A bowl of soup if properly prepared has numerous health benefits to your body. To some people, preparing and cooking soup is a meditative approach to dealing with their psychological and mental issues. However, given the hundreds of soups available, finding a classic soup recipe that suits your needs may be overwhelming. This guide contains 5 classic homemade recipes that you can try out. Read More »
Tips for Making Classic Tasty Soups
Before getting into the kitchen to try out a soup recipe, here are a few tips that you should put in mind.
Seasoning: Different vegetables and spices used in soup making vary in taste. As such it is important to season your soup to your preferred taste by adding generous amounts of salt and pepper.
Spicing: Spices give your soup a rich aspect of smell and flavor. If your like it spicy, add your favorite spices and keep on tasting as you add to avoid overdoing it. Do not be economical on spices, do it to your desired level!
Add some olive oil: Drizzling some natural olive oil on your soup gives it extra richness and makes the flavor stand out.
Let it sleep: Most soups taste better when consumed as leftovers. Therefore prepare enough soup and preserve some as leftovers to be consumed later. If frozen under the right temperature, soups can last for months.
Top 5 Simple Soup Recipes
Below are a few simple soup recipes that you can try out in your kitchen using readily available ingredients.
Spiced Lentil & Carrot Soup
This soup is delicious and easy to prepare. It is rich in iron with low-fat content.
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking: 15 mins
Ingredients
• 140g red lentils (split)
• 600g coarsely grated carrots
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• Chili flakes
• 125ml milk (Optional)
• Plain yogurt
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1L vegetable stock
Method
Heat a large pan and add the cumin seeds and a pinch of chili flakes. Dry fry them for about 1 minute or until their aroma starts to fill the room. To know if they are ready, observe them as they start to jump out.
Scoop about half of the fried cumin seeds and chili flakes. Add the olive oil, the split lentils, grated carrots, 1L vegetable stock and milk. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Simmer for 15 minutes or until the lentils become tender. Keep on stirring until you achieve your desired thickness. You may also use a food blender for more uniform texture.
Add a generous amount of salt to taste. Pour in the plain yogurt and sprinkle the reserved roasted spices and serve.
If you want it dairy-free, you can replace dairy milk with coconut milk. This soup can last in a fridge for up to 4 days. It also freezes well.
Mushroom Soup
You can prepare this soup for your family or friends within less than an hour. It serves as a good starter for lunch or dinner.
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking: 25 mins
Ingredients
• 2 medium onions (chopped)
• 500g chopped mushroom ( button or chestnut mushrooms)
• 1 garlic clove ( crushed)
• 90g butter
• 2 tsp flour
• 1 bay leaf
• 1L hot chicken stock
• 4tsp single dairy cream
• A handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Method
Melt butter in a large pan and add the onions and garlic. Cook until they soften or for about 8-10 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and cook over high heat for 3 mins until they become tender. Sprinkle the plain flour and stir to combine. Add the hot chicken stock and let it boil. Now add the bay leaf and let it simmer for about 10 mins.
Remove the bay leaf and discard it. Remove the mixture from heat and blitz into using a food processor or a blender to your desired texture and consistency.
Reheat the soup and add the single cream. Stir until even ( you may serve at this stage or still garnish parsley for a rich flavor).
For a rich earthy flavor, soak dried mushrooms in boiling water for about 30 mins and add the mushroom plus the soaking water to the stock. This soup is freezable. However, ensure that you remove any topping before freezing since they would not freeze well.
Pea Soup
This is one of the easiest and cheapest soup recipes. All you need is some frozen peas. Additionally, it is rich in antioxidants making it good for your health.
Preparation: 5 mins
Cooking: 15 mins
Ingredients
• 500g frozen peas
• 1 medium chopped onion
• I tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1L vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 sprigs mint
• 100ml single cream (optional)
Method
Heat oil a large pan and fry the onions until soft but not browned. Add the plain flour and stir for I minute. Add your preferred stock while stirring until it thickens.
Now add the peas and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for about 10 mins.
Pour the resulting mixture into a blender or a food processor and add the mint. Whizz it to the texture of your choice.
Reheat the pan, pour the puree and whip in the cream. You can serve without adding the cream if you want it dairy-free.
Pumpkin Soup
Whole pumpkin is rich in vital minerals and vitamins and so is its soup. Pumpkin soup has a rich silky texture and is suitable for the whole family.
Preparation: 10mins
Cooking: 25 mins
Ingredients
• 1kg pumpkin or squash chopped into chunks
• 700ml vegetable or chicken stock
• 150ml double cream
• 2 chopped onions
• 2 tbsp olive oil
Method
Add the olive oil in a pan and heat, then add the onions and cook for 5 mins until they become soft.
Add the pumpkin chunks and continue cooking for about 8-10 mins while stirring occasionally until their color changes to brown.
Now pour in the stock followed by a generous amount of salt and boil until the pumpkin becomes soft. Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for about 10 mins.
Pour it in a food processor and puree it into a uniform consistency. Reheat the puree in a pan and add swirl in the double cream (this step is optional). At this stage, you can freeze it for up to 2 months.
To make it rich in taste, you can add in some roasted pumpkin seeds or garlic cloves. Making pumpkin soup is a good way to put into use the plenty of pumpkins harvested during fall.
Tomato Soup
Tomatoes are readily available and this makes tomato soup one of the cheapest soups to make.
Preparation: 20 mins
Cooking: 45 mins
Ingredients
• 1.25 kg sliced ripe tomatoes
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 1 small carrot (chopped)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 celery stick (chopped)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste or puree
• 2 bay leaves
• Sugar
• 1.2L vegetable stock
Method
Heat the oil into a pan, add the onion, celery and carrot and cook under medium heat while stirring occasionally. Let them cook for about 10 mins until they turn faint in color.
Gently pour in the tomato paste and stir until all the vegetables turn red. Now add the sliced tomatoes, a pinch of sugar and the bay leaves and stir. Let the mixture cook under low heat for about 10 mins.
Pour in the vegetable stock and let the mixture boil for about 25 minutes until the tomatoes break down into a slushy looking paste.
Remove the bay leaves and throw them away. Pour the mixture into a food processer and blitz it into a fine puree. This soup is freezable and can last up to 3 months.
You may add salt, black pepper or roasted garlic to enrich the flavor.
Try out the above simple homemade soup recipe and prepare delicious and healthy soup for your family and friends. Be generous enough to share the recipes with others too!
