Taking Stock of Soup

For me there is nothing better then a nice bowl of soup, it is a favourite here in our house and something that we make often. The best thing I like about soup is that it can be different each time you make it and it's an easy way to get lots of good vegetables into everyone.

I would probably make soups/stews most days that we are eating - the rainy, damp weather often calls for something warm and nourishing and my children will eat any amount of vegetables in the form of soup. Perhaps a holdover from their vegan beginnings.

The secret to making a great tasting soup lies also with its' beginnings - while most people (and I used to do this many years ago) would fill a pot with water and then throw in a stock cube - this is not the best way to create wholesome food. Not, when you can make this yourself and be fully in control of the ingredients.

Commercial stock cubes could contain anything (I know because I used to work as a food hygiene inspector) and often have some nasties such as MSG, high levels of table salt, meat-by products such as fat, bone and strange parts of meats, yeast extract, caramel, sugar, dehydrated herbs, spices and finally vegetables.

Of course the question to be asking here is 'how much of this stuff do we need?' Because most of these ingredients would not be found in anything that you make yourself at home. Many of the components of manufactured foods are stabilizers (reduce spoilage), preservatives (increase shelf life) and flavour enhancers such as MSG. 

All of which are designed for the purpose of maintaining product integrity on a shelf in a supermarket and not with your health in mind.

So, back to basics - to make your own soup stock, here is my personal recipe:

2 large pieces of seaweed such as dulse in the pot of water

1 large onion

1 piece of celery

2 cloves garlic

1 leek

fresh parsley ( 1/2 cup)

salt/pepper/turmeric/thyme etc

Soup stock sauté

To start any soup I usually put lentils (or cooked beans) in water to soak with the pieces of seaweed. In a separate saucepan I sauté chopped onion, celery, garlic, leek, and the spices until they are tender and starting to brown. Then I add this to the soup pot with the parsley and any other herbs. 

Seaweed in pot with vegetables and lentils

If you let this cook for a few minutes, then add the vegetables (such as carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, celeriac, turnip) - in about 45 minutes you will have created a great tasting soup. To make it spicier just add some cumin, coriander or more black pepper. 

The seaweed such as dulse will dissolve with the cooking - at the end I often blend the soup a tiny bit just to get a nicer consistency and to allow the flavours to combine. Then, voila! You have a lovely pot of soup.

Great food for this weather

April

Spicy lentil vegetable soup - great with a fresh piece of spelt bread