It’s National Soup Day! Soup is the underrated food source of student-kind; it’s cheap to make, healthy and you can cook up large batches to save for later. So rather than sticking to boring, tinned, cream of tomato, challenge yourself to a homemade bowl.
Pea and ham (serves 3/4): ‘Student budget proof soup’
1 large onion,
1 vegetable stock cube,
1 large carrot,
2 sticks of celery,
1 box of dried peas,
1 handful of dried lentils (add another handful for thicker soup),
around 700g of lean gammon or ham pieces (your local butcher should do pre cut bags of offcuts very cheaply),
salt and pepper to taste.
The night before you want to cook your soup, keep the dried peas in some boiling water overnight to encourage absorption.
Roughly chop the onions, carrots and celery. Heat up a splash of oil in a large saucepan and add the onions until soft. Add the carrots and celery and fry for 1 minute. Add the peas and meat and cover it all with boiling water (it doesn’t have to be too precise, just so the water covers the ingredients by about 3 centimetres). Crumble the stock cube into the pot and pour in the lentils. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down until it is gently simmering. Leave to cook slowly for 1.5-2 hours.
Once the soup has cooked, take out the meat and blend the rest of the ingredients until the consistency of your choosing. Re-add the meat and enjoy with a slice of tiger bread (because you can’t have soup without tiger bread).
Chicken and Chorizo (serves 3/4): ‘Taste of the sun in the winter’
1 large onion,
3 cloves of garlic,
1 chicken stock cube,
1 large carrot,
½ a potato,
1 large stick of celery,
1 handful of dried lentils,
500g of chicken (pre-cooked),
¼ of a chorizo sausage (pre-cooked),
200ml single cream or crème fraiche,
salt and pepper to taste.
Roughly chop the onion, garlic, carrot and celery before putting a splash of oil into a saucepan to heat up. Fry the onions and garlic until soft, then add the carrot, potato and celery and continue to fry for 1 minute. As the vegetables fry, take half of the portion of chorizo and cut into small pieces (approximately 1cm cubes). Add the chicken and chopped chorizo and cover the ingredients with boiling water (until covered by approximately 2-3cm of water). Add the lentils and crumble in the stock cube and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 1.5 hours.
Once the soup has cooked, remove the chicken and chorizo and add the cream, then blend until it reaches a smooth creamy consistency. Add the chicken and chorizo back in, as well as the rest of the chorizo (cut into bitesize chunks) and put it back on the heat for 10 minutes.
Tomato and red pepper (serves 3/4): ‘A spicy twist on an old classic’
3 red peppers (de-seeded),
1 white onion,
4 cloves of garlic,
2 sticks of celery,
1 large carrot,
500g plum tomatoes (tinned works just as well as fresh),
100g fresh plum tomatoes (optional),
1 vegetable stock cube,
1 handful of dried lentils,
2tbsp tomato puree,
1 teaspoon chili powder,
1 teaspoon sugar,
25g butter,
salt & coarsely ground black pepper.
Put the peppers, onion, 100g plum tomatoes (if you’re using them) and garlic cloves into a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake at the top of your oven for 30 mins or until the vegetables are golden and tender.
Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and saute the chopped celery and carrots for about 4-5 mins. Add the 500g of tomatoes, tomato puree and chili powder and cover the mixture with boiling water (until covered by 2 cm of water). Crumble the stock cube into the pan and pour in the lentils and stir it all together. Add the sugar, salt and pepper and, once the vegetables have cooked, add them to the pan, then allow to simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.
Season to taste and serve with ciabatta or garlic bread.