Soup recipes for cold weather days

The temperature is set to drop, so have one of these soups prepared to heat up when needed over the weekend

It’s definitely the season to have a pot of soup ready to go each day. Make it the night before and heat it up after a lunchtime walk, or bring it with you in a flask and sip as you go.

Celeriac and thyme soup

Ingredients:

• 1 medium celeriac
• 2 carrots
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 medium shallot
• 2 cloves large garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 10 fresh sage leaves
• 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)

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1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Cut off skin and roots of celeriac. Dice celeriac, carrots, and potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Place on a baking sheet or in roasting pan. Roughly mince shallot and garlic. Add to dice vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss until all the vegetables are well coated. Roast in the oven 35 to 40 minutes or until the vegetables are beginning to caramelize and brown.
3. While vegetables are roasting, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Fry sage, 3 to 4 leaves at a time until crisp. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. When vegetables are done roasting, transfer them into a blender. Add thyme leaves from 5 sprigs into blender with 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth. Puree until smooth. Add more vegetable broth to achieve the consistency you desire.
5. Transfer soup to a medium pot. Bring to boil over medium heat. Serve with crispy sage, extra thyme and a drizzle of heavy cream.

Carrot and lentil soup

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Easy mushroom soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 750g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 100ml milk
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 mins until starting to soften. Add the mushrooms, increase the heat to high and cook for 10 mins until tender and golden, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min. Remove a large spoonful of the mushrooms and set aside on a plate as garnish.
2. Pour the stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth using a stick blender.
3. Return the soup to the saucepan, add the milk and heat through. Add more water or stock if your soup is very thick. Season to taste and serve in bowls garnished with the reserved mushrooms, a sprinkling of parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Jamie’s tomato soup

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 medium onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• 2 organic reduced-salt chicken or vegetable stock cubes
• 2 x 400 g tins of quality plum tomatoes
• 6 large ripe tomatoes
• ½ a bunch of fresh basil (15g)

Method:

1. Peel and roughly slice the carrots, slice the celery, and peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel and slice the garlic.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add all the prepped ingredients, then cook with lid ajar for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened.
3. Crumble the stock cubes into a jug, cover with1.5 litres of boiling water, and stir until dissolved.
4. Add the stock to the veg pan with tinned and fresh whole tomatoes, including the green stalks that may still be attached to some of them (these give an amazing flavour – trust me!).
5. Give it a good stir and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. Meanwhile, pick your basil leaves.
6. Remove the pan from the heat. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper, then stir through the basil leaves.
7. Using a stick blender or liquidizer, pulse the soup until smooth. Taste and check the seasoning, then serve.

Main image by: Annie Spratt on Unsplash