Category: Soup

French Onion Soup

Posted on by Trish

Some time ago, I attempted to veganize cream of tomato soup.  Today I attempted to vegetarianize French Onion Soup, which is traditionally made with a meat stock.  No mean feat, given the pre-warning that it is not nice if too salty and that I had been thinking Marmite would give it a meaty taste.  The mushrooms gave a bit of ‘meatiness’ to the stock without adding a ton of salt. Also, I can’t remember eating French Onion Soup.  I know I have done because I have a vague memory of making a version from a book I got when I was about 10; a version that I very much doubt contained alcohol – even if it was the seventies.  I’ll have to try the real deal at some point to see how the version below measures up but it all disappeared at the dinner table this evening so that’s a good sign.

  • 3 or 4 large onions
  • 3 or 4 cloves of garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Red wine (I used Merlot because it was open)
  • Stock: I used a level teaspoon of low-salt vegan bouillon, a handful of dried porcini mushrooms and 3-4 squirts of Bragg’s Aminos (soy sauce without added wheat or salt and made by some very strange people) to a pint and a half of boiling water
  • Agave nectar (sugar will do; I don’t know where ours is)
  • Bay leaves
  • Mixed herbs
  • Vegetarian hard cheese e.g. veggie Parmesan – Morrison’s cheap hard Parmesan-like cheese is vegetarian (although it comes from cows so I can’t have any)
  1. Slice the onions finely and cook in the oil over a low-ish heat for ages, stirring occasionally.  By ages I mean about half an hour.
  2. Squirt some agave nectar in after about 10-15 minutes to help the onions caramelize a bit
  3. When onions look just about ready (browning at edges and soft), throw in minced garlic and cook for another minute
  4. Add a splash of wine and the stock, herbs and bay leaves – simmer while you set the table
  5. Serve with grated cheese

I believe traditional French Onion Soup employs squares of cheese on toast instead of just a sprinkle of cheese, hence it looks interesting enough to take a photo of.  You may be reassured, however, that this tasted too nice for me to remember to photograph it.

 

 

Cream of Tomato Soup

Posted on by Trish

Watching the lovely Peter warm up lovely Heinz Cream of Tomato soup has been known to fill me with envy.  The smell is one of those that is just so nostalgic and I can remember the taste even though it’s been years.  No home-made tomato soup I’ve ever attempted has come anywhere near that taste, neither has the colour ever been right – where tomato soup tends to be the colour of tomatoes, if you had no sense of smell and you opened a can of Heinz tomato soup you could be forgiven for thinking it was orange emulsion paint.  I wondered what was in this weird stuff and whether it would be possible to make a vegan version.

tomatosoup
The ingredients list for Heinz Cream of Tomato soup reads thus: Tomatoes, vegetable oil, sugar, modified cornflour, salt, dried skimmed milk, milk proteins, cream, spice extracts, herb extract, citric acid.  It goes against my mum’s advice of “never eat soup and milk at the same meal” (also don’t eat more than one apple a day – are you listening, people?) – whatever I made today, it was bound to be better on account of no milk and it doesn’t contain even one apple!

I don’t attempt to recreate the recipe but I have attempted to recreate the taste (not bad, quite similar) and the colour (no chance, unless I add orange or lemon peel I suppose)

Ingredients (enough for one serving)

  • 5 large-ish tomatoes
  • 1/2 a leek
  • 2 teaspoons of olive oil
  • Stock made with 1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon (reduced salt version – if using other stock, leave out the salt)
  • Agave nectar (1 teaspoon)
  • Salt and pepper (tiny amount of each cause this is only for 1 person)
  • 1 bay leaf and 1 basil leaf (you can add more basil for decoration)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 4 tablespoons of Oatly oat milk
  1. Chop the leek and gently fry in the olive oil, then add the tomatoes (cored, peeled and quartered) and fry for a bit more
  2. Cover with stock, bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes – add basil and bayleaf during this time
  3. Blend with handheld blender
  4. Return to pan and bring to boil
  5. Reduce heat and add agave, tomato puree and oat milk – stir in well over heat
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste (shouldn’t need much)

I then did SUMS to see how my version equated with the Heinz canned version for various factors (because I’m like that).  We reckon the amount of soup I made was equivalent to about a 400g can of Heinz tomato soup.  The home-made soup has a few more calories but not significantly more, it’s also a bit higher in protein and fibre, a bit lower in sodium and a bit higher in fat.  People wanting less fat could reduce the amounts of oat milk or olive oil.

