Cheap as chips - and so much healthier. (Soups)

Member Name: nikkisly

Product:	Soups
Date:	07/01/02 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Easy, Absolutely delicious!

Disadvantages: Very moreish.

Neither my husband nor I are big consumers of soup. Like most people, we keep a few cans of it in the larder for emergencies, but I would be willing to bet that, if I were to go and check now, most of the tins on the top shelf would almost qualify for a guest appearance on The Antiques Roadshow.

It's not that I don't like soup, but unfortunately it seems to have a strange effect on my digestive system. Two or three spoonfuls and I get instantaneous hiccups. Not delicate little "hics!" that can easily be concealed, but huge, crockery rattling brays, guaranteed to stop the conversation at any restaurant. (I've lost count of the times that Mr nikkisly has glared at me in embarrassment across a table and hissed "For heavens sake, go to the toilet and hold your breath...for half an hour!")

For some unknown reason, my own, home-made vegetable soup rarely causes the same problems and, even if it does, I'm consuming it in the privacy of my own home without an audience to appreciate the resulting sound effects. It's ideal as a quick warmer when you've been outside in the cold, but just as nice eaten outdoors on a summer evening. In fact, it's substantial enough to make a full meal which is, as the title suggests, as cheap as chips but far healthier. It also takes very little time to prepare and needs only basic cooking skills. As my Gran would have said, it will put hairs on your chest and lead in your pencil!

The ingredients listed below are very rough quantities - you'll see why as you read the recipe. Years of trial and error have resulted in what we feel is the perfect balance of textures and flavour, but you're welcome to experiment.

1 large leek
3 medium carrots
Half a mug of "no need to soak" Pearl Barley
Half a mug of red split lentils
2 or 3 vegetable Oxo cubes.
1 large onion
3 sticks celery
Handful of sun-dried tomatoes
4 medium siz
ed mushrooms
3 medium potatoes
1 mug of frozen peas
Large dollop of tomato puree
Half a mug of mini dried pasta (sometimes called soup pasta.)
Large tin of red beans
About 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped fresh chives and parsley - or about a teaspoon each of dried.
Cornflour
Salt and Pepper to taste.

(O.K, I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but I promise you, it really is simplicity itself to prepare and cook - even our esteemed category manager could manage this one! Trust me - I have a cooks blow torch and I know how to use it!)

Take your largest saucepan - a really massive one - and fill it three-quarters full with cold water from the tap. Toss in your pearl barley and lentils and place on a low heat.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the carrots into small dice and thoroughly wash and chop the leek. Finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes - they must be the dried ones in packets, by the way. (If you use the ones in oil, you end up with an environmental disaster floating on top of the soup.) Chop the celery and mushrooms and throw the whole lot into your now gently boiling water, along with the herbs, two crumbled vegetable Oxo cubes and tomato puree. Stir well, then stick a lid on the saucepan and go off and do something more interesting for about an hour.

By which time both the pearl barley and carrots should be cooked. (If not, leave to boil gently on a low heat until they are.) Assuming they are, throw the frozen peas into the mixture which will stop it boiling. No matter - by the time you have finely chopped your onion, peeled and cut your potatoes into small dice, and added them to the pot along with the pasta it should be back to a gentle boil again.

Continue to cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes have softened. By this time, what you have in the saucepan will bear little resemblance to soup. In fact, it will look more like an enormous serving of mixed vegetables in just a
little reddish coloured liquid. Don't panic, this is all part of the masterplan. Drain and rinse the tin of red kidney beans and tip them in too. Stir well.

Now comes the most technical bit. Taste the soup, add salt and pepper, and decide whether or not you need to add a third vegetable stock cube. (The soup should, at this stage, have quite a strong flavour.) Blend some cornflour to a smooth paste with water and add to the soup, stirring well. I can't tell you exactly how much to use, since it depends on the size of your saucepan, but you are aiming for soup that is very, very thick. (In fact, one that is almost solid - thick enough to trot a mouse on, to quote Gran yet again!) Keep adding cornflour and water mix and boiling until this is achieved then turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool.

Once it has properly cooled, you can start thinking about both eating it and freezing it. To freeze, place one mug full of the 'soup' in a freezer bag, expel the air, and tie. Each bag contains one portion of soup - that is, it will serve one person.

But you haven't made all that effort just to freeze it, have you? Oh no - you want some now, don't you?

So, take a mug full, place it in a separate saucepan and add water, stirring well, until the soup has reached your desired consistency. (We like it thick, but you can have it as thick or as thin as you like - just add more or less water.)

I serve it with granary bread rolls and a spoonful of freshly grated strong cheddar cheese, popped in just before serving so that it melts into the soup and goes delightfully gooey and squidgey. You might try a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan, croutons, toast soldiers or garlic bread. And, with the addition of some curry paste and just a little water, this soup makes a mean curry served with plain boiled rice. In it's thickened state, it also makes a very satisfying vegetable stew which I serve with herb dum
plings.

4 ozs self raising flour
2 ozs vegetable suet
Small pinch of salt
Large pinch of dried, mixed herbs

Mix all the above with water to form a stiff dough, form into four balls slightly larger than golf balls and drop into the soup. Cover and boil gently until the dumplings are firm. (with thanks to Sue Magee for reminding me in comments - I meant to include this, honestly!)

If you want to vary the soup, you can add other ingredients. In the past, we've experimented with diced parsnips, peppers, turnips and swedes, finely chopped cabbage, garlic, Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce. We've also used split peas and commercial "soup mixture", although usually these need to be pre-soaked overnight which is just too much hassle for us. We much prefer the basic recipe above, but it's down to personal taste.

Try it. Enjoy. And don't get hiccups.

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