It’s reputed Beethoveen said: ‘Only the pure in heart can make a good soup’

I would add the caveat that while you don’t necessarily have to be a good person to make a great soup you definitely need quality ingredients to end up with something delicious.

When I started working in professional kitchens stock pots were the basis of many dishes including soup. Vats of bubbling liquid with roasted bones and aromatics permeated the air.

The longer they were left to simmer, the better the layers of taste. I’m not averse to using stock cubes but the difference between fresh stock and using one from a packet is the difference between sublime and acceptable in a finished soup or sauce. Roast bones and then simmer with carrots, celery, onion, leeks and herb stalks for a few hours and strain. Alternatively you could use the carcass left over from roast chicken.

Carol Banahan is an ex financial stock trader who now makes stocks in the maiden city. She uses organic bones and vegetables to produce top quality stocks. Her range includes beef, chicken and vegetable ( which recently won 1 and 2 gold stars, respectively, at the prestigious Great Taste Awards) and a selection of gravies.

Carol and I have been working together on two new stocks – a mushroom based vegan variety and a cottage broth.

The mushroom stock uses miso, a Japanese soy bean paste, dried Irish wild mushrooms, ginger and wakame seaweed from Donegal. It’s delicious on its own served hot as a warming drink or perfect for risotto, soups or vegetable dishes. My first recipe uses the stock for an umami rich mushroom soup. If you don’t use the stock, soak dried mushrooms in boiling water for a similar effect. The soup is thickened with slowly roast onions and regular mushrooms that have been fried in hot oil. I’m not a fan of a big bowl of soup on its own – it can be a bit one dimensional. To counteract this there’s a crunchy Spanish inspired picada sprinkled on top.

Breadcrumbs, pumpkin seeds and garlic are fried in oil until crunchy and lots of parsley and a toot of sherry vinegar added at the end. Mushrooms and pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc – good for healing and general wellbeing. The broth is packed with healthy ingredients but most importantly the soup tastes lovely.

Carol’s other new stock is a cottage broth. For me this is like an Italian broth, known as “brodo”. Pork bones especially would be used to produce a collagen rich stock, Carol has added organic turkey and chicken bones to this and it’s delicious. I’ve been using it to make long and slow cooked tomato sauces and in slow cooked joints. My other recipe this week uses it in a smoky potato soup. The aromatics are cooked gently in Broighter gold hickory smoked oil, smoked paprika is added and then the potatoes are simmered in the cottage broth and blended. For a bit of crunch on top, crispy bacon bits are added and a little chive oil for zing.

As I write the sycamore leaves from the trees in the back garden are wafting past the window just to remind me summer is on the way out and time for some sustaining comfort food. Nothing nourishes the soul like great soup.

You can buy Carol’s stocks in good butchers and delis or she delivers throughout Ireland – www.carolsstockmarket.com