Soup

Soup
My Travelling Kitchen
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My Travelling Kitchen
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Cream of Parsnip & Apple
Wintry Lamb & Vegetable
Red Lentil
Chicken Noodle
Asian Chicken Noddle
Chickpea, Spinach & Mushroom
Carrot & Coriander
Chicken Poached in Ginger Broth
Roasted Celeriac
Cream of Chicken & Leek
Sweet Potato & Ginger
Tom Ka Gai
Red Lentil & Chard
Mushroom
Onion
Ribollita
Spicy Crab
Spanish Chickpea & Chorizo
Pumpkin Rice Laksa

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Cream of Parsnip & Apple Soup

A thick, creamy soup, rich in flavour. This is one of my favourites for those winter nights spent on the sofa in
front of a roaring open fire. I cooked this every week while working on the ski slopes. Everyone loved it
because it was so flavoursome and inviting after a day spent on the slopes. I found these flavours were a great
prelude to either a roasted leg of lamb or a fillet of pork wrapped in prosciutto.

Serves 4

Ingredients
50 g butter
6 parsnips, peeled and diced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1.5 litres vegetable stock
1 medium apple, peeled and diced
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
½ cup single cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
75 g whole chestnuts, roasted, peeled and finely sliced

Method
Melt half the butter in a pan, add the parsnips, potato and onion, then cover and cook gently for 10 minutes,
or until beginning to soften. Add the stock, apple and rosemary, cover then simmer for a further 20 minutes
until the vegetables are tender. Blend until smooth. Return to the pan, add the cream, season to taste, and
then reheat gently for 5 minutes. At this point you can continue to add more cream to create the consistency
which you desire. Meanwhile melt the remaining butter in a pan, add the roasted chestnuts, season and fry for
3-4 minutes until they are lightly coloured, ensuring the butter does not burn. Ladle soup into bowls and
carefully spoon the chestnuts on top of the soup. Serve immediately with an individual thick toasted bread.

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My Travelling Kitchen
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Wintry Lamb and Vegetable Soup

This Soup is actually more like a stew and it is one of my favourites. The chunks of vegetables mixed with the
pieces of lamb in a warm broth make for a hearty winter meal. This recipe can easily be frozen and reheated
when needed. Feel free to add other vegetables of your voice such as swede or parsnip.

My favourite memory of eating this soup is from an Easter camping trip to the Alpine region of Victoria,
Australia. I had made this soup just prior to leaving on our trip and on a particularly cold autumn night while
sitting around the fire under the stars, we reheated this soup and enjoyed eating it in warm bowls on our laps
while the snow fell lightly around us.

Serves 6

Ingredients
4 lamb shanks
2 medium carrots, chopped into 1cm pieces
2 medium onions, chopped into 1cm pieces
2 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped into 1cm pieces
2 sticks celery, chopped into 1cm pieces
425g canned tomatoes
1.5 litres (6 cups) beef stock
100ml tomato paste
2 medium zucchini, chopped into 1cm pieces

Method
Combine lamb, carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, celery, undrained crushed tomatoes. Stock and paste in large
saucepan. Simmer covered for an hour. Add zucchini, then simmer uncovered, further 30 minutes or until
lamb is tender. Remove lamb from soup, remove meat from bones. The meat should just fall away from the
bones leaving tender pieces of meat. Return meat to the soup, stir until heated through. Serve with pieces of
toasted chunky wholemeal bread.

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Magical healing properties are attributed to many foods, but there’s perhaps none more legendary than
chicken soup. For such a simple preparation, it has, over many years, become almost mythical in its ability to
heal those struck with cold or flu. Its what everyone craves, more than their own mother when curled up in bed
with the shivers of fever.

It seems there’s a version in almost every culture. The Chinese make theirs from old hens and season it with
fragrant ginger, star anise and sesame oil. In Germany, it’s dished up with the addition of semolina dumplings
or Spätzle, while the Hungarians swear by chunky pieces of chicken liver and heart along with vegetables such
as carrot, celery, parsnip and celeriac. Avgolemono, the Greek rendition, is spiked with lemon and thickened
with egg and rice. In the Jewish kitchen, there’s a virtual roll-call of variations. It can be served with matzo
balls, dumplings, or flat egg noodles. A traditional garnish was unlaid chicken eggs, taken from the hen and
boiled in the soup.

Regardless of cultural roots, the success of chicken soup relies on finding a good quality chicken. It’s possibly
the only occasion where the phrase “old boiler” is complimentary, because that’s exactly what you want for a
great chicken soup – an older bird. If you’re unable to find such a bird, which is highly likely unless you have
chooks of your own, the next best thing is to go organic. Remove any fatty deposits from the bird (usually to
be found around the neck) and blanch it quickly to eliminate yet more of the fat. Next, use your chook to
create an intense stock. Start with cold water, and add aromatics (bay leaf, thyme, parsley stalks) and your
standard stock vegies. Simmer gently for as long as you can until the meat falls from the bone, skimming the
surface intermittently to remove scum and oil. Strain this flavoursome concoction (some cooks like to break
the flesh of the chicken into small pieces to add back to the soup) and garnish as you wish.

I have included two particularly good Chicken Noodle Soup recipes here for you to try. I love them both and
change my mind on which one to cook depending on how I feel at the time.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped, plus celery heart leaves to serve
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
600 gm minced chicken
1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus whole leaves to serve
120 gm rice vermicelli noodles

Chicken broth:
1 whole chicken (about 2kg)
2 brown onions, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 leek, white part only, coarsely chopped
3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, 6 sprigs thyme, 3 fresh bay leaves and 50gm celery stalks and leaves, tied together
with kitchen string.

