Non Duck Soup For The Day After The Night Before. (Soups)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Soups
Date:	16/12/05 (217 review reads)
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There are times when food can simply be too heavy. Today is one of those days. Having attended the annual work’s conference yesterday, I’m a little worse for wear at the moment. Funny really, ‘cos I promised meself I’d take it easy but aaaaaas usual got carried away with all the free booze on offer and got steaming drunk instead *reader stands with hands on hips tutting* I’m not sure which has left a mark on me more, all the drink duly quaffed or seeing Will Young play live as the after dinner entertainment. He’s such a nice boy.

In emergency cases like this I often fall back on soup to ease my stomach gently back into the land of the living. As you may know already, I quite like cooking now and again as I find it relaxing although making soup isn’t *that* difficult even for me. Sooooooooooo.......
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How about some creamy onion soup for starters then? Wherever possible, I try to stay veggie so these recipes are aimed at the none meat eaters amongst us but, of course, most folks won’t mind a nice vegetarian soup.

You will need:
700g/1.5lb potatoes
700g/1.5lb onions
25g/1oz butter
3-4 tbls single cream
salt and ground black pepper
grated nutmeg

Serves 4

Peel and dice the spuds. Put them in a saucepan with 450ml/0.75pint of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 mins. Meanwhile, peel the onions and cut/slice into half-circles.

Melt the butter in another saucepan and put in the onions. Cover and cook over a gentle heat until tender. Continue to stir for around 15 mins.

When spuds are done, either mash in their water or puree them in a food processor. Return them to the pan.

Tip the onions and their liquid into the puree and add cream. Thin the soup to taste with more water and re-heat gently. Season with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.

You can also try the vegetable soup below:

You’ll need:

225g/8oz carrots
225g/8oz parsnips
225g/8oz leeks
1 tbls light olive oil
1 x 400g/14oz tomatoes
2 tbls chopped parsley
salt and ground black pepper

Serves 2-3.

Scrape carrots and cut them into tiny dice. Peel parsnips and dice them too. Trim leeks and slice finely.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and put in the vegetables. Cover and cook gently for 10 mins then add the tomatoes with their juice and 600ml/1 pint of water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 mins until tender.

Add the parsley, season with salt and pepper then serve.

You can enhance the soup experience by heating the bowls before serving and the soup itself can be either a starter or main meal if you don’t fancy anything more substantial. The beauty of soups is that they are gentle on the old stomach so when you are off your food a little or feeling a wee bit delicate then soups are often ideal. Right, I hope that’s been of some use and I’ll ask you now to leave my kitchen. A man’s work is never done, y’know?

This may well be my last effort of 2005 and if it is then it just leaves me to say have a great Christmas and a Haaappy New Year :O)

Marandina

Summary: 2 soup recipes