In the soup…a winter construction

While many of us now have a little extra time on our hands prior to further easing of the much-needed restrictions, let’s squirrel away a little something for the approaching winter months!

Let’s stock our freezer with a delicious range of hearty, warming nutritious soups. They are so easy to prepare, freeze exceptionally well and we can benefit by using all the delightful autumnal produce at our fingers.

The vegetable world is truly magnificent…think of soups including chestnuts, Brussels sprouts (don’t turn your nose up, these little bliss bombs of nutrition and flavour are sadly maligned!), cauliflower, new season potatoes, celeriac and purple carrots to name just a few.

Open that plethora of cookery books on your kitchen shelves, and pick a few soup recipes you have never before cooked, and plunge in with glee! My hearty Tuscan soup had been sitting quietly unnoticed in a recipe book I have owned for many years. How could I have ignored it? Likewise my kidney bean soup equally and unjustifiably overlooked!

Remember the beauty of soup constructing is just that. You can use any ingredients you fancy and customise your potage to suit you. So, let’s do it!

Into our kitchens we go, and let’s get those chopping boards and blenders put to their full working capacity. And bear in mind, soup can be a delicious breakfast, don’t necessarily delegate it to dinner time! (On a personal note, I have been enjoying my celery and celeriac soup for breakfast for the past few weeks. Porridge can wait a while!)

As the famous chef and author of The Soup Book Auguste Escoffier so wisely said…
“Soup is cuisine’s kindest course. It breathes reassurance; it steams consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability, as the five o’clock cup of tea or the cocktail hour.”

So a slightly different newsletter this month, dedicated to the soup! Back to normal reporting of latest scientific studies regarding health and nutrition next month.