Stokes Sauces: Soup - it's always easier than you think

Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Soup - it's always easier than you think

Simple suppers with a spoon

Soup has more of an impact on the origins of restaurant dining than we might imagine.

The word 'restaurant' originates from the French word restaurer - 'to provide food for', literally to restore to a former state or health.

In 16th century France street vendors sold it as an 'antidote to physical exhaustion'. In 1765 a Parisian entrepreneur opened a shop specialising in soup - the first restaurant was born.

Mulligatawny Carrot and Parsnip Soup

You'll need:

3 tbsp of rapeseed oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
3 cm of ginger, peeled and grated
1 green chilli, very finely chopped
2 carrots (250g), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
2 parsnips (250g), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 ½ tsp of ground coriander
150g of red lentils, washed and drained
1¼ litres of chicken stock
2 tbsp of Stokes Curry Ketchup
1 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam.

Here's how:

Fry the onion for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, ginger and green chilli for a couple of minutes more. Add the carrots, parsnips, cumin and coriander and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the drained lentils, stock, ketchup and chilli jam and simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Use a hand blender to coarsely blend the soup and season to taste. It's a heart-warming cuppa (back right).

Carrot Soup

You'll need:

2 tbsp of olive oil
600 g of chopped carrot
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
40 fl oz of chicken stock
100 ml of double cream
2 tbsp of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup

Here's how:

Fry the onion for 5 minutes than add the carrot and celery and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock and ketchup and simmer for 20 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and blend until the soup is smooth then stir in the cream. It's delicious and quite elegant (back right).

The Simplest Pea Soup

You'll need:

1 litre of vegetable stock
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
275 g of frozen peas
1 tbsp Stokes Mint Sauce

Here's how:

Easy - add the shallot, garlic, peas and mint sauce to the boiling stock and simmer for 10 minutes then blend until the soup is smooth. Season and serve with a drizzle of good olive oil. (Front left above).

Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

You'll need:

2 tbsp of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 large red peppers, deseeded and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
600 g of ripe tomatoes, quartered
1 x 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 litre of chicken stock
250 ml water
2 tbsp of Stokes Tomato Ketchup

Here's how:

Fry the onion, pepper and garlic for 5 minutes then the fresh tomato for another 5 minutes. Now add the tinned tomato, ketchup and water and simmer for 25 minutes. Blend the soup and strain it through a coarse sieve and you have a lovely pepper and tomato soup. (Front right above).

More foodie thoughts for the week: