Category: Soup Maker

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Top Tips For Using A Soup Maker

What are my top tips for using a soup maker?  Read on to find out.

Tomato Soup 8 Why Should You Use A Soup Maker?

For me, a soup maker was a welcome present from Morphy Richards, which has seen a labour of love grow from early beginnings.

Morphy Richards now have a new machine on the go, which seems to have a sauté base, so I covet that version at the moment.  For now, I will stick with my kettle version of a soup maker.

I imagine that if you are looking for soup maker recipes, that you already own a machine, but if you don’t, there are major differences between the two styles that prevail.

Types of Soup Maker

Kettle / Jug Type

This is like the version that I have.  It resembles a large kettle, but you cannot see the inside of it while the soup cooks.  You do need to use the minimum and maximum settings on the kettle to make sure you have the right amount of ingredients and fluid in your soup maker. My version can also make smoothies, which is a very welcome thing indeed.  The blender attachment is in the top of the kettle, which makes for very easy cleaning.

Blender Type

These versions tend to be slightly more expensive.  They can often sauté onions and vegetables, but with the kettle versions catching up, that benefit will soon be wiped out.

These usually resemble a traditional counter top blender, with the blending tool in the bottom of the glass.  They are said to be more difficult to clean, but I cannot vouch for that.  You really would have to find out for yourself.

Considerations For Buying A Soup Maker

Decide what SIZE of soup maker you will need.  My version makes soup from 1.3 – 1.6 litres.  If you are only making soup for one person, you might be fine with a small quantity soup maker, or simply freeze what you have made for another day.

Different SETTINGS do made a difference.  I wanted the option to have both smooth and chunky soup from my soup maker.  The smoothie function was an added bonus.  It isn’t obvious when you look at some versions, but reading more deeply into functions and settings, you might find the one you are coveting cannot do one or the other.

If you want ease of CLEANING, then you have no option but to read through the reviews of people who have owned soup makers.  I have only suffered from one burnt bottom of the pan, and that was my own fault, as I forgot to stir the ingredients with the fluid before I popped on the lid.   It is worth nothing though, that even though the bottom did burn, just a little….a ten minute soak with hot soapy water, and it scrubbed off no problem.

Soup Maker Tips and Tricks

  • Prepare as much of your ingredients as possible in advance. Considering that most of my recipes are simply chop and plop, it’s quite easy to do.
  • Use boiling water for your stock, or liquid addition. I find that if I use it cold from the tap that the vegetables may not be fully cooked when the soup is ready.  Starting with hot stock, gives it a great chance to add more flavour and taste.
  • If you plan to use anything frozen, make sure the ingredients are fully thawed first.
  • Make sure all meat that goes into the soup maker is pre-cooked. Soup makers do not have long enough settings to cook your meat.
  • Chop your ingredients into small pieces, especially potatoes, carrots and turnip. This allows the vegetables to fully cook in the short soup maker cycle.
  • Ensure the lid is fully closed or sealed.
  • Do NOT open the lid during cooking. If you do you may find yourself splattered with very hot liquid.
  • Some soup makers have a strong pulse setting. I’ve seen many people recommend holding down the lid, to avoid soup being pushed up and out of the blender.  I do not have this problem with my version, but remember to check out the possibilities of your own.
  • Follow your manufacturers minimum and maximum guidelines. My jug has these clearly marked on the inside of my machine.
  • Do not submerge your soup maker fully in water to clean.  Follow your instructions to the letter, or you may short out your machine.
  • Follow your manufacturers instructions for cooking, cleaning and maintenance.

SAFETY WHEN USING A SOUP MAKER

  1. NEVER fill your soup maker past its manufacturers recommendation or outside the minimum and maximum fill levels.
  2. Do NOT immerse any parts of your soup maker fully in water.
  3. Keep soup makers and kettles away from the edges of counters, especially if you have children, to avoid them being dragged over the edge.
  4. Do not be tempted to open the lid during cooking. The soup maker contents may explode over you.
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Soup Maker Recipe: Beetroot and Orange Soup Recipe

I’ve struggled for a while to get a beetroot soup that I can cope with.  This beetroot and orange soup seems to be my ideal soup for this vegetable.

For me, it needs the addition of the citrus to be palatable.  Everyone else is different.  I also left out the salt and pepper in my version, but feel free to add it to yours.  I had to experiment with beetroot, as the first versions I made came out orange.  I suspect it was more to do with the variety of beetroot and where it was grown than anything else.

