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Add the cooked butter beans, water or stock, bay leaf and tomatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10–15 minutes.
Taste and season with salt, pepper and a little sugar if you think it needs it.
Blend a bit with a hand blender or leave the soup as it is. Serve sprinkled with the parsley.
Roasted butternut squash soup with chilli oil v
This is so easy to make – it’s pretty much a case of ‘roast and whiz‘. The butternut squash is cooked in the oven while you leisurely fry an onion and some garlic, then all you have to do is purée it with some vegetable stock, and there’s your beautiful golden soup.
SERVES 4-6
1 butternut squash
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
about 1.5 litres (2½ pints) vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4–6 tsp chilli oil, to serve
Set the oven to 190°C (375°F), gas mark 5.
Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. You might find it easier to cut it in half widthways, then cut each of these pieces in half. It doesn’t really matter how you do it, and there’s no need to remove the seeds at this point.
Put the pieces of squash in a roasting tin, brush the cut surfaces with oil and bake for about I hour, or until the squash is soft.
While the squash is roasting, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a gentle heat, add the onion, cover and cook gently for about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Scoop out the flesh of the butternut squash, discarding the seeds. Pull off and discard the skin – it will come away easily. Purée the flesh and their juices, along with the onion and garlic.
Put the purée into a pan and stir in enough vegetable stock to make a consistency that’s pleasing to you. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently heat through, then serve with a swirl of chilli oil on top of each bowl.
VARIATION
Roasted butternut squash with goat’s cheese toasts
Make the soup as described. While it’s heating through, make the goat’s cheese toasts. Allow half a large slice of bread per serving. Toast the bread then top the toast with mashed soft-rind goat’s cheese and brown under a hot grill. Cut each piece into small squares and put these on top of the soup just before serving.
Carrot and thyme soup v
This is a light and refreshing soup that’s almost fat-free. It’s thin and smooth, so you can sip it from a large mug as you warm your hands and eat a sandwich. If you think you might prefer it a bit thicker, start with less water; you can always add more. I like this soup so much that I often make double this amount! You really do need high-quality bouillon powder for this, both for the flavour and the extra body that it gives.
SERVES 4
1 onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
1 small potato (about 125g (4 oz)), peeled and diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1.2 litres (2 pints) water
4 tsp high-quality vegetable bouillon powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional), to garnish
Put the onion, celery, carrots and potato into a large saucepan with the thyme, water and vegetable bouillon and bring to the boil.
Cover and simmer for 25–30 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender.
Blend or process until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste (you won’t need much salt because the bouillon powder is quite salty).
Serve in mugs, or in warm bowls, with some chopped parsley on top.
VARIATION
Carrot and coriander soup v
You can buy cartons of this everywhere but it’s so easy and economical to make your own. Simply follow the main recipe but using 1 teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds instead of the thyme. Crush your own seeds with a pestle and mortar and enjoy their sweet orangey aroma, or use the ready-ground type for speed. Add a small bunch of chopped fresh coriander after blending.
Carrot and ginger soup v
Use 2–3 teaspoons of grated fresh root ginger instead of the thyme for this soup, which is warming, fragrant and uplifting, but not spicy hot.
Carrot and lemon soup v
For this refreshing soup, just add 1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind and 2 teaspoons of juice after cooking; taste and add a little more if you like.
Cauliflower soup with almonds
Cauliflower makes a beautiful creamy soup with a delicate flavour. Try it with the herb bread (#litres_trial_promo), quick and easy focaccia (#litres_trial_promo) or hot garlic bread (#ulink_9b432948-6571-5426-b546-b06e1a08cfa1) .
SERVES 4
15g (½oz) butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 potato (about 150g (5oz))
½ fairly small cauliflower (about 225g (8oz)), broken into florets
1.2 litres (2 pints) light vegetable stock or water
1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
150ml (5fl oz) single cream (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a pinch or two of freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted (#litres_trial_promo) to garnish
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and fry for 5–7 minutes, covered, until it is beginning to soften but not brown.
Add the potato and cauliflower to the pan and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, stirring often. Be careful not to let them brown, as this will spoil the delicate flavour.
Pour in the stock or water and add the bouillon powder, bring to the boil, cover and leave to simmer over a gentle heat for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Blend until very smooth and velvety. Stir in the cream, if you’re using it, and season well with salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper and grated nutmeg. Reheat, serve in warm bowls, and scatter over some crunchy golden flaked almonds.
Celery soup with lovage
The flavour of lovage is often likened to that of celery. It’s more pungent and aromatic, but goes well with celery and together they make a lovely soup. In a perfect world, where the seasons are observed in cooking, this would be made with the first of the English celery and the last of the lovage from the garden – it’s a perfect soup for a crisp autumn day. If you can’t get hold of any lovage, use some finely chopped celery leaves instead.
SERVES 4
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
outside stalks from 1 head of celery (about 450g (1 lb) in total), sliced
225g (8oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized chunks
1.2 litres (2 pints) light vegetable stock or water and 1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
2 tbsp chopped fresh lovage
150ml (5fl oz) single cream (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and fry for 5–7 minutes until soft but not browned. Add the celery and potatoes and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, stirring often.
Pour in the stock or water and add the bouillon powder. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are very soft.
Blend well, but stop when it’s the consistency you like. Stir in the lovage, cream (if using) and a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Reheat gently before serving.
Celery and tomato soup v
This is a quick soup with a refreshing flavour and a chunky texture. If you make it in a pressure cooker it can be on the table in less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
SERVES 4
3 onions, chopped
outside stalks from 1 head of celery, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
400g can chopped tomatoes
575ml (1 pint) water or vegetable stock
salt, sugar and freshly ground black pepper
a squeeze of lemon juice
Fry the onions and celery together in the oil without browning for 5–10 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomatoes and water or stock, and simmer for a good 30 minutes or until the celery is meltingly tender.
Taste and season with salt, pepper, sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.
Chilled cherry soup
No one finds it odd to start a meal with melon and a fruit soup is simply taking this a stage further! This black cherry soup looks so delicious with its topping of soured cream or yoghurt that I don’t think you’ll have much trouble persuading people to try it. Plump, perfectly ripe, deep-red fresh cherries are best eaten exactly as they are, without any adornment, so for this soup I use frozen, stoned black cherries.
SERVES 6
450g (1lb) frozen, stoned black cherries
850ml (1½ pints) water
2 tbsp arrowroot
caster sugar, to taste
150ml (5fl oz) dry red wine
a little lemon juice (optional)
150ml (5fl oz) carton of soured cream, to garnish
