Curried Parsnip and Apple Soup

Autumn has well and truly set in round my way, with cloudless blue skies overhead and masses of alternately crisp and soggy leaves underfoot. Edinburgh certainly knows how to do autumn well.

This time of year brings both a glut of wonderful root veg in my weekly organic box, and the desire to really spice things up in an attempt to keep warm from the inside out. To me, parsnips are the king of the root veg, and I love them in any form - roasted, mashed, even in cakes from time to time - but there is something about their savoury sweetness that makes them ideal to transform into velvety smooth soups. And they happen to go particularly well with curry spices. So the other day I came up with this delicate soup, both to warm me up on a cold Wednesday afternoon and to serve as my entry for this month's No Croutons Required competition over at Lisa's Kitchen. It's a real winter warmer, sure to brighten even the dullest, wettest day.

Curried Parsnip & Apple Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp flour
800ml vegetable stock
1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil and 25g butter
salt & pepper
50ml milk (optional)

Method:
1. Heat the oil and butter in large saucepan. Saute onions until soft, add garlic and parsnips and cook gently for a few minutes.
2. Add curry powder and flour, stir to coat the veg and cook for no more than two minutes to prevent the spices from burning.
3. Add the stock and apples and stir well. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the parsnips and apples are tender but not mushy.
4. Blend the soup into a velvety puree. Add a splash of milk if desired and more stock/water if the soup is too thick.
5. Serve with crispy garlic croutons, toasted pumpkin seeds or a swirl of creme fraiche.

Hearty Tuscan Bean Soup

I found myself pottering around my kitchen on Saturday afternoon, feeling slightly fuzzy round the edges after one too many glasses of wine the night before, but blissfully happy in the knowledge that I had no plans, nowhere to be, and that it was just horrible enough outside to justify my staying indoors all day.

So instead of reaching for the frozen pizza - as I am wont to do on such occasions - I began flicking through a few of the blogs I like to follow, and I came upon this month's No Croutons Required competition, hosted by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes. In the spirit of our recession-hit times, the theme this time is frugality, and the aim is to create a vegetarian soup (or salad) using only storecupboard ingredients, plus whatever you can find in the fridge. That got me thinking - hey, I've got a tin of tomatoes in the cupboard, and a tin of butter beans, plus there's all that veg from our weekly organic box that needs using up ...

And so, with an added dash of inspiration after watching Nigel Slater's new programme the other day, I set about creating my competition entry. A kind of autumnal, warming bean soup with hints of our holiday in Italy earlier this year, I'm calling it my Hearty Tuscan Bean Soup. It's truly one of the most delicious things I've eaten in a long time - far better than that frozen pizza I'd had my eyes on...


Hearty Tuscan Bean Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 stick celery, 1 carrot and 1 red pepper, all coarsely chopped
tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
tin chopped tomatoes
500ml vegetable stock
squeeze of tomato puree
the heel of a chunk of parmesan or pecorino, if desired/available (thanks to NS for this idea!)
pinch oregano
a few sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:
1. Saute the onion and garlic in some olive oil for a few minutes, until soft but not brown. Add the chopped veg and continue to saute, covered, for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, stock and tomato puree, stir well and bring to a simmer. Throw in the end of a chunk of parmesan or pecorino, if you happen to have one hiding in the back of the fridge.
3. Add the herbs and seasoning, along with the butter beans, and simmer a few more minutes until the flavours have melded together and the cheese is meltingly soft but not broken up.
4. Remove the cheese from the pot, check the seasoning, and serve the soup with some rustic Italian bread and maybe a drizzle of olive oil.

Potato, Roast Garlic and Thyme Soup

Ah, the humble potato. So often overlooked, or treated as a mere side dish in relation to its glitzier meat, fish and veg counterparts. Pure carbs, it gets a bad rep in these low GI times, but isn't it time we put it in the spotlight and treated the lowly tattie with the respect it deserves?

I created this simple soup for a competition called No Croutons Required, held monthly by Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa's Kitchen. The theme for February was simply 'Potatoes', and in this recipe they are allowed to shine...


Potato, roast garlic and thyme soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
Knob of butter and splash of olive oil
Whole head of garlic
1 onion, sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 pints vegetable stock
Handful fresh thyme, stripped from the stems and chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:
1. Cut top off head of garlic. Wrap in foil and roast in oven (200c) for about 45 minutes until soft.
2. Fry onion in olive oil and butter for five minutes until soft. Add potatoes and stir around to coat thoroughly.
3. Add stock, cover pan and simmer for about 15 minutes until potatoes are soft. After ten minutes add the chopped thyme.
4. As potatoes are simmering, take roasted garlic and gently squeeze out the soft pulp from the cloves. Add to the soup pan and stir thoroughly.
5. Blend soup well using a hand blender or liquidizer. Add a knob of butter to make the soup glossy.
6. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of chopped thyme and some lovely fresh bread.

Delicious! Fingers crossed for the competition...

Ballymaloe's Spiced Chickpea Soup

Every time I visit my friend Kate in Dublin I spend a good portion of my time poring over her copy of the Ballymaloe Cookery Course. Not that she's boring or bad company, and not because I'm trying to avoid talking to her - quite the contrary - it's just such a beautiful and interesting book that I find it hard to tear myself away. It even makes great bedtime reading, fuelling my dreams with images of briny oysters, pretty salads and perfect biscuits. It's an inspiring read, and the cook school that bears its name is firmly on my list of foodie places to visit one day - along with El Bulli, The French Laundry, The Fat Duck ... the list, predictably, goes on and on.

It is probably one of my favourite cookery books of all time, which is why I was so delighted to be given a copy of it as a birthday gift by my lovely friend Kay, and why I was so impatient to get into the kitchen and get cooking. Here's what I decided upon first...

Spiced Chickpea Soup with Coriander Cream & Pitta Crisps
Serves 6

2 cans chickpeas, drained
800ml vegetable stock
3 tsps coriander seeds
3 tsps cumin seeds
50g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 small red chillies, deseeded and chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
75ml cream
salt and ground pepper
freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Dry-roast cumin and coriander seeds over medium heat for 2-3 mins, then crush in pestle & mortar or spice grinder.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan, then fry the onion, chillies, garlic and spices gently for 4-5 mins. Add the turmeric and cook for another minute.
3. Remove from the heat, add the chickpeas and mix well. Season.
4. Add the stock and cream, and liquidise all together until smooth.
5. Gently heat the soup, then sharpen with lemon juice and serve with chopped coriander leaves, a swirl of cream and some toasted pitta pieces.

Smooth, creamy, warm with spices, this is like a pureed channa masala - a delight.