Category: Soups

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Soupmaker: Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

Sweet potatoes are amazing, as well as being low Glycemic Index and great for me as a diabetic.  With several sweet potatoes in the fridge, it seemed sensible to use some up.  We need to add a fair bit of flavour to sweet potatoes as using them in this quantity can make for a very sweet soup indeed.  Most of my sweet potato recipes for soup, tend to have some tomatoes in it for some acidic balance, but for once, sweet was the way to go.

This was my third attempt.  The first one was tasteless and the second I overseasoned.

Lesley Smith

Soupmaker: Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

5 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4 -6
Course: Soup, Soup Maker
Cuisine: Main, Starter
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Leeks sliced finely.

  • 50 g Onion sliced finely.

  • 550 g Sweet Potato chopped into small pieces.

  • 10 g Rapeseed Oil.

  • 1 Teaspoon Salt.

  • 1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Pepper.

  • 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes.

  • 1 Teaspoon Turmeric.

  • 1 Teaspoon Paprika.

  • 1 Teaspoon Nigella Seeds.

  • 1 Star Anise.

  • Half Lemon.

  • Water to top up to 1600ml Level.

  • 100 ml Cream – Optional

Method
 

  1. Saute the leek and onion with the salt in the rapeseed oil.

  2. Add all the other ingredients to the pot, apart from the lemon and the cream.

  3. Select the chunky setting. For me, I remove the star anise before blending for a smooth soup.

  4. When the soup is finished, squeeze in the lemon juice of half a lemon. I remove the star anise and eat chunky, or as my kids prefer, blended to a smooth puree as in the image.

  5. If you are freezing any of this recipe, do so before adding any cream. The soup will be fairly sweet.
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Soupmaker: How To Make Cream of Carrot and Turmeric Soup

I haven’t shared too many recipes lately, so that needs remedied, especially as carrots are so easily come by and so versatile in any form of carrot soup.  I have loads of soups on standby, but not always with great images due to the pandemic and timeframes workwise too.

We’ve used turmeric a lot, as my youngest son has taken a shine to it as a favourite ingredient.  I’m always happy to oblige when it comes to soups, so incorporated it within this recipe for using up leftovers or just as a base soup.  It’s a very simple one and perfect for cold winter days.

Lesley Smith

Soupmaker: Carrot and Turmeric Soup 1.6 litre

5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Soup, Soupmaker
Cuisine: Snack, Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g Carrots chopped.
  • 150 g Leek chopped.
  • 200 g Potatoes chopped.
  • Tablespoon Rapeseed oil.
  • Teaspoon Salt.
  • Teaspoon Ground Pepper.
  • Tablespoon Turmeric Powder.
  • 1 Chicken Stock Cube.
  • 450 ml Chicken Stock – I used Tesco.
  • Water to maximum fill level for 1600ml soup.
  • 200 ml Heavy Cream Double Cream.

Method
 

  1. Add your rapeseed oil to the pan or the soupmaker and saute with the leek, until the leek is soft.

  2. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring well. The soup looks fairly unappetising at this point. Don’t let it put you off. See the thumbnail image above.

  3. Choose your cooking setting. I chose smooth for my version, as I wanted a creamy, luxurious soup, rather than a meal in a bowl type soup.

  4. When fully cooked, pour in the cream slowly then stir before eating. If you plan to freeze, do so before adding dairy, as soup with cream in it does not defrost well.

Video of finished soup is a little pathetic, but hey ho, I seriously need to do better with videos.

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Pressure Cooker: Tomato, Cucumber and Rice Soup

Choose to have your soup chunky or smooth.  It’s all up to you.

Lesley Smith

Pressure Cooker: Tomato, Cucumber and Rice Soup

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4 -8
Course: Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Leek chopped
  • 100 g Rice uncooked and washed
  • 300 g Cucumber peeled and chopped
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt
  • Tin Butter Beans drained
  • 2 Tins Tomatoes
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 2 Chicken Stock Pots or Stock Cubes
  • 2 Tablespoons Rapeseed or Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Litre Water
  • Optional for blending up to 300ml Semi Skimmed Milk

Method
 

  1. Sauté the leek with the vegetable oil. I use an Instant Pot, so use the sauté function, however it cooks fairly quickly, so keep an eye to make sure the leeks don't burn.

