual heat proof dishes. Grate cheese on top, and place under the grill for a minute until the cheese has melted. 

Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Wensleydale Cheese

Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 small red onions

2 small cloves garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

210g red peppers (deseeded and skinned)

380g tomatoes (skinned)

200ml vegetable stock

100g traditional wensleydale cheese (or other crubmly cheese if you can’t get hold of Wensleydale)

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

pinch of freshly ground dried chilli

Heat the oil in a saucepan, finely chop your onions and add these to the oil. Sauté until the onions are soft. Finely chop your garlic and add to the onions, and then add the herbs. Chop the peppers and tomatoes, and add to the other ingredients in the saucepan. Leave for a couple of minutes before adding the vegetable stock. Leave the soup to simmer for 5 minutes or so, and then liquidise it using a blender. Finally crumble the cheese and add to the soup. I quite like the effect of the lumpiness of the cheese against the silkiness of the soup, but if you would like a completely smooth soup use the blender again after the cheese has been added. Add black pepper and chilli to taste.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash is both healthy and tasty, and is also relatively cheap. Using it in this super quick and easy soup is a cunning way to make a meal in minutes. Adding the hemp seeds at the end adds some omega 3 and amino acids to a soup that is already bursting with vitamin A. 

Serves 2

 

Soup:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion

1 clove garlic

400g butternut squash

500ml vegetable stock

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

⅙ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Optional topping:

2 teaspoons sour cream OR natural yogurt

fresh ground black pepper

fresh or dried herbs

shelled hemp seeds

bread to serve

Finely chop the onion and sauté it in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and sweat for a further minute. Dice the butternut squash and add to the onions. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Once it has reached boiling point turn the heat down so that the soup is left to simmer. Add the ground coriander and cayenne pepper, and leave to simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the squash is soft.

Use an electric blender to blend the soup until it is creamy and smooth.

The soup is delicious on its own, but can be made that little bit more special and elegant by adding a dash of sour cream or natural yogurt and a scattering of herbs and hemp seeds on top when serving.

Nettle Soup

This is a brilliant soup to make in spring when the nettles start springing up everywhere. Not only does it taste great, but it is also very cheap to make.

Make sure the nettles you pick are clean and found away from the busiest roads. Wash them thoroughly before use.

When picking the nettles, wear leather or plastic gloves to stop them from stinging you (I often just use a plastic bag over my hand). Only use the top leaves, as these have the least sting, and they also taste best.

If you don’t have access to nettles, you can use spinach instead.

Serves 4

600 g nettles

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons plain flour OR gluten free flour

1 pinch salt

900 ml vegetable stock

100 ml whipping cream

a handful of fresh sage leaves

freshly ground pepper

Bring a pan of water to the boil, and add your nettles. Cook for 2 minutes, and plunge the nettles into cold water to cool them. The rapid heating and cooling process mean that the sting is removed from the nettles while the taste and structure remain.

While your nettles are cooling, make the soup base; Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour, and mix well. Add the salt, and then carefully mix in the stock, adding a little bit at a time to avoid it clumping. When you have a smooth liquid, add the cream.

Chop your nettles and add to the soup base.

Heat the soup for a couple of minutes while adding ground pepper and sage to taste, but be careful not to let it boil, as this can make the cream split.

This soup is delicious served with boiled eggs and fresh bread.