Posted on 4 Comments

Soup Maker Recipe: Curried Parsnip and Spring Onion Soup

I find parsnips to be a bit blah on their own.  Ok, so they’re not so bad when they’re roasted, but if I’m making soup, I don’t have time for that, so the addition of herbs or spices is needed here, for it to be palatable.

This version of curried parsnip soup relies on sauteed spring onions to bring out a great taste that compliments the parsnips themselves.  Remember, you can also make these in a pot, but might need some extra liquid due to boil off that doesn’t happen in a soup maker.  Also remember to stir well.  If you’d rather not have a green tinge to your soup, leave out the spring onion stems and add more bulbs or onions.

Soup Maker Recipe: Curried Parsnip and Spring Onion Soup

Lesley Smith
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 100 g Spring Onions Chopped. I also use the green stems.
  • 100 g White Onions Chopped
  • 500 g Parsnips Peeled and Chopped
  • 1 Vegetable Stock Pot
  • 1 Curry Stock Pot (or use 2 teaspoons of curry powder)
  • 900 ml Water Or up to the 1.6 Litre fill level.
  • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper To Taste.
  • Crushed Chillies To Serve. If you dare..

Instructions
 

  • Saute your spring onions and white onions in the olive oil, vegetable stock pot and curry stock pot until the onions are soft.
  • Add the onions, parsnips and water to your soup maker.
  • Select the smooth setting for a rich soup. Optionally, you can add some cream after cooking for a more luxurious soup.

Curried Parsnip and Spring Onion 2

Posted on 5 Comments

Soup Maker Recipe: Budget Chicken Noodle Soup

Have you ever gone to your cupboard when you can’t be bothered shopping, or you’re in a hurry and no time to get anything, but have some hungry mouths to feed.  This recipe is more or less down to the kids loving noodles, but not having any fresh in the house.

Feel free to change the potatoes with any other veg you happen to have handy in your cupboard.  Granted, this isn’t the prettiest soup on the planet, but it is like having a full meal in a bowl.

Soup Maker Recipe: Budget Chicken Noodle Soup 1.6 Litres

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Total Time 38 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 packet Chicken Noodles Approximately 85g
  • 1 Chicken Stock Cube
  • 250 g Cubed Potatoes
  • 200 g Pre-Cooked Chicken Shredded
  • 1 Dessert spoon Flour
  • 1 l Boiling Water

Instructions
 

  • Open your pack of instant noodles and break them up as you put them into your soupmaker.
  • Add the cubed potatoes, stock cubes and the pack of flavouring from your noodles. Put the chicken in, then stir in the litre of boiling water. Make sure you do not overfill your own machine if it is different from mine.
  • Choose a chunky setting for a bowlful that looks like a casserole, or blend it for a smooth version.

 

Posted on 20 Comments

Soup Maker Recipe: Carrot and Coriander Soup

This is a luxurious and tasty, not to mention creamy soup, intended for soupmakers up to 1.6 litres.

If you think it may be too rich for you, replace the cream with more boiling water or stock and away you go with the low calorie version.

Soup Maker Recipe: Carrot and Coriander Soup

Course Soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
  • 200 ml Fresh Cream
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
  • 800 ml Boiling Water
  • 1 Stock Pot Vegetable or Chicken
  • 600 g Carrots Peeled and Sliced or Chopped
  • 75 g Onion Chopped
  • 75 g Potatoes Sliced

Instructions
 

  • Saute the onions in the olive oil, adding your stock pot as the onions soften.
  • In the pot, add your onion mix, and the rest of your ingredients. Make sure to stir well before switching it on. It really does help to avoid soup sticking to the base of your soup maker if you don't have a non stick surface.
  • Select the smooth function for this option.
  • Serve with croutons.

 

Posted on 18 Comments

Soup Maker Recipe: Winter Vegetable Soup

This usually just involves whatever you have in your vegetable drawer over winter.  Don’t be too strict with your choice of ingredients, just enjoy the soup when it’s ready.  This version is red onion, potatoes, leek, turnip and carrot.

Soup Maker Recipe: Winter Vegetable Soup Recipe – 1.6 Litres

Lesley Smith
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 150 g Red Onions Sliced
  • 150 g Leek Chopped
  • 100 g Carrot Sliced
  • 100 g Swede or Turnip (Chopped)
  • 200 g Baby Potatoes Washed and Thrown In Whole
  • 50 g Butter
  • 1 Chicken Stock Pot
  • 800 ml Boiling Water or Stock

Instructions
 

  • Saute your onions and leek for a couple of minutes, until they're soft, but still light in colour.
  • Add all your ingredients to the pot, stir well and select your chosen setting.
  • We like smooth soups most, so we chose the smooth option on our Morphy Richards. If you are going for chunky soup, you might prefer to chop your vegetables smaller and peel your baby potatoes.
  • Serve hot with fresh bread.

 

Posted on 2 Comments

Soup Maker: Scottish Cullen Skink Soup Recipe

I’ve seen lots of different recipes that say they’re Cullen Skink, but the traditional way is to use smoked haddock, onions and mashed potatoes.  Using the traditional Cullen Skink Recipe requirement of pre cooked and mashed potatoes wasn’t an option for the slow cooker, as I wanted to be able to add the potatoes to cook in the pot like the other soup maker recipes.

I used regular haddock rather than smoked haddock, as I’m not a smoked fish fan.  If I’d used the smoked haddock, then I wouldn’t have eaten it.  Smoked fish is a very niche taste, with a smaller potential base of people who would enjoy it, so change your ingredients to suit your own tastes.

Using the water from the poached fish as the fish stock for your soup is what makes the dish.  Without it, the taste will be diluted and it will simply taste of heated milk.

In the end, I had a wee bit of a disaster when my soupmaker gave up the ghost half way through and shorted out.  It meant I had to transfer it to a pan to finish the job for this recipe, but it still turned out very nice.    To serve, I simply dolloped in some mashed potatoes made for the supper that evening, with a dash of parsley on the top.

Presentation wise, this is a lovely soup to dish up.  It would look perfect on any dinner table with some decoration on top of the actual soup itself.  A piece of cooked fish would also work really well sat on top of the mashed potatoes.  This is more of a meal in a plate than a regular soup, so be ready to have a full stomach after only one bowl full.

This is my version.  How would you make yours?

Soup Maker: Scottish Cullen Skink Recipe

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine British
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g Potatoes - Diced Small
  • 300 g Cooked Haddock Usually Smoked but we use Unsmoked
  • 100 g Onions - Chopped and Sauteed
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions
 

  • Poach the haddock on some water on the stove for around four minutes, until fully cooked.
  • Remove the haddock and strain the fish stock that's left over.
  • Add the potatoes, onion and fish to the soup maker and 200ml of the fish stock. Top up with 600ml semi skimmed milk. Add a teaspoon of salt and pepper.
  • Set your soupmaker to the smooth setting and wait until it's done. You may need to reblend to get the consistency you prefer.
  • Optional. Add up to 100ml of fresh cream and mix well to serve. This soup is not suitable for freezing.

 

Posted on 42 Comments

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.
Posted on 5 Comments

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

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.
Posted on 12 Comments

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
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.

 

Posted on 3 Comments

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
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
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.

 

Posted on 22 Comments

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
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.

Posted on 8 Comments

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
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.