Soup helps to nourish, sooth and warm the soul on a cold autumn day

The great chef Auguste Escoffier, known as the father of cuisine, said of soup “it puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day and awakens and refines the appetite”.
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Quite a list of achievements for one dish but true all the same. The evenings are drawing in and the chill in the air calls for soup – it nourishes, soothes and warms the soul.

Good soup starts with a good stock. For a good chicken stock, roast a carcass (it could be one leftover from a roast) and simmer in a pot with carrot, celery, onion and fresh thyme. Strain the stock and press through as much of the vegetables as possible. For a good vegetable stock, simmer carrots, onion, fennel, garlic, celery and leeks and then allow to infuse before using the liquor. Don’t throw out the vegetables – use them in a soup or add to stews, pasta dishes or risottos. You can buy ready made stock now in supermarkets but a top notch one is Carols Stock. Its made from organic ingredients and is available in good delis and butchers. All of the taste without the effort. And I’m not adverse to using a stock cube to be honest – sometimes needs must.

Mushroom soup is one of those that can be a bit one dimensional in texture. The soup here is flavoured with a stock that has dried porcini mushrooms added. A little of these fungi flavour bombs goes a long way and adds a richness to the dish. For some texture I’ve added a recipe for crispy onions. They’re scattered over the top of the soup along with some fried mushrooms and chive oil to complete. When you eat a pureed soup it can be a bit boring and samey. Add different textures and colours to really liven them up.

The great chef Auguste Escoffier, known as the father of cuisine, said of soup “it puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day and awakens and refines the appetite”.The great chef Auguste Escoffier, known as the father of cuisine, said of soup “it puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day and awakens and refines the appetite”.
The great chef Auguste Escoffier, known as the father of cuisine, said of soup “it puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day and awakens and refines the appetite”.

Ribollita is a robust Italian soup that is packed with taste and economical at the same time. It’s a good way of using up left over vegetables. Ribollita literally translates as “reboiled”, reasserting the notion that everything sounds better in Italian. Start off with a “sofrito” of fried vegetables and add layers of flavours – tinned tomatoes, rosemary, spuds, cabbage and cannellini beans. You don’t need to stick rigidly to the recipe with this soup. If you have leftover potatoes for example, just add them at the end. Same applies to the cabbage. You could add cooked carrots, parsnips, broccoli or cauliflower to the dish. It’s a rustic peasant dish in the Italian tradition of not wasting food. When I’ve visited Italy I’m always in awe of the way they use everything and never waste – should it be leftover meat, bread, vegetables, milk, it all has a use. Finish with lots of chopped parsley. In the past I’ve added soup celery to the soup to great effect – an Italian/Ulster culture collision addition. The world is your oyster with this soup. Add any old vegetable you please for something to warm the cockles of your heart.

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