Lastly, one serving of this soup, as made, is 6 WWPP, exactly the same as a can of Heinz tomato soup.  I think this means I’ve won 🙂

Onion Squash Soup (served in an Onion Squash)

Posted on by Trish

Here’s something you could make for Halloween.  Please NO carving of scary faces into the squash before serving up – it makes the soup fall out.

sssooop

 

For each serving you’ll need:

  • One onion squash – about 550-600g whole weight
  • 1 and a half teaspoons of olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 15g creamed coconut  and half a teaspoon nutritional yeast  flakes OR  30g goat’s cheese
  • Vegetable stock
  • Parsley or chives to garnish
  1. Cut small amount from base of squash so that it stands flat
  2. Make another cut right through the squash about 2/3 of the way up and remove that section
  3. Scoop out seeds and discard
  4. Armed with a sharp knife and a metal spoon, excavate chunks of squash as you would if you were hollowing out a pumpkin – however aim for chunks all being approximately same size
  5. Put chunks of squash in a bowl and mix well with olive oil
  6. Transfer to baking tray and bake at 200°C, checking every 10 minutes, till chunks are soft (cooking time will vary depending on how big chunks are)
  7. When soft, transfer to blender and blend together with all other ingredients except for garnish (you can vary amount of stock to get a thinner or thicker soup)
  8. If soup not warm enough, transfer to saucepan and warm through
  9. Pour into hollowed-out squash to serve and sprinkle with garnish

Please note: onion squash also tastes amazing just on its own

WWPP: 5

Butternut Squash Soup

Posted on by Trish

IMG_0143 Trish's Butternut Squash Soup with Red Pepper

  1. Peel and chop 1 butternut squash and chop 1 red pepper roughly, discarding seeds
  2. Place in a bowl and drizzle on olive oil, use a wooden spoon to stir the veg around in the oil to coat it lightly
  3. Transfer to a roasting tin and place in oven preheated to Gas Mark 6 / 200° C
  4. Peel 4 garlic cloves and add them to the roasting tin when the squash and pepper have been cooking for 10 minutes
  5. When the squash is soft, remove tin from oven
  6. Blend cooked veg with enough vegetable stock to make soup consistency
  7. Add agave nectar and dried chilli flakes to taste

Gazpacho

Posted on by Trish

gazpacho

We just spent a long, hot day at the Foodies festival in Battersea courtesy of our lovely neighbours who gave us tickets.  Being there was pretty awesome, loads to try and loads to buy; we also learned, for example, that Ginger Ale is weaker because it’s made with ginger oil but Ginger Beer (which we bought some of) is stronger because it’s made from ginger root.  We came home with full stomachs, some bread and FREE Tenderstem broccoli that I’ll make something with tomorrow.

When it got to eating time again, I felt too hot and sticky to cook let alone eat anything warm so I knocked up this gazpacho and threw some of our Foodies festival bread on top of it.  For anyone not yet aware, gazpacho is cold soup and is vitamintastic!

  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 beef tomato OR 3 regular tomatoes OR a full handful of cherry tomatoes
  • About 1/3 cucumber
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Chilled water
  • You can add olive oil but I prefer not to
  • You can also add onions – ditto
  1. Chop and blend the pepper, tomato and garlic
  2. Chop the cucumber very finely
  3. Mix and add chilled water to taste

Mushroom soup

Posted on by Trish

Mushroom Soup

One of us being a person who used to eat dairy but who now doesn’t, the Tea House menu sometimes features dishes that are classic dairy feasts but which have been reinvented so as not to incorporate regular milk or cheese.  Tonight, mushroom soup was created; it’s for lunch tomorrow but we’ve had a teaspoon each to try it and it definitely ‘works’ despite being a little more like the mushroom soup you get served as a starter in Thai restaurants and a little less like the canned Heinz stuff.  The mushrooms in the picture above looked green by the way, until Peter undid the damage I’d done by trying to use Photoshop.  By request I’m attempting to include approximate amounts for all ingredients used.

  • Mushrooms of choice (about 200g)
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • Up to 4 cloves garlic
  • Enough veggie stock to cover
  • Up to half a can of coconut milk (I’m practically crying that the brand I bought contains sulfites but have discovered that you can make your own)
  • Dried chilli flakes (amount to vary from none to loads according to preference – use fresh chillies if you can be bothered)
  1. Fry mushrooms in oil until they start releasing liquid, then throw chopped or crushed garlic in and fry for another half a minute
  2. Scatter in chilli flakes
  3. Pour on veggie stock and let simmer
  4. Add coconut milk
  5. Taste, add any other things you think will work – I threw a bay leaf in but not sure it did much to change the taste

Green soup

Posted on by Trish

I had not deemed the following soup worthy of publication, until someone else tried some and said ‘put it on the blog’.  It’s a doddle to make and I think it will make several repeat appearances on the Tea House menu.

Take things that are green and white and boil them.  Not just any things, food things preferably.  Today I used a celeriac (white), some broccoli (green) and a courgette (a bonus both!).  Add some stock powder to the water or, if you live in the 18th century or are self-sufficient, boil in stock that you’ve made yourself by boiling vegetables to mush.

When your green and white things are cooked, blend them with some of the water or stock.  Then add cheese.  I’d love to say there’s a nice vegan option for this soup but if so then I have yet to discover it.  I used manchego (sheep cheese) and feta (sheep and goat) – enough so the soup tastes cheesy, not so much that you get cheese sauce instead of soup.  Just chop or grate and chuck it in then keep stirring over a low heat till it melts.

Add some more things to get the taste right – e.g. anything you like and think will taste nice.  I added agave nectar and a bit of salt (my stock powder is low salt) also a pinch of mustard.  A cooking secret – I never know why I add a pinch of mustard to anything, it just seems like a good idea when I’m cooking some things; I say “and a pinch of mustard” and in it goes like I know what I’m doing.

Soup was served with chopped spring onions floating on top.  Verdict on the soup?  “Scouped up the last of it after it was cold, that’s saying something!”