  2. Add salt, broad beans and chicken stock pots to the sautéed Leeks. Mix continually with a wooden spoon for about a minute.

  3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pressure cooker, and use the soup function, or cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.

  4. When ready to serve, choose to leave chunky, or blend until smooth. The soup will become very thick as it is blended, and you can optionally add more water or semi skimmed milk, a little at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.

  5. Serve with crustless bread and butter.

 

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Blender Tomato & Sweetcorn Soup

This tomato soup is speedy, fills all those tomato soup boxes, and with only a few minutes in the blender, there is a piping hot bowl of soup.  To make raw soup, it does need food that is suitable for blending and not leaving a bitter aftertaste in the way that the onion family does, but it makes for a fabulously speed option when needed, especially when you have someone like my mum living at home, who pretty much has soup every day, and sometimes multiple times a day.

Note:  This post contains an affiliate link.  These are marked by an asterisk next to them.  If you buy anything from using these links, I will receive an ambassador commission, which lets me keep this blog running.  The price is not altered for you in any way.  

As a Froothie Ambassador, I used my new Optimum VAC2 Air Vacuum Blender * to make this soup.  It does need a suitable blender for making soup this way, but with my one, the soup was smooth and very rich, despite being loaded with sweetcorn, which is usually very difficult to blend.  Read my review, or find out how to get one for yourself here. 

Raw Tomato and Sweetcorn Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 Tins Chopped Tomatoes (800g)
  • 1 Tin Sweetcorn (300g)
  • Teaspoon Salt
  • Teaspoon Ginger
  • Teaspoon Mixed Spice
  • Up to 200ml Double Cream (Optional)

Method

I use the Optimum VAC2 Air Vacuum Blender.  This is a very simple recipe that needs very little preparation at all.

Step 1

Add ingredients to the blender.

Step 2

Choose the soup setting which blends for around 6 minutes.

Step 3

Serve with fresh bread and butter.

Find out more about the Optimum VAC2 Air Vacuum Blender on the Froothie website *

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Soup Maker Recipe: Root Veg with Mushroom Soup

Mixing mushroom with any soup is always a hit or miss.  The colour of this soup was more muddy than it looks in the picture.  The colour seems to be very photogenic with a flash gun, but although muddy colour due to the mixture of green and orange, it was pretty tasty.

Lesley Smith

Soup Maker Recipe: Root Veg with Mushroom Soup

4 from 1 vote
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Course: Soup Maker
Cuisine: Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Carrots peeled and sliced.
  • 200 g Potatoes peeled and cubed.
  • 150 g Onion chopped.
  • 50 g Leek chopped.
  • 50 g Asparagus chopped.
  • 50 g Mushrooms chopped.
  • 30 ml Olive oil.
  • 1 Garlic Clove Crushed.
  • Pinch Black Pepper.
  • Pinch White Pepper.
  • Pinch Chilli Powder.
  • Pinch Paprika.
  • 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes.

Method
 

  1. Saute your onions and leek with the oil, garlic, black pepper, white pepper, chilli powder and paprika.

  2. Add the rest of your ingredients to the pot.

  3. Fill the soup maker to the maximum level with water, making sure it fills above your minimum and below your maximum level. Stir well to ensure nothing is stuck to the bottom of your pot.

  4. Ensure the lid is on properly.

  5. Choose the smooth setting for your soup. If you make it in a pot, simply cook the soup and use a blender to smooth.

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Potato and Apple Soup with Nigella Seeds

Potato and Apple are just the right blend of sweet for me, in a soup.  Apple goes with just about anything I find, and is an easy fruit add for picky eaters.

