Hot and Sour Shiitake Soup

I tackled my fear of soup making a couple of years back, took the stock pot by the handles and became pretty dab had at smooth thick comfort food type soups. Spicy pumpkin with smoked salmon, broccoli and stilton, Broccoli ham and cheese, beef and spicy tomato to name but a few!

The other day I saw this hot and sour shiitake soup on Simon Rimmer’s Dinners programme and was hooked…it looked fresh and tasty and the difference to my normal soups was it was a clear broth type of soup with things floating in it!!! I adapted it to what I had in the fridge but followed the basic recipe with great results.

I only had about 25g of shiitake mushrooms so used regular ones, then added strips of roast chicken and right at the end I added a handful of bean sprouts as I didn’t have any beanshoots.

The first bowl we had I didn’t add the egg. The second I did and it was a little more filling but didn't look quite as good.

Great tasting soup, love the lumps and floaty bits and the broth was great, hot from the ginger, sour from the white wine vinegar and the homemade chicken stock made all the difference! Fear over....I'm off to source some other watery soup with floaty bits recipes !!!

Printabe recipe

Curried Pumpkin (or BNS) & Smoked Salmon Soup

I admit NOT the best photo in the world, but you get to see how it should look!

I remember reading a recipe a bit like this somewhere but didn't write it down, when I came to make it I merged two recipes together to make this and was really pleased with the end results. This is Paul's favourite soup!

All quantities are approximatly as I just throw it together - email me if you have any questions.
SERVES 8
1 lb pumpkin, chopped or butternut squash
1 large onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
fresh stock (cubes work if needs must)
2 tins of full fat coconut milk
200g smoked salmon
salt and pepper
vegetable oil

1. Heat oil in large pan.
2. Sauté onions and garlic until soft.
3. Add Pumpkin and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Mix in curry powder and cook for another few minutes to take the rawness off the spices.
5. Add stock and coconut milk enough to cover the vegetables and bring to a gentle boil.
6. Simmer until pumpkin is soft, about 15 minutes.
7. When cooked turn off heat and allow to cool slightly
8. Blend until smooth,
9. Return to pan and add more stock until the required consistency is reached.
10. Add the smoked salmon, the heat left in the soup will 'cook' the salmon.
11. Check seasoning.

I freeze this in batches with or without the salmon, either way its great. Once defrosted re-heat and add salmon if needed. I don't know how much this makes 8 + depending on the size of your soup bowls.

Beccy made this....

As this...

So I made this....waste not want not!!!!

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup (L'hamraak Garagh)

I made this as part of my Moroccan Menu. This is IPD friendly for phase 3 only. The recipe can be found here

Curried Butternut Squash & Smoked Salmon Soup

This is a fantastic soup, spicy thick, luxurious with smoked salmon bits to add texture. I used smoked salmon bits that can be found in the supermarket...no need to use the more expensive slices.

1 large onion, diced
1 large butternut squash, diced (no need to peel)
1 tin of coconut milk
2 1/2 pints of chicken stock
2 tablespoons of mild curry powder (less if you don't like it hot)
Small packet of smoked Salmon off cuts

1. Fry onions in a little oil and butter until translucent
2. Add squash and fry until it picks up a little colour
3. Add curry powder and fry off the spices
4. Add milk, stir
5. Pour stock in and simmer for 20 minutes
6. Just before serving wizz up with hand blender until you have a smooth soup
7. Sprinkle the salmon bits on top and stir though
8. Serve

Correct me if I'm wrong but with the coconut milk and the butternut squash I'd say this is a phase two meal....???

Not the best photo in the world but...

This is Bee's chunky mushroom soup which I wizzed so it would fit in the flask. I only tasted a spoonful of it but it was very different to my mushroom and walnut soup. The tarragon gave this a very different taste, not mellow like mushroom soups, this shouted MUSHROOM SOUP from the middle of the bowl...maybe I was a little too heavy handed with the herbs but it was what Paul calls "hard core soup" Big on flavour almost overpowering but still with that eat me factor...he didn't leave a drop and said he'd knew he'd had his lunch afterwards. [I have no idea what he means by that remark, you decide!!!
Anyway, a hit, even though I may play with the quantities of the herbs next time!

One of my favourites

Onions, garlic, chorizo, diced bacon, tin tomatoes, some sort of beans (here I have used butter beans) Cannellini work well as do flageolet beans. Fry them all off in order I have listed them and cook for a further 10 minutes until everything has melted together then serve with grated cheese on top. In days gone past I would have served it on wholemeal toast, now I just put it in a bowl and grab a spoon. Its like a really thick soup...which is very comforting at the moment as it feels like winter outside, even though it is only just the beginning of September!!!

