Pumpkin & ginger soup:

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pumpkin
• 2 shallots
• 75 g ginger
• a few sprigs of fresh herbs , such as chives, mint
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 litre organic vegetable stock
• 125 ml coconut milk , plus extra to serve
• ½ tablespoon chilli powder
• 1 lime

Method:

Deseed and roughly chop the pumpkin, peel and chop the shallots, then peel and finely grate the ginger. Pick and finely chop the herbs.

Place the pumpkin, shallots, ginger and some oil in a large saucepan and sauté until soft. 

Add the stock, coconut milk and chilli powder. Season, then bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes. 

Blitz in a food processor then serve with the fresh herbs, lime juice and a splash of coconut milk.

Parsnip, sage & white bean soup:

Ingredients:

SOUP

• 1 onion
• 2 large parsnips
• 1 x 420 g tin of cannellini beans
• 1 sprig of fresh sage
• olive oil
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 organic litre chicken stock           
• CRISPY PARSNIPS

• 1 parsnip
• 2 sprigs of fresh sage

Method:

For the soup, peel and roughly chop the onion and parsnips. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans, then pick and roughly chop the sage.

Heat 50ml of oil in a pan over a medium heat, then cook the onion and parsnips for 10 minutes, or until softened but not coloured. 

Add the bay leaf, beans, sage and stock, season and simmer for 15 minutes. 

For the crispy parsnips, preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas 6. 

Peel and very thinly slice the parsnip, and pick the sage leaves. 

Brush the parsnip slices and sage leaves with oil, and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, checking often, or until crispy. 

Remove and discard the bay leaf from the soup, then blitz it with a stick blender until smooth, adding extra stock or water if it’s too thick. 

Adjust the seasoning to taste, then serve piping hot with a drizzle of olive oil and the parsnip crisps on top.

Fresh tomato broth:

Ingredients:

• 4 onions
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 4 sticks of celery
• 20 large mixed-colour tomatoes , (about 2.5kg)
• 1 x 2kg whole free-range chicken , fat trimmed off
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée , optional

Method:

Start by prepping your veg: peel and roughly chop the onions and garlic, trim and roughly chop the celery and roughly chop the tomatoes. 

Put the chicken, onions, garlic, celery and tomatoes into your largest saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover it all, pop the lid on, and bring to the boil over a high heat – about 30 minutes. 

Once boiling, reduce to a simmer over a medium heat with the lid askew and cook for 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked through. 

Carefully lift the chicken out with tongs and put aside (use in the Leftover chicken with tomatoes & chorizo recipe). Pour the soup through a fine sieve, discarding what’s left behind. To further clarify it, strain through 4 layers of muslin. Have a taste to check the flavour balance, and season with sea salt and black pepper, if needed. 

Skim off fat if serving straightaway. If you’re leaving it for another time, chill, then scoop off any fat that sets on the surface. Gently reheat the soup before serving. If you think it needs a bit of a colour boost, scoop out a cup of the broth and add 1 tablespoon of tomato purée to it. Mix until well combined then return to the broth and mix again. 

Delicious served simply with a drizzle of basil oil, a few herb tips and a shaving of Parmesan, if you like.

Super-tasty miso broth Soup

Super-tasty miso broth:

Ingredients:

• 150 g mixed brown and wild or brown rice
• 20 g dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 red onion
• sesame oil
• 1 x 5cm piece of ginger
• 1 heaped teaspoon miso paste
• 800 ml really good chicken stock
• 6 radishes
• rice or white wine vinegar
• 1 x 200 g skinless free-range chicken breast
• 1 handful of colourful curly kale
• 1 sheet of nori
• 150 g mixed exotic mushrooms, such as enoki, chestnut, shiitake

Method:

Cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Put the porcini in a small bowl and just cover with boiling water to rehydrate them.

