Home Made Soup

These are my favourite home made soup recipes which are perfect accompaniments to my homemade breads:

Fennel Soup

4 large fennel plants
Trim fronds (save some for garnish, put the rest on your compost heap
Finely chop the bulbs Fry them with some chopped leeks in a dollop of butter
Add 4 cups chicken stock.
Blend with 250ml of cream
Sprinkle with some bacon bits and fennel fronds. Delicious!


Broccoli Soup

This is our favourite home made soup! It’s quick and easy and very nourishing!
Take 2 or 3 heads of broccoli. Roughly chop.
Fry two onions or a bunch of leeks and some garlic in some butter or olive oil.
Peel and chop two sweet potatoes and 4 potatoes.
Add the potatoes and then the broccoli.
Fill you pot halfway up with boiling water and add two heaped tablespoons of chicken stock powder.
Cook until potatoes are soft. Blend until smooth. Stir in 250ml cream.
Serve with crispy rolls.

Potato and leek

Fry 2 bunches of leeks in some butter with a teaspoon of garlic.
Peel and dice 10 potatoes, add
Make a litre of vegetable stock from powder, add
Season with salt, pepper, thyme, nutmeg, mint
When potatoes are soft, blend it with hand blender and add a cup of cream.
Serve with hot bread rolls.

Easy butternut soup

1 large butternut, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
500 ml chicken stock
250ml cream
2 feta cheese rounds
1 teaspoon cinnamon or a cinnamon stick

Brown the onions and add the butternut and sweet potatoes. Add the chicken stock. Cook until just tender. Blend to make smooth. Crumble the feta into the soup and blend quickly. Serve in bowls and swirl some cream on top. Serve with fresh bread or buns.

Tortilla soup

Soup:
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes
12 fresh Italian tomatoes cut in half
Brown sugar
Paprika
Olive oil
Garlic salt
2 cups chicken stock & 2 cups water
1 onion chopped
Fresh garlic
Fresh chilly
1 packet tortilla/corn chips crumbled.
Turn on your oven to a high temperature. Place the halved tomatoes skin side down on a baking tray. Sprinkle with seasonings and olive oil. Cook in the oven until the juices start running and edges crinkle. Remove. Allow to cool slightly then chop, saving all the juices.

In the meantime fry onion, garlic and chilly in a large pot. When browned add the can of tomatoes and the tomatoes from the oven along with the juices. Add the stock and water. Reduce heat. When the chips have softened blend the soup until smooth.

Toppings:
Sliced chicken breasts, fried
Cubed avocado
Fresh coriander (cilantro)
Fresh chopped chillies
250 ml cream
1 packet corn/tortilla chips

To serve:
Ladle some soup into each bowl. Allow the family members to add the toppings. It works best if the following order is used:

Soup – chips – chicken - avocado – cheese – chillies (optional) – coriander – dash of cream.

This is such a sociable meal…be sure to invite friends next time!