Lettuce Soup with Parma Crisps and and Basil Oil

Didn't like the sound of lettuce soup, but I'm so glad I made it because the taste was wonderful. Quite a depth to this soup, considering its basically lettuce, the basil oil and the parma ham just adds that special touch. I am now on a mission to buy up all the 'floppy' lettuces on a special in Tesco so I can batch make this and fill the freezer with it! Hmmmm I may plant some so I can have a stock of them in the garden!

Butternut Squash & Coconut Bake

This was delicious, great on its own for a quick lunch, as a side dish with some Thai chicken bites, or do what I did with the leftovers and turned it into a soup with some homemade light chicken stock. Either way you have it, you will love it.

OH WOW you have got to try this soup...Thai Green Avocado Soup

Pge 109

It is amazing, the photo doesn't do it justice! I think the tablespoon of thai green paste was a little too much for my taste. It was smarting the back of my throat, but once the flames died down, the flavours were allowed to come through and they were smooth, silky and creamy all at the same time. This is luxury in a bowl, the topping of toasted coconut and chopped corriander finished it off nicely.

If you are taking this to work in a flask, like Paul does, don't forget to heat up the flask first with some just boiled water. You can either take your toppings seperatly and spinkle on after pouring, or add to the flask at time of heating. They go soggy but its no big deal, they still add to the flavour and texture of the soup. Paul hasn't complained.

Spinach Soup....sort of! Trout served on ribbons of Courgettes with a Cream and Almond Sauce

I started out making Bee’s Spinach Soup from the Cookbook, but subbed so much stuff, it’s totally different!!! I used leek tops for the onion, and half a bag of spinach and half a bag of watercress, followed the method exactly and voila…a fantastically green soup which had much more body to it that I was expecting. V. Nice!!!

For dinner last night we had Trout with Almonds served with steamed ribbons of courgettes (page 178) and roasted vine tomatoes. Didn’t sub anything and it was perfect! Bee said to use 2 trout fillets per person but I only used 1 per person as two would have been too much for us.

Slender ribbons of Courgettes,steamed and drizzled with lemon juice and Olive oil (another one of Bee's brilliant ideas!!)

Day 16 - Scrambled eggs n Sausage and Curried Cauliflower Soup

Sausages cut up into pieces (so much easier for eating in bed!) fried until edges are crispy then served with fluffy scrambled egg. Don't overcook your eggs, if you take them off the heat while they are still a little sloppy, they will continue to cook to perfection in the remaining heat!

Bee's Curried Cauliflower soup. What a brilliant idea to use frozen cauliflower...why have I never thought of that before?? Probably coz the pet rabbits and guinea pigs liked the outer leaves of the cauli or later on when we were pet free, I like to put all the waste into my composter! Not anymore, frozen cauli from now on! The flavour was great, I figured cauliflower soup would be boring....not a great fan of the stuff normally, but I am impressed and have a new found respect for the vegetable! I used my own curry powder mix. (Will post recipe later!)

As always the recipe can be found in Bee, Neris & India's Idiot proof diet book or in the forum of their web site (link to the right of this post!)

Courgette and Gingered Onion Soup

Lunch couldn't come soon enough with this waiting for me!
Loved the courgettes and gingered onions on the top it made it that bit more special. Great taste, very smooth...you could serve this to company just as easy as you could serve it like I did, for lunch!

Bee's Mushroom Soup

I had this for lunch and with the few ingredients I used , I didn't think it would have the depth of flavour that it had....it certainly packs a punch. The only thing wrong with this soup is that I only made enough for two days! :-(

Cream of Carrot & Corriander Soup

Curried Parsnip and Apple Soup

Photo to follow...

1lb 8 oz small parnips
1 medium apple
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cardamon
1 1/2 oz butter
1 tblsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground ginger
2 pints of good stock
salt and pepper to taste

This is lovely soup, the sweetness of the parsnips and the texture of the apple goes really well together. I pre-roast the diced parsnips in a little oil when the oven is on for something else, I cook them and keep in the fridge until I'm ready to make the soup.

Melt the butter and oil in a pan,
Add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes until the onions are soft
Add the spices and cook for a further 2 minutes
Add the pre-roasted parsnips and stir to mix all the spices with the parsnips
Now stir in the stock and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes or until heated right through.
Blend until smooth, you may need to add a little more stock at this point as the parsnips tend to go a little thick. Let it down till you reach the consistency that you like.
Season to taste
Add the peeled and grated apple 5 minutes before serving, heat through for 2-3 minutes only then serve.

I have re-heated this soup the next day for lunch quite successfully, however the apple looses its crunchy texture and goes soft, but it's still has a great flavour!