Healthy Soup RecipesMmmm, lovely home-made soup! I make it all the time - and using these healthy
soup recipes, so can you.
ALL ABOUT STOCK All of these healthy soup recipes use stock, but you can just as easily make them with water, or by using stock cubes or bouillon powder. Look for light, organic bouillon powders – Marigold is good. If you feel like making your own stock, it will add more flavour and nutrients. Here's how to do it. Next time you roast a good, organic chicken, save the carcass for stock. Better still, use raw bones, from a carcass you have jointed yourself. Break up the bones and put them in a large pan with a couple of peeled and roughly chopped carrots, an onion, a stick of celery, a few peppercorns, a little salt, a couple of sprigs each of thyme and parsley. If you don't have all of these extra ingredients, it doesn't matter. Add enough cold water to cover, bring to the boil, skim off the foam and leave to simmer for 3 hours. You can make it much faster in a pressure cooker – I give it 20-30 mins at high pressure.Leave to cool, strain the liquid into a bowl and chill, then remove the fat. Freezes well. Put vegetable trimmings and peelings – onion, potato, carrot, leek, broccoli, tomato, whatever you have – plus a little salt, a few black peppercorns, a bay leaf and some dried herbs into a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Leave to cool, then strain. And now, read on for the collection of Healthy Soup Recipes. Healthy Soup Recipes: thin and smooth This makes a beautiful velvety soup that's not too thick. If you prefer a soup with more substance, add a handful of cous-cous to the blended soup, and leave it to swell in the hot soup for five minutes. It adds a lovely texture. If you have more time, a handful or rice or small pasta shapes work just as well, but need simmering for 10 minutes. 500g (10 cups) spinach,1 large onion, 2 medium potatoes, 750ml (3 cups) vegetable stock Get the stock simmering nicely, wash and shred the spinach removing any tough stalks, peel and chop the onion and potatoes, and add all to the stock. Season lightly. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, until the veg are softened. Blend. Serve immediately, or chill. Variations
Healthy Soup Recipes: a great way with beetroot
For the soup 1 onion, 600g (3 cups) raw or ready-cooked beetroot (not in vinegar), 3 carrots, 250g (1 3/4 cups) potatoes,1 tbsp olive oil,1 litre (3 1/2 cups) vegetable stock, salt and pepper. For the topping 6 tbsp organic low-fat natural yogurt, or low-fat crème fraîche, 3 tbsp finely chopped walnuts Serves 4-6: Peel and slice the onion, carrots and potatoes. Grate the beetroot if using raw, or dice if using ready-cooked. Add all vegetables to the stock, bring to the boil, and simmer gently until vegetables are tender. If you like, liquidise the soup briefly in a blender. Serve hot, or chilled, topping each portion with a spoonful of the walnuts mixed with yogurt or crème fraîche. Healthy Soup Recipes: winter warmer A little bacon goes a long way to adding richness and depth to the flavours in this recipe. You can use less bacon if you like, and add a little oil to pre-cook the vegetables before adding the stock. Or leave the bacon out completely, and add the veg and lentils to the stock as the first step. 100g (1 cup) streaky bacon, derinded and chopped, 2 leeks, cleaned and chopped, 1 stick celery, chopped, 1 onion, chopped,1 carrot, diced, 100g (3/4 cup) lentils, rinsed and drained, 1 litre (3 1/2 cups)chicken or vegetable stock, salt and pepper,1 bay leaf, 2 tbsp chopped parsley Serves 4: Cook the bacon gently in a large saucepan until the fat runs, then add the vegetables and fry gently for 5 minutes.Add the lentils, stock, seasoning and bay leaf and simmer for 25-35 minutes until the lentils are tender. Remove the bay leaf and blend the soup briefly. Stir in the parsley just before serving. Healthy Soup Recipes: clear onion soup
A fast French one, a warming classic recipe for cold days. 6 onions, sliced, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp flour, 1½ (5 cups) litres vegetable or chicken stock, 4 slices French bread, 3 tbsp grated Gruyère cheese Serves 4: Soften the onions in the olive oil. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Pour over the stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Towards the end of cooking time, grill the bread on one side, turn over, sprinkle with the cheese and grill quickly until the cheese melts. Float a cheese toast on each bowl of soup to serve. Healthy Soup Recipes: simple veggie soup I first made this one chilly Saturday morning, wondering if the kids would go for barley and cabbage… They certainly did, and were a bit disgruntled when there wasn't any more. Next time, I'll make double. 1 litre (3 1/2 cups) stock, 2 sticks celery, diced, 1 onion, diced, 1 small swede, diced, 125g (3/4 cup) barley, ¼ Savoy cabbage, finely shredded Other Soup Recipes
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The sweet, slightly earthy flavour of beetroot shines out in this delicious recipe. And is that not a beautiful, rich colour? This versatile soup can be served hot or cold.