Lesley Smith

Soup Maker Recipe: Potato and Apple Soup with Nigella Seeds

4.67 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 -6 Bowls
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Soup Maker
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 260 g Chopped Leek & Onion
  • 280 g Peeled and Chopped Potato
  • 130 g Peeled and Chopped Apple
  • 50 g Asparagus Spears
  • 30 ml Oil
  • 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Clove Garlic Crushed
  • 1.5 Teaspoon Nigella Seeds
  • Water
  • 150 ml Milk

Method
 

  1. Add leek, onion, oil, crumbled vegetable stock cubes and garlic clove to the soupmaker and saute until the leek is soft.

  2. Add the potato, apple, nigella seeds, salt, and asparagus spears to the pot, and top up the pot to above the minimum and below the maximum levels with water. Keep back a pinch of Nigella Seeds for decoration

  3. Mix well with a wooden spoon.

  4. Make sure your lid is on properly.

  5. Choose the smooth setting.

  6. Add the milk to the pot once the soup had finished cooking.

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Spicy Thai Cauliflower Soup – Vegan Friendly

Guest post with recipe developed by Nicky Corbishley, the founder of Kitchen Sanctuary blog. http://kitchensanctuary.com

Nicky is also brand ambassador for NEFF, after winning the Cookaholic competition last year, and is currently helping gathering true and passionate cookaholics around the country to enter this year’s competition.  This is his second recipe to feature on my blog.

Neff is currently looking for new entrants to this years competition at:

http://www.nextcookaholic.co.uk

The Spicy Thai Cauliflower soup is actually vegan so a flavoursome option for vegetarians and vegans.

Spicy Thai cauliflower, coconut and lime soup

A deliciously spicy soup to warm you up from the inside. It’s vegan too!

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 large cauliflower, broken into florets
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
  • 2 medium red chillies, chopped (remove and discard the seeds if you don’t like it too hot)
  • 1 x 3cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tsp lemongrass paste
  • 1 heaped tbsp of fresh coriander stalks (save the leaves for garnishing)
  • 1 ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp tamarind paste
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk (full fat)
  • 300ml vegetable stock
  • 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
  • 1 tbsp light brown muscovado sugar
  • Juice of one lime

Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Place the cauliflower florets on a large baking tray.
  2. Place 2 tablespoons of the oil, half of the chopped onions, the chillies, ginger, garlic, lemongrass paste, coriander stalks, turmeric, tamarind paste, cumin and paprika in a food processor, and pulse until you get a thick paste.
  3. Spoon half of the paste onto the cauliflower florets, and rub the paste in using your hands.
  4. Place the cauliflower in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
  5. Meanwhile heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan. Add the remaining chopped onions and fry for 5 minutes on a medium heat until softened. Add in the remaining curry paste and fry for a further minute.
  6. Add the roasted cauliflower to the pan (save a few florets for garnishing) along with the coconut milk, stock, rice wine and sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.
  7. Carefully blend the soup in the pan using a stick blender.
  8. Divide the soup between four bowls and garnish with the reserved cauliflower, coriander leaves and some finely chopped chillies.
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Pumpkin, Carrot and Leek Soup

I made this in my pressure cooker, but it could easily be made in a pot.  In a pot, you will have to remember to stir frequently, and add more fluid, should some boil off in the process.

The proportions are too large for a soupmaker, and I had many mouths to feed that day, so my pressure cooker had to stand in, with some of the lovely pumpkin I’d frozen from Halloween and just sitting waiting in the freezer for a new dish.

I was a little wary of how this would turn out, as it’s the first time I’d defrosted pumpkin, and it seemed a little watery, with a mushy consistency.  It wouldn’t have been any use for anything other than soup.

