Cuisine – Soup time

Who doesn’t love a tasty soup? One of life’s true comforts, especially at this time of the year, it may be one of the easiest dishes to perk up tired or cold, hungry people.

It is also a nourishing inexpensive way to feed a crowd. Seasonal, market-fresh vegetables can be cooked up quickly, and by judicious buying you can certainly beat the cost of those tempting but pricey pouches of soup that fill supermarket refrigerated shelves right now. Root vegetables – potato, carrot, parsnip and kumara – at are their best in winter, as they’re hearty and filling, and can be peeled and chopped, thrown in a saucepan with water to simmer away until they’re mushy enough to mash.

Those who make their own chicken stock from leftover chicken bones will take their soups to a higher level of flavour. A good vegetable stock made with all leftover veggies lurking in the fridge will satisfy vegetarians and all of us who are keen on avoiding any waste food. Just chuck all those end pieces and tired looking greens and root veggies in a large pot, adding herbs, a chopped onion and a bay leaf, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so it is just bubbling and leave for an hour or two, before straining into little pottles. It’s a great investment of your time and can be refrigerated or frozen until it’s needed.

Soup can range from chunky and chewy, made with addition of a ham hock or meatbones for extra flavour, to silky smooth, and puréed to a sophisticated texture. One of the handiest kitchen tools is the stick blender. In no time, your soup can be whizzed up smoothly and there’s no need to try to have all the vegetables chopped into neat, even dice. And there’s nowhere near the chore of cleaning that is presented with a food processor!

My mother’s homemade tomato soup was always one of my favourite meals when I was young. She usually made us toasted cheese sandwiches as an accompaniment, and often sent us to school with our own thermos of tomato soup on chilly days. I have adapted her simple recipe to make use of canned tomatoes, which may be the most singularly useful cheap item on supermarket shelves. I have also jazzed it up with even more flavour: a red pepper, orange zest and juice, and a touch of simple spice, ground coriander. Ground coriander (not the fresh herb) has a slightly warm orange aroma and is perfect with tomatoes.

Cooking Tips:

An essential in cooking tomatoes is a pinch of sugar. I have no idea just why it reacts to bring more flavour to cooked tomatoes, but without sugar, the tomato flavour fades a little. As I try to explain to my grandkids, flavour is all about balance, and almost all food needs acid balanced with salt and sugar.
It’s nice to garnish your soup with any of the following: a little dollop of cream, some sour cream, a slick of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper or fresh herbs.

---

Tomato, Red Pepper and Orange Soup

1 onion
2 red peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp ground coriander
1 orange, zest finely grated (juice reserved)
2 cans chopped tomatoes (in tomato juice)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
A dash of red pepper sauce (Tabasco or Kaitaia Fire)
Pinch of sugar
1 tsp salt
To finish: black pepper, cream or sour cream and a few basil leaves or other fresh herbs

Chop the onion coarsely and de-seed the peppers and chop coarsely. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the onion and peppers. Cook gently until soft, then add the coriander and orange rind and cook for a further minute.

Add the tomatoes, stock, pepper sauce, salt and sugar, and bring to a simmer. Keep over very low heat, stirring occasionally and allow the soup to simmer for about 30 minutes until the flavours are well blended.

Remove the pan from the heat and blend the soup with a stick blender until it is smooth. Stir in the orange juice and season the soup to taste with more salt if needed. This can be prepared ahead and refrigerated.

To serve, reheat until piping hot, and add a spoonful of whipped cream to each bowl with a little basil or chopped parsley.

Serving idea: Accompany with toasted cheese sandwiches or hot buttery toast. Serves 6.