The kids preferred a little cream mixed into theirs at the serving stage, so it’s all good for turning this into a cream of beetroot soup, quite easily.

Soup Maker: Beetroot and Orange Soup Recipe

5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients
  

  • 600 g Cooked Beetroot Quartered
  • 100 g Red Onions Chopped
  • 100 g Carrots Chopped
  • 1 Stock Pot Vegetable or Chicken
  • 800 ml Boiled Water
  • 200 g Orange Juice
  • PinchSalt
  • PinchPepper

Instructions
 

  • Simply add all the ingredients to the pot, apart from the orange juice.
  • Select the smooth setting.
  • When the soup is ready, stir in the orange juice before serving.
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Soup Maker Recipe: Creamy Tomato Soup (Passata Recipe)

This is a wickedly easy way to make a good tomato soup that doesn’t require hours of steaming and peeling tomatoes, or having to sieve your soup by pushing it through a muslin cloth.

You could substitute fresh tomatoes for the tinned ones, and not lose any flavour or taste with the recipe.  Make it how it suits you.

We add cream at the serving stage, which makes it a much more creamy soup.  It is a thick soup, so if you like your soups watery, this isn’t for you.

Some people have commented that this soup with passata burns in their machines.  It’s not happened to me, but if you think it’s a possibility, then it might not be a soup for you.

Soup Maker Recipe: Creamy Tomato Soup (Passata Base)

Lesley Smith
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 l Tomato Passata
  • 2 teaspoons Sugar
  • 400 g Tin Plum Tomatoes
  • 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
  • 200 ml Whole Milk
  • 2 tablespoons Tomato Puree

Instructions
 

  • Add all the ingredients into your soup maker. If you plan to freeze some soup, leave the milk out of the batch, and add it in proportion when you reheat the soup to serve. Freezing soup with cream or milk in it, will cause it to separate or curdle on reheating.
  • You will look for the smooth setting for this soup, as you want it as pureed as possible. If it isn't smooth enough for your taste, simply choose the smoothie setting on your soup maker if you have one, or use a stick blender to smooth it even more.
  • Serve Immediately, with Croutons, or Why Not Try a Scone, For Something Different

Notes

This soup may not be suitable for all machines. Some people have commented that this soup with passata might burn in their machines.   A reader commented that Morphy Richards does not recommend passata in their soup makers.

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

It’s coming up to that time again, when we all wonder what to do with the lovely insides of pumpkins that we put out for Halloween.  I’d made my soup and had some lovely pictures, then managed to delete the pen drive, so this is a legally borrowed one that looks identical to how mine looked.

Enjoy your Halloween when it comes.

Remember, when using soup maker recipes, never fill your soup maker above the maximum level from the manufacturer, no matter what the recipe says.  We often use different soup makers, with different maximum levels.

Soup Maker Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

Lesley Smith
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 36 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g Finely Chopped Pumpkin
  • 200 g Finely Chopped Onion
  • 100 g Finely Chopped Carrot
  • 100 g Finely Chopped Potato
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Litre Stock Chicken, Beef, Pork or Vegetable
  • Cream Optional at the serving stage.
  • Parsley Garnish or Herbs (Optional at the serving stage.)

Instructions
 

  • For this recipe, to get more taste, you can lightly fry the onions in a frying pan with a teaspoon of coconut oil. The onions must stay white, so they will not need to be on for long. You can miss out this step and just put the ingredients straight into the pan if you are in a hurry, but the taste will not be so rich.
  • Add all the ingredients to the soup maker. Put your setting onto smooth. With your stock, fill to the maximum or 1600-1800g for all ingredients manually in a pot.
  • Serve when fully blended with garnish, parsley or herbs. Optional to add a swirl of cream to the soup when it's in the plate for some creaminess.

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Mediterranean Vegetable Soup

This is so easy, that it’s almost impossible to get wrong.  Simply chop the vegetables, throw in the pot, add stock and a little salt, then off you go.

Soup Maker: Chunky Mediterranean Vegetable Soup Recipe

Lesley Smith
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 l Chicken or Vegetable Stock You could add water and a stock pot or two stock cubes.
  • 600 g Chunky Mediterranean Vegetables Diced Red Onions, Courgettes, Red and Yellow Peppers

Instructions
 

  • Add the diced vegetables to the soup maker, along with the salt.
  • Add the stock, either up to the maximum 1600-1800g for a Soup maker or the full 1 Litre of stock if you are cooking this in a saucepan. Use more or less liquid, depending on how much soup you are looking for.
  • Select the chunky setting and wait until it's ready.
  • Serve with fresh bread.