Lesley Smith

Pumpkin, Carrot and Leek Soup

Optional - Before adding the rest of your ingredients, lightly fry your leek with the rapessed oil, then add your pumpkin, carrot, leek and potato to the pot and allow it to shallow fry for a couple of minutes, while adding 3 tablespoons of water.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6 -8 Bowls
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Pumpkin, cubed.
  • 250 g Carrots, sliced.
  • 175 g Leek, sliced.
  • 200 g Potato, cubed.
  • 2 clove Garlic or 1 Garlic Cube
  • 1 ltr s, Water
  • 400 ml Semi Skimmed Milk
  • 4 Vegetable Stock Cubes
  • 1 Teaspoon Rapeseed Oil optional
  • Half Red Chilli deseeded and chopped. (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Method
 

  1. Add all your ingredients to the pot, mix well, and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.

  2. Blend with a hand blender.

  3. Serve with some chopped chilli or ground peppercorns on top.

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Christmassy Leek and Potato Soup

Sometimes, it’s nice to have something warming to eat when it’s cold outside, and soup is always one of my go to things to make for anyone.  This recipe is nice and simple, and gives a slight twist on the traditional leek and potato soup…  Enjoy.

Of course, you don’t need a soupmaker to make this.  It makes just as well in a pan, but you need to watch it a lot more and add some more water if it looks like it’s boiling off.

DCIM100GOPROG0060204.JPG

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/mysoupmakerclub/videos/1805440716377111/” width=”500″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”1″]

Lesley Smith

Soup Maker Recipe: Christmassy Leek and Potato Soup

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Servings: 4 -6 Bowls
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Potato chopped.
  • 100 g Carrot chopped.
  • 100 g Leek chopped.
  • 2 Teaspoons Rapeseed Oil.
  • 1 Vegetable Stock Cube.
  • Half Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon.
  • Half Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg.
  • 2 Tablespoons Light Soft Cheese - I used Philadelphia.
  • Ground White Pepper & Salt to taste.
  • Water.
  • 1 Lettuce Leaf Half Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon and a Teaspoon of Dukkah to serve.

Method
 

  1. Chop your vegetables into smallish cube sized shapes.

  2. Saute your chopped leek in the soupmaker with your rapeseed oil. After a minute or two, add the vegetable stock cube, your cinnamon and nutmeg, carrots, salt and pepper and continue to stir as they soften.

  3. In another minute or so, add potatoes and continue to stir, to ensure they don't burn, then add a little water and your soft cheese.

  4. Fill your soupmaker with water, and stir until the soft cheese has melted into your mix, making your water a cloudy white colour.

  5. Ensure you top up with water, to below the maximum fill line and above the minimum.

  6. Ensure you have mixed well.

  7. Put the lid on properly.

  8. Choose the smooth setting.

  9. Serve as prettily as you like.
  10. Serve with a chopped lettuce leave, a sprinkling of cinnamon and a pinch of Dukkah seeds.

Test

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Soup Maker Recipe: Cream of Peppercorn Pumpkin Soup

Did you know raw pumpkin seeds are actually good for you?  I only found out when I was looking for more ways to add protein into my life.  I’ve tended to mostly roast my seeds before eating, but it’s not necessary at all. Straight from the pumpkin, these little pale seeds also have iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and magnesium.  Don’t throw away those seeds when you’re carving up your pumpkins this year – get them in your bellies somehow. You can use them in soups, salads, sandwiches, porridge, cereal, pasta and even curries and stews.

I like to add seeds at the end for extra crunch.  I haven’t tried adding them at the cooking stage, but I’ll be trying that over the next week before Halloween.  We’ve ended up with far too much pumpkin to use…

peppercorn-pumpkin-soup-2

Lesley Smith

Cream of Peppercorn Pumpkin Soup

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Servings: 4 -6 Bowls
Course: Soup Maker
Cuisine: Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 460 g Pumpkin peeled, chopped.
  • 100 g Onion diced.
  • 130 g Leek chopped.
  • 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes.
  • 2 Teaspoons Ground Peppercorns. I used rainbow peppercorns.
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg.
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste.
  • Water.

