1 bouquet garni (the classic one below)
and/or 1–2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and chopped
or 1 teaspoon or more curry paste or curry powder or spices, e.g. cumin, fennel seeds, cinnamon, etc.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
1 potato, or other thickener if needed, peeled and cut into chunks
500g (18oz) vegetables, prepared as appropriate (see page 27) and roughly chopped
LIQUID
1–1.5 litres (13/4– 23/4 pints) Vegetable or Chicken Stock (see pages 15–17), or vegetable cooking water, or a mixture of water and milk
SEASONINGS
salt and pepper
1 Heat the oil or butter gently in a large saucepan, then add the base ingredients, the aromatics and the main ingredients. Stir around to coat everything in the fat, then sweat very gently for 10–15 minutes.
2 Add the smaller amount of stock or other liquid, saving the rest for thinning down (if necessary), and season with salt and pepper. Bring up to the boil, then simmer gently for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
3 Liquidise in several batches, and return to the pan. Thin down with the reserved stock, water or milk as required, and check the seasoning.
4 Reheat when needed, and eat.
need to know
BOUQUET GARNI This is a bundle of herbs, that gives flavour to stocks, soups and stews. Classically it is a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley and a sprig of thyme tied together with string. Other flavours can be added – leek leaves, alternative herbs or lemon zest.
Potato, Parsley and Garlic Soup
This yummy, comforting soup can be served as a first course, or in larger quantities whenever you are need of a bit of inner warmth. I love it with a touch of cheese and some crisp, salty bacon bits stirred in, but neither is utterly essential. You might just want to scatter over a few chopped chives instead, or spoon on some nuggets of golden-fried chopped garlic and chilli with a drizzle of olive oil.
Serves 4–6
BASE INGREDIENTS
1 onion, peeled and chopped
30g (1oz) butter
AROMATICS
1 bouquet garni (2 strips lemon zest, 1 bay leaf, 1 sprig thyme)
MAIN INGREDIENTS
leaves of 1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped
1kg (21/4lb) potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
1 whole garlic bulb, separated into cloves, peeled
LIQUID
1.2 litres (2 pints) Vegetable or Chicken Stock (see pages 15–17)
300ml (10fl oz) milk
SEASONINGS
salt and pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 lemon
DRESSING UP (OPTIONAL)
a handful of grated Gruyère cheese
4–6 rashers streaky bacon, cooked until crisp (see right), and crumbled
1 Follow the basic method opposite, adding the stock only, plus salt, pepper and nutmeg at stage 2. When liquidised, stir in the milk, and add a squeeze or two of lemon juice (this highlights flavours, but shouldn’t be so much that the soup tastes lemony).
2 Reheat, and serve with the cheese and bacon if you wish.
need to know
CRISPY BACON To get bacon appetisingly crisp you will need to start off with a pack of streaky bacon. The higher fat content is what makes it go so irresistibly crunchy and golden. A dry-cure bacon is a better option than cheaper bacon which will probably have been pumped up with water and other additives. The best cooking method, I find, is to lay the bacon on a rack over a roasting tin and cook it in a hot oven, around 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6, for about 20 minutes until it is golden brown. Grilling is the second best option and not so dissimilar – keep the bacon about 10cm (4in) away from the grill and move it around the grill rack every few minutes so that it grills evenly. Either way, let it cool a little before attempting to crumble it.
need to know
HOW BIG IS A BUNCH? ‘A bunch of parsley’ is, I admit, infuriatingly vague. Actually, it’s deliberately vague, and I hope you will consider it empowering in a very small, kitcheny sort of a way. It’s a permission-giver of a term. So, if you quite fancy the idea of loads of parsley giving the soup a definite green tint, then you use a big bunch. For an altogether tamer affair, take it down to posy-ish size. The point, really, is that the exact size is not critical to the success of the soup; it just changes the taste a little…or a lot. Hey – you’re the cook here. It’s up to you how the food turns out. Embrace the responsibility!
Curried Parsnip Soup
When my Mum, the food writer Jane Grigson, came up with this wonderful soup way back in the 1970s, it seemed quite radical. Now, almost everyone has caught up with it, and variations on the theme abound. The original combination of humble parsnips and curry remains one of the best.
Follow the Good Vegetable Soup recipe on page 20, using a 1/2 tablespoon curry paste (or a little more if you like things extra spicy) as the aromatic element, and replacing potato and vegetables with 500g (18oz) parsnips, which are starchy enough to thicken the soup without aid. Smaller parsnips should be peeled, then sliced, discarding the top. After peeling, larger parsnips will need to be cut into chunks, then quartered lengthways to reveal the tougher inner core. Cut this bit out and chuck it in the bin. Use what is left for the soup.
This is a soup that takes particularly well to being finished with a little cream swirled into each bowl and a scattering of croûtons.
Carrot and Coriander Soup
This is another modern classic, but one that is often misinterpreted. It is coriander seed that works so magically with carrots, rather than coriander leaf (although this is welcome as a finishing touch).
Follow the recipe for Good Vegetable Soup on page 20, using a tablespoon of whole coriander seeds as the