Fresh tomato soup

I have said quite a lot about soups already and I have to admit I simply love home made soups . During our camping days I tried to use soup in a package. I thought it would save work and time. To my chagrin I found out that package soup took me longer to make than soup I would quickly produce myself . 

How, you say, is this possible ? Well most package soups need to be stirred for 10 minutes. In that time I have fresh vegetables cut and in the pot. Point in time the tomato soup.

Ingredients

Ripe Tomatoes about 1 kg sliced and diced

A bunch of Fresh Herbs ( Basil, Oregano, Parsley)and one medium diced onion

1 chicken stock cube

1 glass of good dry white wine

Freshly ground black pepper

Some oil for sweating/ sautéing the onions

Method

After sweating the onions put all other ingredients into the pot, simmer for approx 20 min.

Purée the soup and adjust the seasoning. If the wine was very dry use a Teaspoon of sugar to balance the acidity.

Add some more fresh herbs

Serve with fresh crusty bread

 

Note 

The tomatoes will produce enough liquid so there should not be any need to add extra liquid.

Note 2

This soup is equally delicious served cold!

Delicious!

Vegetable Soup

Vegetable Soup  (simply the quickest and easiest to cook)

The following recipe uses vegetables which you will have in the house most of the time. Once you get used to making soups you can and will use whatever comes to hand and make a nice soup.

I was initiated into soup making by my father's mother (Oma Mia). My gang will know the story but I think it worthwhile to share it with you.

When we used to visit Oma Mia, Saturday then was the traditional “Suppen”(soup) day,  in most German families and each family had their own specialities.

It took me quite a while to figure out what the difference was between my mother’s vegetable/potato soup and my Grandmother’s. One day we were in the kitchen alone and Oma, asked me to stir the vegetables in the pot. I ask her why and she explained that was to lock the flavours into the vegetables and that it would taste better. She called it “schwitzen”, that means sweating. She would put a little oil into the pot and sometimes, when it was to be a fine, delicate soup, she would use butter, or a mixture of both.

She had a specific order as well, which to this day I dare not change, I still don’t know the reason for the particular “Reihenfolge”( order).

First always come the onions, then leeks, then celery or celeriac, then carrots and last but not least the potatoes. These are the ingredients of the most simple soup and it is simply delicious.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. of good vegetable oil or butter or a mixture of both

1 medium sized onion

1 med/large leek

2 carrots

3 carrots

½ cup celery (if you like celery)

3 medium potatoes

¾ l chicken stock or vegetable stock

Pepper to taste

Parsley optional

Cream optional

Method:

1. Clean the vegetables and cut them into small pieces.

2. Put oil into a large saucepan and add the onions

3. Sauté the onions until the look glassy but are not browned.

4. Add the leeks, stir, let them “sweat” a bit and then add the carrots

5. Continue until all the vegetables have been added. Should take about 5 minutes.

6. Add the chicken/vegetable stock and simmer for 20 minutes.

7. If you want a cream soup,  puree the vegetables

8. Serve either with, cream, parsley, croutons (homemade!!)

Note:  The recipe for the croutons you find on the recipe for Winter's Tale soup

Tasty soup in minutes

Thai Noodle Soup (Annegret's version)

I find that this soup is the only food I can eat when I have a bad cold or do not have any appetite for whatever reason. It very easy and quick to make!

Ingredients

picture shows soup with chicken pieces

1 medium sized onion diced
1 handful fresh button mushrooms cut
or a small tin of mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
1 Tbsp diced fresh Ginger
3/4 l chicken stock
2-3 EL light or dark Sojasauce
Fresh Coriander  to taste( or 1 Tbsp dried coriander)
A little Rapeseed/Sunflower oil
Handful small Asian noodles

Method

1. Lightly fry onion, mushrooms, garlic and ginger
2. Add the chicken stock and soya sauce and simmer for approx. 15 min.
3. Add the coriander and some chili.
4. Add the noodles 5 min. before serving

Note: If you want a more substantial soup add some diced chicken breast before adding chicken stock and simmer for 25 min.

Soups

There a lot of tales told about making soups, my favourite one is the one about the mean old woman who would not share anything with anybody, until one day a beggar called to her door and asked for some food. When she said she did not have anything to give, he told her, he could make a magic soup for her. He simply needed a big pot and some fresh water and a clean stone. The old woman fetched what he had asked for. When the water was boiling, he said," if you had an onion the soup would be that little more magic". After awhile he asked, if she had a carrot, then, a leek, then a potao and so on. After about an hour he told her that the Magic Soup was ready.
Fairy tales usually do have a message and this tale has a few. The important one for me is: You can make a fine soup out of nearly any vegetable and any combination of them. 
The "Winter's Tale" uses the  often neglected Turnip as the main ingredient. 

A Winter’s Tale 

4-6 persons

Ingredients

I medium large swede turnip
1 medium to large onion
2 medium potatoes (optional depending on size of turnip)
2 medium  eating apples
2 TS rape seed oil
1 litre good chicken/vegetable stock
¼ tsp  ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander
Black pepper to taste

Method:
1. Dice onion, cut turnip, potatoes, apples into small cubes/slices
2. Sauté onion in Rapeseed oil, add one after the other the vegetables
3. Add spices and stock
4. Bring to the boil and simmer for approx 30 min or until turnip is soft.
5. Puree the soup to a fine creamy consistency.
6. Adjust taste

To serve:
This soup comes into its own with the different accompagniments:

Crispy bacon pieces ( 2-3 pieces of streaky rasher)
Home made croutons
Cream or crème frâiche
Finely chopped parsley ( best flat leaf parsley

Home Made Croutons

Ingredients
2/3 slices of good white bread
2/3 Tbs. of good olive oil depending on the size of the bread
Salt and black pepper
1 crushed glove of garlic

Method
1. Cut the bread into small cubes
2. In a Bowl mix the oil, garlic and salt and pepper
3. Add the croutons and mix with the oil mixture
4. Place croutons on a baking tray and bake for 10 min at 175˚C