5 Hearty Winter Soups To Warm Your Cockles
The weather has dropped, and like George Costanza we’re officially shifting into soup mode. It’s all we want to eat at the moment, and we’ve asked some of the top chefs from the UK and Ireland for their favourite recipes. So if you’re craving a crowd-pleasing cheesy cauliflower bowl or a Thai-inspired fish soup, here are five recipes sure to warm you up.
Potato & porcini soup
Skye Gyngall
Ingredients
- 1kg roseval potatoes
- 60ml oz extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 bunch of rosemary
- 1 dried chilli, crumbled
- Sea salt
- 100g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 250ml/8fl oz warm water
- 150g grated Parmesan
Method
1. Scrub clean the potatoes and, without peeling, cut them into quarter-inch rounds. Place a heavy-based pan over medium heat, add a tablespoon of the olive oil and add the shallots. Turn the heat to low and cook the shallots for five minutes, stirring from time to time.
2. Now add the garlic, branches of rosemary and the dried chilli. Cook for a further 15 minutes over low heat, then add a good pinch of salt and the potatoes. Pour in the water in which you have soaked the porcini and cook until the potatoes are tender. Don’t worry if it seems as though there is very little water.
3. Once the potatoes are tender, add the porcini themselves, the rest of the olive oil and the Parmesan. Taste for seasoning; it will need a little salt. Serve in warmed bowls with crusty, peasant-style bread.
Thai crab & mussel soup
Richard Corrigan
Ingredients
- 500g mussels
- 100ml white wine
- 1 medium crab — cooked and prepared,
- white meat and shells reserved
- A little vegetable oil
- 4 x 400ml tins coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons palm sugar
- Fresh lime juice, to taste
- ½ bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced
- Coriander leaves
For the paste
- 50g fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 50g fresh galangal, roughly chopped
- 2 sticks lemongrass, chopped
- 1 red chilli, deseeded
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 2 kaffir lime leaves
- A bunch of coriander, leaves picked,
Method
1. Scrub the mussels in plenty of running water to remove any barnacles and beards. Discard any that are open or won’t close when tapped. Put into a pan over a high heat with the white wine, cover with a lid, and cook quite fiercely until the mussels steam open. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve and reserve. Discard any mussels that have stayed closed, and keep the rest on one side.
2. Setting aside the coriander leaves, put the rest of the paste ingredients into a blender and whiz until smooth.
3. Smash up the crab shells and fry them in a large saucepan with a little vegetable oil until they are nicely coloured.
4. Carefully open the tins of coconut milk (do not shake them and keep them the right way up). Spoon the cream from the top of the tins into a wok or large saucepan. At the same time, put the crab shells into a pan with the coconut water from the tins, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. While the shells are simmering, heat the coconut cream over a gentle heat and let it melt. Add the spicy paste and cook gently for a couple of minutes until the spices release their aromas, taking care that the mixture doesn’t catch and burn (if you are worried you can add a touch of vegetable oil).
6. Add the cooking liquor from the mussels to the pan containing the crab shells, then tip into the pan with the paste, and stir well to combine. Take off the heat.
7. Pass the soup through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Add the fish sauce and palm sugar. Taste, and if necessary add a little more of one or both.
8. To serve, arrange some white crab meat and mussels in each bowl. Pour the piping hot soup over the top, and squeeze in some lime juice to taste. Finish with the spring onions and coriander leaves.
Asparagus soup with truffle & crème fresh
Adam Simmonds
Ingredients
- 80 gr of shallots sliced
- 25 gr unsalted butter
- 2 cloves of garlic sliced
- 1.5 kg English Asparagus sliced
- 50 gr baby Spinach
- 750 ml chicken stock
- 100 ml whipping cream
- 25 gr crème fresh
- truffle oil
- salt and back pepper
Method
1. Place the chicken stock in a pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and reserve till later.
2. Sliced the asparagus and shallots thinly, and keep them separate.
3. Place a saucepan on the stow and add the butter.
4. Once the butter is foaming, add the shallots and garlic. Cook until translucent without colour.
5. Add the sliced asparagus, season with salt and pepper and cook quickly (approximately 5 minutes) to retain the colour.
6. Add the chicken stock, and bring it back to the boil.
7. Add the spinach and cook for a further 30 seconds.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and blend until smooth.
9. Serve immediately with a teaspoon of crème fresh and a drizzle of truffle oil.
Chestnut & wild mushroom soup
Neven Maguire
Ingredients
- 50g dried mixed wild mushrooms
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil 450g peeled chestnuts, chopped (canned or vacuum packed)
- 100g smoked bacon, thinly sliced
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1.2 litres chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 200ml cream
- mushroom purée, to garnish
- snipped fresh chives, to garnish
- fresh micro herbs, to garnish
Method
1. Place the dried wild mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and pour in 400ml (14fl oz) of boiling water to cover. Set aside for 20 minutes, until they have plumped up. Drain the mushrooms and gently squeeze them dry, reserving the soaking liquid.
2. Heat a large pan over a medium heat and add the rapeseed oil. Add the chestnuts, half of the smoked duck, the onion and drained wild mushrooms and sweat gently for 10 minutes, until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.
3. Add the thyme to the pan with the reserved soaking liquid and stock, stirring to combine. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 20 minutes.
4. Stir in the cream and allow to heat through for 1 minute, then whizz with a hand blender until as smooth as possible. Season to taste, then blitz again with a hand blender until light and foamy, tilting the pan to get the maximum effect.
5. To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish each one with the mushroom purée, reserved smoked bacon, chives and micro herbs.
Cauliflower soup
Gordon Ramsay
Ingredients
- 20g butter
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- Small handful of sage leaves
- 1 x 800g cauliflower
- 500ml chicken or vegetable stock
- 200ml whole milk
- 200ml double cream
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
1. Preheat the grill.
2. Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil and butter. When the butter has melted, add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sage leaves and cook for a further minute.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the cauliflower by removing the leaves and separating the florets. Roughly chop them into small pieces of the same size.
4. Add the chopped cauliflower and the stock to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the milk and cream, and simmer for a further 8 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make the brown butter. Put the butter into a small saucepan and place it over high heat. When it begins to brown, remove the pan from the heat and add the truffle oil and sage leaves. Stir well and leave to cool.
6. Now make the toasts. Lay the baguette slices on a baking tray and grill for 2–3 minutes, or until lightly golden on one side. Turn each slice over, then sprinkle liberally with the grated cheese. Replace under the grill for a further 4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden.
7. When the cauliflower is cooked, blend the mixture with a stick blender until smooth. Check the seasoning and adjust as necessary. Ladle the soup into bowls and spoon over the brown butter and sage leaves. Serve with the cheesy toast on the side.
