Leek and potato soup

In a large saucepan, fry a chopped onion and garlic in butter. Separately fry a few chopped rashers of streaky bacon - I do this separately because the bacon provides more than enough fat to cook itself.

Once the onion is golden and the bacon is crispy, add the bacon to the pan. Add chopped leek and diced potato and saute for a few minutes. Add stock and seasoning, bring to the boil and simmer until the veggies are tender. At this point, you can either blend for a smooth soup, or leave it chunky.

Stir in a good measure of cream and boil to thicken.

Add some more crispy bacon to finish, and serve with warm crusty bread.

Crab and sweetcorn soup

This has always been one of our favourites when we've gone for a full sit-down meal at a Chinese restaurant. But it is also amazingly easy to cook at home. We are always on the lookout for new soup ideas, so I'm surprised it's taken us this long to try this for ourselves.

Make up a pan of stock - either bouillon paste, or we often use home-made turkey stock as a soup base - and season it to taste. 

Bring the stock to the boil, then stir in some flaked crab meat (either fresh, or processed) and a drained can of corn. Thicken with a little cornstarch. Add some veggies if wanted - we used some small bok choy, or you could add green onions. Stir in several beaten eggs to finish off the dish, and serve.

Vegetable soup

An impromptu recipe that turned out well, resulting in a tasty and hearty winter warmer.

In a large pan fry a chopped onion until soft and golden. Add garlic and diced celery and saute for a few minutes. Stir in a couple of chopped tomatoes.

Stir in a spoonful of flour to soak up the juices, then slowly add a jug of stock, mixing well to remove any lumps. Add seasoning - oregano, pepper, salt, and garlic salt - then a load of finely-chopped vegetables - carrots, potatoes, beans, sweetcorn etc. I used a bag of frozen mixed veg for variety.

Add enough liquid to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour or so, stirring occasionally to stop the mixture catching on the pan. Some of the vegetables may start to mash and disintegrate, but that's not a problem as they add body to the broth.

Goulash soup

A tasty and hearty dish that we tried for the first time last night. When we were camping this summer we stopped for lunch at a tiny cafe while taking shelter from a sudden downpour. We had goulash soup, and decided to hunt down a recipe. I'm happy to say it worked out well, something to do again.

In a large saucepan fry a few rashers of finely-chopped bacon until crispy. We usually get lean bacon, but for purposes like this Canadian (or "streaky" as we knew it in Britain) is perfect.

Set aside the bacon and fry some finely-cubed steak until browned. Scoop that out and set it aside with the bacon. I find this also produces a fair amount of liquid, which I drained off for later use too.

Now fry a couple of finely-chopped onions and cloves of garlic until golden. Stir in a generous spoonful of paprika, and a couple of heaped tablespoons of flour. Stir for a couple of minutes, then stir in a generous spoonful of tomato paste and a good slosh of red wine vinegar. The result should be a sticky paste.

After a minute or so, stir in a good jug of beef stock (including the liquid set aside from cooking the steak), salt, a chopped red pepper, and the bacon and steak. There should be enough liquid to cover everything. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Add a few finely-cubed potatoes - there should be at least as much by volume as meat - and continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender.

If necessary, add a bit of liquid to cover the ingredients, but the result should be a rich and thick soup. Stir occasionally to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Clam chowder

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet. Maybe we went a little while without making it, but it's a tasty warming bowl for a chilly evening.

Start by making up a roux sauce, adding some chicken stock along the way - either paste, or in liquid form instead of some of the milk. You can also add a splash of white wine for extra flavor. Either way, you want to end up with a sauce that is thin enough to pour but not too thin.

Add a tin of drained clams, some finely-diced and pre-cooked potatoes and carrots, and optionally a handful of peeled shrimp. You can also throw in other veggies such as sweetcorn if you wish. Season with salt and pepper, serve with toast (or garlic toast).

Minestrone

Fry a finely-chopped onion in a large saucepan. Chop some Pastrami into fine slices and add to the pan. We use about 7 to 8oz. Stir and fry a while to let the flavor of the Pastrami come out.

