Let’s look on the bright side of things. This is what I say to myself each time I think that the weather in London is way too cold for comfort, which at the moment is everyday. Despite central heating and some heated floors, the whole house sometimes feels like a giant refrigerator. In Pollyanna-esque positivity I tell myself that it’s so amazing not to have to pay electricity charges for air-conditioning. Over the Christmas holidays, with a week of guests to feed, I packed four cool bags of fruit and vegetables and kept them out on the back patio where they kept fresh and in peak condition. Mr Gochugaru did the same for the champagne.
The seasonal turkey, ham and roast pork have all been cooked and eaten and we are keen to resume eating more vegetables. For lunch I usually make soups to eat with any form of bread that is going: sourdough, focaccia, brioche.
Over the weekend I had some lovely focaccia from Fortnum and Mason where the wrapping is as posh as the shop itself
The following recipe is a general one which makes use of the hardy vegetables we have in Winter. In the past few weeks I made several soups. Each time I made a new soup I jotted down the ingredients, but in the end there were too many variations to write up.
Once you read the recipe you will know how to make substitutions with other similar vegetables that you prefer or have to hand. The exception to my list is potatoes as I am not sure they have enough flavour to make any soup interesting. If I used potatoes I would also use smoked haddock, to make the great Scottish soup Cullen Skink. That would be a good project for another cold day.
Cauliflower and Chestnut Soup
Butternut Squash and Chickpea Soup
Celeriac and Bramley Apple Soup
For the Soup:
200 g onions, sliced
20 g garlic, sliced
20 g ginger (optional), sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
600 g celeriac, carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, kabocha squash, cauliflower or sweet potato, cut into 2 cm cubes
150 g apples (Bramley if you prefer a sharp addition to the taste, otherwise other apples will add a sweetness to the soup), peeled, cored and cut into 8 pieces
OR
180 g cooked chestnuts / cooked chickpeas
600 g – 800 g vegetable stock, depending on how thick you like the soup
Pesto (see below) or walnuts, to serve
How to Make:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic and ginger (if using). Fry for a few minutes until fragrant but not browned.
Add the 600 g hard vegetables (celeriac, carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, kabocha squash, cauliflower or sweet potato). Give everything a good stir.
Add the vegetable stock, bring to boil then reduce to a simmer. Start with 600 g vegetable stock and add up to 200 g later until you achieve the right consistency. Place the lid on the saucepan and simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
After this time, add the apples or the cooked chestnuts/ chickpeas. Simmer for another 15 minutes.
Blend the soup until it is smooth, check for consistency and taste for seasoning then top with pesto (see below) or a sprinkling of chopped herbs / walnuts before serving.
To add a bit of colour, I served the soups with some home-made Vesto (vegan pesto). The latest batch was made with five herbs that I had leftover from a recent dinner with friends.
Five-herb Vesto:
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
100 g fresh herbs: a mixture of flat-leaf parsley, coriander, tarragon, mint and dill
50 g skinned hazelnuts
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt
Wash and dry all the herbs (I used a salad spinner). Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until everything is roughly chopped.
This quantity makes two bottles, which can be frozen for future use
Some of the simple ingredients that can be turned into a warming soup: onions, garlic, celeriac, apples and walnuts
