Soup Love

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] I[/dropcap]’ve been experimenting with a new habit recently. You see, I’m on a mission to expand my soup repertoire. Especially now the days are shorter and we’re lighting the fire in the evenings.

Yes! Soup season is here! (Sorry Northern Hemisphere readers).

My habit is pretty simple.

I’ve been making soup for dinner at least one night each week. Usually it’s Monday. And usually it’s some sort of vegetable based soup like this fab little low-carb alternative to leek and potato.

I love soup night.

There’s only one pot to clean up. I can easily add bread or cooked pasta to keep my tiny (and big!) carb-lovers happy. And I always feel warm and contented afterwards.

If you need more reasons to start upping your own soup intake, you might enjoy 7 Surprising Reasons to Eat More Soup.

With love,
Jules x

ps. And the winner of the Stonesoup ‘commenter of the month’ prize is Bette.
If you’d like to be in the running to win a free copy of my print book ‘5-Ingredients 10-Minutes‘ all you have to do is leave a comment anywhere on Stonesoup. I’d really love to hear what you think.

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Leek & Kohlrabi Soup

If you’ve ever wondered about a low-carb version of the old classic Potato & Leek Soup, look no further! Inspired by the lovely Andrea over at Dishing Up the Dirt, this super comforting soup is like a hug in a bowl. And better yet it isn’t going to weigh you down.

Of course, if you don’t have access to kohlrabi, there are plenty of other options in the variations below.

enough for 2-3
takes 30 minutes
1 onion
2 leeks
2 medium kohlrabi (450g / 1lb)
2 cups stock or water
chilli oil (recipe below), to serve

1. Place a medium saucepan on a medium high heat. Peel and chop onion and add to the pot with a generous glug of olive oil. Cover and start cooking while you slice the white and light green parts of the leeks.

2. Add leeks to the pot. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally until leek and onion are soft.

3. Meanwhile, trim kohlrabi (save tops for another use – you can cook them like chard) and chop into a medium dice.

4. When the onion and leeks are soft, add diced kohlrabi and stock or water. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook covered until kohlrabi is tender about 15 minutes.

5. Puree cooked soup with a stick (immersion) blender. Taste and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Serve in bowls with chilli oil passed separately.

Variations

no kohlrabi / different veg – replace with potatoes or sweet potatoes (if you don’t mind the carbs). Good low-carb alternatives are celeriac (celery root), swede (rutabaga), zucchini (grate and don’t puree) or cauliflower.

carb-lovers / more substantial – use potatoes! Or serve with crusty bread and butter or hot buttered toast.

family-friendly – toss in some cooked short pasta and skip the chilli oil for the little ones.

creamy – replace stock / water with a 400mL can unsweetened coconut milk and 1/2 cup water.

thinner soup – I like this quite robust. If you prefer a thinner soup add more water or stock until you’re happy.

no leeks – replace with an extra onion.

loads of leeks – replace onion with an extra 2 leeks.

herby – add a few sprigs of thyme or sage to cook with the onion.

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Marco’s Chilli Oil

For years my favourite chilli oil recipe involved frying fresh chillies and garlic in olive oil. But after reading Marco Cannoras fab little bone broth bible, ‘Brodo’ I’ve found an even easier method that’s just as delicious.

Chilli oil is brilliant for family dinners because it allows the chilli lovers to get their fix and the little ones to enjoy their meal without the cook having to make two separate dinners. We use it on practically everything from burgers to stir fries to our morning eggs and of course on soup!

makes: 1 cup
takes: 5 minutes + 2 hours cooling
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red chilli flakes
1 teaspoon hot chilli powder or cayenne pepper

1. Place oil, chilli flakes and powder or cayenne in a small saucepan. Warm over a medium heat for about 3 minutes or until the chilli flakes start to move around in the pan.

2. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. This allows the heat to transfer to the oil so don’t skip the cooling.

3. Strain the oil to remove chilli flakes and store in a well labelled glass bottle in your pantry (or keep it on the dining table for easy access). Keeps indefinitely.

Variations

smoky – add a teaspoon smoked paprika with the chilli powder / cayenne.

no red chilli flakes – use large dried red chillies and crumble them so you can measure about 2 tablespoons.

milder – skip the cayenne / chilli powder

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Wish it was easier to get dinner on the table night after night?

Like to discover my ‘secret’ for actually enjoying getting dinner ready? Then have a look at my ‘Simple Dinners’ online cooking program.

For more details go to:
http://thestonesoupshop.com/thd/

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