Meanwhile, peel the onion and cut into eighths, then place in a medium pan on a medium-high heat with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Cook for a few minutes, or until dark golden, stirring occasionally, while you peel and matchstick the ginger. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the ginger, miso paste and stock, along with the porcini and soaking water, leaving the last gritty bit behind. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Halve the radishes, put them into a bowl, toss in a splash of vinegar and a small pinch of sea salt and leave aside to quickly pickle.

Finely slice the chicken and tear the kale and nori into small pieces, removing any tough stalks from the kale. Break up the mushrooms, leaving the cute ones whole, and stir it all through the broth. Re-cover and cook for 4 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Drain and divide the rice between your bowls, followed by the radishes. Season the broth to perfection, ladle it into the bowls, then serve.

Fish soup:

Ingredients:

• 1 small bulb of fennel
• 1 leek
• 3 sticks of celery
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3-4 tomatoes
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme
• 440 g white fish, from sustainable sources
• olive oil
• 1 small glass of white wine
• 400 g prawns, mussels or clams, from sustainable sources
• extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Trim and finely chop the fennel, leek, celery and chilli, and peel and finely chop the garlic. Roughly chop the tomatoes, pick the thyme leaves and chop the fish into chunks.

Gently cook the fennel, leek, celery, most of the chilli and the garlic in olive oil over a medium heat, until soft. 

Add 1 litre water and the wine, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are cooked. 

Add the tomatoes, thyme and fish. When fish turns opaque, add the prawns, mussels or clams and simmer for 2 minutes until prawns are cooked and mussels are open. 

Season and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a scattering of fresh chilli.

Watercress soup:

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• 400 ml organic stock
• 3 bunches of watercress

Method:

Peel and roughly chop the potatoes, onions and garlic.

In a large saucepan, heat a little olive oil, then sauté the potato, onion and garlic until the onions are translucent. 

Add the stock and simmer until the potato is soft. Chop and add the watercress and simmer for a further 3 to 4 minutes. 

Using a hand blender, liquidise the soup until smooth. 

Serve with a swirl of crème fraîche and some Fortt’s Bath Oliver biscuits, if you like.

Asian chicken rice balls & broth:

Ingredients:

• 130 g brown rice
• 1 large bunch of coriander
• 6 spring onions
• 4 skinless, boneless free-range chicken thighs
• 1 lemongrass stalk
• 5cm piece of ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• sunflower oil
• 8 large raw king prawns, from sustainable sources
• 2½ tablespoons miso paste
• 2 pak choi
• 250 g mangetout
• 1 handful of beansprouts
• low-salt soy sauce
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 lime

Method:

Cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Drain and leave to cool, then chill until needed. 

Pick half of the coriander leaves, pop them in a bowl of ice-cold water and set aside. 

Put the remaining leaves in a food processor along with the cooled rice.

Thinly slice the spring onions. Roughly chop the chicken, bash and roughly chop the lemongrass, then peel and roughly chop the ginger. Peel the garlic. 

Place it all into the food processor with the kaffir lime leaves (remove the stems) and pulse until smooth. 

Tip the mixture onto a board. With wet hands, divide it into 16 and roll each piece into a ball. Place them on a plate and chill, covered, until needed. 

Set a large casserole pan over a medium-high heat and add a splash of sunflower oil. Fry the rice balls for 5 minutes, or until golden brown all over. 

Peel the prawns, using a sharp knife to remove any black bits.

Add the prawns to the pan and stir-fry for 1 minute, then stir in the miso paste and pour in 1.2 litres of boiling water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. 

Cut each pak choi into 6 pieces, then halve the mangetout lengthways. Add them to the pan for the last 2 minutes. Stir in the beansprouts for the last 30 seconds and season with a splash of soy sauce. 

Thinly slice the remaining spring onions and finely slice the chilli. Divide the broth, balls, veg and prawns between four warmed bowls. Sprinkle over the spring onions, chilli and drained coriander and serve immediately with lime wedges.