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Red Lentil Soup Recipe

Who doesn’t love a plate of red lentil soup?  Lentils don’t agree with me, but I do love them, so every now and then, I actually do make a pot.

That’s the beauty of the soup maker, as it’s just so easy to do.  It works especially well for my mother, who decides she wants a hot meal at odd hours of the day now, yet won’t eat tinned.

I’ve always got bags of lentils in the cupboard, and at a push, I’ll just throw in what’s at the bottom of the fridge to make up some vegetable content.

Soup Maker Red Lentil Soup Recipe

Lesley Smith
5 from 4 votes
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Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 21 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 - 6

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Split Red Lentils Rinse & Soak in water for half an hour before cooking.
  • 1 l Stock To Taste - Beef, Chicken or Vegetable
  • 200 g Potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon Cracked and Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Chopped Onion

Instructions
 

  • For this recipe, to get more taste, lightly fry the onions before adding to the pot, however it isn't necessary, Add the lentils to the cooking pot, with the chopped onion and potatoes.
  • Add the stock, either up to the maximum 1600-1800g for a Soup maker or the full 1 Litre of stock if you are cooking this in a saucepan.
  • Select the smooth setting for a pureed soup, or the chunky if you prefer some bits in your lentil soup. If you plan to leave your soup chunky, chop your onions and potatoes very finely before adding them to the pot.
  • Serve with hot fresh bread.

Notes

Lentil soup is very much a personal thing.  Some people like it so that their spoon stands up on its own, and others like it more watery.   Add more or less lentils with experience, once you know the likely consistency that a set amount yields.  I like mine smooth and not too thick.  If it turns out too thick, I simply add a little more water or some milk at the end of cooking.

Image representative only.  Your finished soup will vary, depending on the content and consistency that you choose for cooking.

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Soup Maker: Potato and Onion Soup Recipe – 1.6 Litre

Another soup maker recipe for you, but remember, you can also make this in a pan.

I love potato and onion soup, but my boys find it harder to take with the onion taste.   When serving this up, you can serve with a little cream on top, creme fraise, or even some natural yoghurt to make it easier for children to eat.

This literally is just potatoes and onions with some stock, so it might not be for everyone.   I find soups fill me up when I hit a tempting binge cycle, so I make a lot of them as an emergency stand by.

Soup Maker: Potato and Onion Soup

Lesley S Smith
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 - 6

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Onions Diced
  • 4 Large Potatoes Diced
  • 2 Chicken Stock Pots or Stock
  • 700 ml Boiling Water (Or fill soupmaker up to 1600ml mark on kettle.)

Instructions
 

  • Pop all the ingredients into the kettle. Set to smooth setting.
  • Simmer for 21 minutes in the kettle. If you make the soup manually, you will have to blend it after cooking.
  • Serve with fresh bread and parsley.

 

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Soup Maker: Carrot and Ginger Soup Recipe – 1.6 Litre

Another soup maker recipe for you, but remember, you can also make this in a pan.

Carrots make for a wonderful soup.  It really does not matter what is added to the soup, there is almost always going to be an innate sweetness that the carrots lend to the recipe.

When serving this up, you can serve with a little cream on top, creme fraise, or even some natural yoghurt.

Soup Maker: Carrot and Ginger Soup Recipe

Lesley S Smith
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Carrots
  • 150 g Onion Peeled and Chopped
  • 1 Root Ginger Bulb Up to about 3 - 4 Inches Long. Peeled and chopped.
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 l Vegetable Stock
  • 1 teaspoon Coconut Oil
  • Rainbow Peppercorns To garnish.

Instructions
 

  • For this recipe, to get more taste, lightly fry the onions and ginger in a frying pan with a teaspoon of coconut oil. The onions must stay white, so they will not need to be on for long. You can miss out this step and just put the ingredients straight into the pan if you are in a hurry, but the taste will not be so rich.
  • Add all the ingredients except the ground rainbow peppercorns into the soup maker and set it to smooth for 21 minutes. With stock, fill to Maximum In Soupmaker or up to 1600-1800g for all ingredients manually in a pot.
  • Serve and garnish with rainbow peppercorns.

Carrot and Ginger soup 5

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Soup Maker: Peppered Mushroom Soup Recipe – 1.6 Litre

Another soupmaker recipe goodie.

Mushrooms are available here all year round and make fabulous soups.  The taste is completely different to anything you can buy in a tin.

This recipe does make for very thick soup when it cools slightly, so you might want to water it down a bit or use slightly less ingredients if you want a more watery soup.    The colour of mushroom soup isn’t the most appetising, but the taste more than makes up for that.