Add a couple of chopped tomatoes and cook until the juice starts to come out.

Add a jug of stock, salt to taste, a healthy squirt of tomato ketchup and a dash of HP sauce for extra flavor. Stir in a can of drained red kidney beans, a similar quantity of finely-diced carrots, and a few handfuls of macaroni.

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer until the pasta, carrots and beans are cooked.

Cream of chicken soup

One of many variations on a soupy theme ...

Fry a finely chopped onion until soft. Add some chicken cut into small pieces and fry until browned.

Meanwhile, make a Roux sauce, enough quantity for a soup. Start with milk as normal, but while the sauce is still thick add chicken or turkey stock for flavor. Stir in a pinch of salt, and add the cooked chicken and onion.

Butternut squash soup

We have often bought packets of squash soup but never before tried making it from scratch. We were very pleased with the results.

The recipe we found is here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/77981/butternut-squash-soup-ii/

In a generous knob of butter, fry a chopped onion, some celery, carrots, diced potato, and a diced squash. Add enough stock to cover, bring to the boil and simmer until the veg is soft. Blend, and stir in salt and pepper. The result should be a very thick soup.

Departing from the recipe, we then stirred in a generous dash of cream and another knob of butter, and served with bacon bits and grated Parmesan.

Broccoli soup

Chop up a crown of broccoli into fine pieces. Cook until tender but not too soft - either in a pan of salted water, or a few minutes in the microwave.

Meanwhile, make up a Roux sauce (butter, flour, whisk in milk until fairly thin). You need a generous quantity when making soup. When the Roux is cooked, stir in a spoonful of concentrated chicken stock, then add in the cooked broccoli. Heat gently and stir occasionally to let the flavors infuse.

Serve, topped with fried bacon pieces, and garlic toast.

Carrot & ginger soup

Soups are great additions to the weekly menu and very simple to prepare.

Peel and chop enough carrots - one or two per person - and place in a pan of salted water. There should be enough water to easily cover the carrots, but don't overdo it - you'll see why later :)

Peel and finely chop a piece of ginger - about 1" cubed gives enough for flavor - and add to the pan.

Bring to the boil and simmer until the carrots are soft (about 1/2 hour). Set aside and leave to cool.

In a large saucepan, make a Roux sauce: Melt a generous knob of butter - an ounce or two, add flour to make a crumbly consistency and cook over a low heat for a couple of minutes. Slowly add milk, whisking to remove lumps, until you have a thick sauce. Bring to the boil and cook gently for a few minutes, stirring to ensure it doesn't catch on the pan.

Pour the carrot & ginger plus the liquid (this is why you don't want the carrots swimming) into a blender and blend until fairly smooth. Mix into the Roux sauce. Add more milk if the soup needs thinning.

Serve topped with fried bacon pieces and heaps of fresh bread or toast.

Chicken noodle soup

A very easy yet satisfying recipe.

Fry a finely-chopped onion until soft, then finely-diced chicken until browned. Add some finely-diced carrots and 2 or 3 sticks of chopped celery. Add chicken stock and salt and top up with water so the ingredients are well covered. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 1/2 hour, so the veggies are cooked.

About 5 minutes before serving, throw in a couple of handfuls of Chinese style steam fried noodles (the ones that look like short pieces of curly spaghetti) and if necessary add more liquid so that everything is covered. The noodles will soak up some liquid so you need plenty.

This is also a great way to use up leftover turkey after Thanksgiving or Christmas. It's become one of our regular post-turkey traditions a few days later, also using the last batch of rich stock from the carcass (we always make stock and freeze it for use over the coming months).

Beef & barley

A tasty and hearty soup for a winter's evening.

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 to 2lb steak - cubed
1 cup pearl barley
1 pint beef stock
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Generous squirt of tomato ketchup

Method:

Fry the onions in a large pan until soft.
Add the steak and fry until browned.
Add the stock and the barley, simmer for an hour or two.
Stir in the sauces.