Method
 

  1. Saute your onions in a little oil if you wish. I didn't this time round, as I was in a bit of a hurry.

  2. Add all your ingredients, apart from the stock cubes to the soupmaker.

  3. Top up with water, to above the minimum and below the maximum levels.

  4. Crumble the stock cubes over the top, and mix well with a wooden spoon.

  5. Make sure your lid in on properly.

  6. Choose the smooth setting.

  7. At the end of the cycle, I used my blend setting for another 10 seconds to purée the soup even more. Pumpkin can need a little longer to break down than other vegetables.

 

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Pressure Cooker Soup: Broccoli, Sweetcorn & Asparagus Spears

It had to happen, didn’t it?  Soup in a Pressure Cooker from me….

This is an Instant Pot Recipe, or the 7 in 1 Pressure Cookers that do it all for us.

I imagine most pressure cookers work the same, and this is the first soup recipe in my brand spanking new machine, bought this week from Costco.  There are times when I’ve got need of a larger pot of soup than my soup maker, but I still don’t want to spend the time standing over the stove.  It helped that my pressure cooker has a soup setting, and I was keen to make the most of it.

broccoli-and-asparagus-spears-3

 

 

Lesley Smith

Pressure Cooker Soup: Broccoli, Sweetcorn & Asparagus Spears

Overall, broccoli and asparagus are the strongest flavours to come out in the soup. The taste of onion, leek and potato seem to blend into the green vegetables, giving a lovely texture that I didn't expect. I'd make this recipe x 1.5 or double it in future. This was just an orientation recipe that came out rather well. I'd also be tempted to stir in 50g of grated cheddar cheese at my next attempt with this.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6 - 8 Bowls
Course: Pressure Cooker Soup Recipe
Cuisine: Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Asparagus Spears chopped.
  • 100 g Tenderstem Broccoli chopped. I remove leaves.
  • 200 g Onion diced.
  • 200 g Leek washed and chopped.
  • 100 g Sweetcorn. I used Niblets.
  • 50 ml Rapeseed oil.
  • 100 g Potatoes peeled and cubed.
  • 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes. I used Knorr.
  • 100 ml Milk.
  • 8 Instant Pot Cups Water.
  • Salt and Pepper.
  • 1 Clove Garlic.

Method
 

  1. Add the rapeseed oil, onion, garlic, stock cubes and leek to the bottom of the Instant Pot pan, along with 1 cup of water. Set the machine to saute, and stir until the strong flavours are well combined. This took a few minutes for me.

  2. Add the remaining ingredients, along with salt and pepper to your taste. IMPORTANT: Ensure you don't go over your pressure cooker maximum levels for high liquid content.

  3. Stir the mixture and select the soup setting, which runs for 30 minutes.

  4. Allow the pressure to release naturally.

  5. Using an immersion blender, whizz away until you get the texture you are looking for.

  6. Serve, or use the keep warm setting if you need to wait for a while.

This post contains an affiliate link.

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Soup Maker Recipe: Cream of Butternut Squash Soup

cream-of-butternut-squash-soup-2

Lesley Smith

Soup Maker Recipe: Cream of Butternut Squash Soup

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Servings: 4 -6
Course: Soup Maker Recipe
Cuisine: Soup
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g Butternut Squash.
  • 150 g Leek chopped.
  • 150 g Onion chopped.
  • 200 ml Milk.
  • 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes.
  • Salt & Pepper.
  • 1 Teaspoon of Ginger spice.
  • Water.

Method
 

  1. When you chop your butternut squash, leave the skin on. It makes the soup extra creamy in texture, but chop your pieces quite small, as butternut takes too long to cook if it's left in big chunks. The skin breaks down nicely for the smooth setting, but I'd probably remove it for a chunky soup.

  2. Add all your ingredients to the soupmaker.

  3. Top up with water, to above the minimum and below the maximum levels.

  4. Crumble the stock cubes over the top, and mix well with a wooden spoon.

  5. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste.

  6. Make sure your lid in on properly.

  7. Choose the smooth setting.

 

cream-of-butternut-squash-soup