It might be too peppery for some, so if you don’t like the strong taste of peppercorns, add less ground peppercorns to give your soup a milder kick.

Soup Maker: Peppered Mushroom Soup – 1.6 Litres

Lesley S Smith
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Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 24 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 - 6

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g Mushrooms Washed and Chopped
  • 200 g Chopped Leek and Onion
  • Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Rainbow Peppercorns
  • 1 l Beef Stock
  • Chopped Chives To Decorate
  • 1 Teaspoon Double Cream Per Person To swirl on the top at serving.

Instructions
 

  • This recipe is intended to be cooked on the smooth setting. Add your chopped mushrooms, leek and onions to the pot.
  • Add in a pinch of salt and your teaspoon of ground rainbow peppercorns and your litre of stock (or up to the 1.6 mark on a soupmaker)
  • Set to the smooth setting, or in a pan, simmer for 20 minutes and then blend.
  • Serve with a little cream to temper the slightly spicy taste of the peppercorns and decorate with some chopped chives.

 

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Soup Maker: Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Recipe

Buying vegetables that are nearly end dates is a common feature of my shopping now.  I get them home, immediately make them into some kind of soup and then I have some frozen goodness in the freezer for whenever it is needed.

I would never have actually done that pre soup maker days as the effort required was just too much, especially for a small batch of soup.

These vegetables were on their last day for being sold, so I snapped them up for pennies.  I had made 3 batches of soup within an hour or so of coming home from the shop.

Soup Maker: Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Recipe 1.6 Litres

Lesley S Smith
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g Sweet Potato Chopped
  • 300 g Butternut Squash
  • TablespoonParsley
  • PinchSalt
  • Hot Water
  • Stock Cube
  • Parsley and Lemon Seasoning

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the vegetables and chop up into reasonably small pieces for speed of making the soup.
  • Put the vegetables, stock cube and a pinch of salt into the soup maker or pot.
  • Add water to the 1600 ml mark in a soup maker, or to the same level in a measuring jug with the vegetables in if you plan to use a pot for your cooking.
  • Choose your soupmaker setting and set it to go. I use the smooth setting most frequently. If you are making this in a pot, take off a simmering heat when the vegetables are fully cooked and use a blender to puree your finished soup. Sprinkle parsley and lemon seasoning on the soup before serving.

Notes

All the ingredients for the 1.6 Litre output of soup need to total up to approximately 800g.  I simply add a few carrots, potatoes and the onion and then top up with the largest main ingredient to the 800 grammes.

 

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Cream of Potato and Leek Soup 1.6 Litres

Potato and leek soup is so simple to make that it’s in the pot and cooking in just a few minutes in the soup maker.  I rarely bother with exotic spices and herbs for basic vegetable soups and as this one has cream in it, it isn’t suitable for freezing.  Leave out the cream and add water as a substitute if you plan to freeze.

Soup Maker Recipes: Cream of Potato and Leek Soup

Lesley S Smith
4.50 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 - 6

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Potatoes Peeled and Chopped
  • 200 g Leek Chopped
  • 100 g Onion Chopped
  • pinch Salt
  • pinch Pepper
  • 100 ml Fresh Cream
  • 700 ml Boiling Water Or fill soupmaker up to 1600ml mark on kettle.
  • 1 Vegetable Stock Cube Crumbled

Instructions
 

  • Pop all the ingredients into the kettle. Set to smooth setting.
  • Simmer for 21 minutes in the kettle. If you make the soup manually, you will have to blend it after cooking.
  • Serve with fresh bread and parsley.

 

 

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Soup Maker: Broccoli, Cauliflower and Carrot Soup Recipe

Looking for quick ways to make soup is easy with a soup maker.  After my review, I’ve decided to keep making different soups to see how they work out.

In the co-op, I found these small bags of washed and prepared broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.   It was really easy to make these into a fast and delicious soup which is perfect for a lunch, starter or even just a light snack.

Cauliflower Broccoli and Carrots

Soup Maker: Broccoli, Cauliflower and Carrot Soup 1.3 Litres

Lesley S Smith
Print Recipe
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Carrot Cauliflower and Broccoli
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Stock Cube
  • Hot Water
  • Bay Leaves

Instructions
 

  • Put vegetables into the soup maker.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste & sprinkle on the stock cube.
  • Fill the soupmaker up to the 1.3 litre level and switch on to the smooth setting.
  • Serve with a 2 bay leaves for decoration.