Method
For chicken broth, place chicken in a large saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil, strain, discarding the
liquid, rinse chicken and place in a clean large saucepan. Add vegetables, tied herbs and enough water to
cover chicken (about 3-4 litres), bring to the boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce heat to low and
keep at a rolling simmer and skimming occasionally until stock is well flavoured. This should take roughly 5-6
hours. Remove saucepan from the heat, then strain the contents through a fine sieve, discard solids, and then
set aside. You should land up with about 3 litres of beautiful chicken broth. Broth will keep refrigerated for up
to 3 days or can be frozen at this point.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add onion, celery and garlic and stir occasionally for
5-7 minutes until translucent then remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Now
combine minced chicken, onion mixture and parsley in a large bowl, season generously to taste. Roll into golf-
ball-sized pieces and refrigerate for about an hour, until chilled. Now with the broth, bring to a gentle simmer
in a large saucepan over low heat, add chicken dumplings, cook for 1 minute. Add the noodles and stir
occasionally until the noodles and dumplings are cooked through (4-5 minutes). Season to taste at this point
and then divide among bowls, top with celery and parsley leaves, and serve immediately.

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Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a typical Asian take on the humble Chicken Noodle Soup. In my opinion Asians know what they are
talking about when it come to all things that involve hot broths and simple ingredients. Just divine. Enjoy…

Serves 8

Ingredients
1 small chicken (about 1.6kg)
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
½ bunch spring onions, pale ends thinly sliced, green tops reserved
5 cm (25gm) piece of ginger, coarsely chopped
½ Chinese cabbage (about 500gm), thinly sliced
3 eggs
2 tsp fish sauce
To taste: sesame oil
30 ml peanut oil
275 gm thin fresh Chinese egg noodles
To taste: soy sauce

Method
Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water, combine in a large saucepan with carrot, spring onion
and ginger. Fill with enough cold water to just cover chicken, add 1 tbsp sea salt and bring to the boil over
medium-high heat. Skim the scum from surface, reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is cooked
through and stock is well flavoured (1¼ hours). Remove chicken, strain stock into a large clean saucepan
(discard solids). When cool enough to handle, shred chicken meat (discard bones and skin) and return to
stock. Add cabbage to stock and simmer until tender (4-5 minutes), keep hot. Whisk eggs in a bowl with fish
sauce and a few drops of sesame oil. Heat a wok over high heat, add peanut oil and, when smoking, pour in
egg mixture, shake and stir a little, then cook until golden (3-4 minutes). Turn with a spatula, cook until
cooked through (1-2 minutes), slide onto a chopping board. Roll into a cylinder, thinly slice and set aside.
Meanwhile, cook noodles in a saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender (3-4 minutes). Drain, season
with sesame oil and soy sauce to taste, divide among warmed bowls. Scatter with egg roll, ladle over broth and
serve immediately scattered with reserved thinly sliced spring onion tops.

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Chicken Poached in Ginger Broth

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 chicken breast fillets, chopped into pieces
300g snake beans, chopped on the angle in half
Ginger Broth
2 tbsp grated ginger
4 spring (green) onions, chopped thinly
1 star anise
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tbsp Mirin
4 cups chicken stock

Method
To make the ginger broth, place the shredded ginger, spring onions, star anise, soy sauce, Mirin and chicken
stock in a deep frying pan or wok over medium-high heat and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Add the chicken
pieces to the frying pan and simmer slowly for 6 minutes. Place the snake beans into the broth and cook for 4
minutes or until just tender. To serve, place the broth, snake beans and chicken into shallow bowls. Serve
immediately.
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Chickpea, Spinach and Mushroom Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red Spanish onion, chopped
300g baby mushrooms, sliced
425g canned tomatoes
425g tomato puree
620g canned chick peas, rinsed, drained
1 litre vegetable stock
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp seasoned pepper
1 bunch (about 40 leaves) English spinach, rinsed and shredded

Method
Heat oil in pan, add onion and mushrooms, cook, stirring, until onion is soft and transparent. Add undrained
crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, chick peas, vegetable stock, parsley and pepper, now simmer, uncovered for
20 minutes. Then add the spinach and stir until heated through.

Carrot & Coriander Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
450g carrots, sliced
1 tsp ground coriander
1.2 litres vegetable stock
Large bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onions and the carrots. Cook for 3-4 minutes until they
begin to soften. Stir in the ground coriander and season well. Cook for 1 minute. Then add the vegetable stock
and bring to the boil. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. Reheat
and stir in the fresh coriander and serve.

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Roasted Celeriac Soup

I’ll admit it’s not one of the prettiest vegetables, but
this oddly lumpy, bulbous member of the parsley
family, which tastes a bit like celery, is capable of
many beautiful dishes. Choose a celeriac that is
small to medium in size (I find large celeriac can be
too woody) with green stems. Cut the outside layer
away with a knife just before cooking because its
creamy white interior will brown in contact with the
air. This can also be avoided by putting cut pieces in
acidulated water, although I only bother with this if
I’m making a purée and want to keep the creamy
colour.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 large celeriac (about 900gm each), skinned and quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
750 ml chicken stock
60 gm crème fraîche
To serve:
Finely chopped chives
Toasted baguette
Extra-virgin olive oil

Method
Preheat oven to 200C. Combine celeriac, olive oil and garlic in a roasting pan. Season to taste and roast,
turning occasionally, until golden and tender (35-45 minutes). Peel garlic and discard peel, then transfer with
celeriac to a saucepan and blend with a hand blender.

Meanwhile, bring chicken stock to the boil in a saucepan. Add to the saucepan and blend until smooth. Add
crème fraîche, season to taste, then serve topped with chopped chives and toasted baguette and drizzled with
extra-virgin olive oil.
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Cream of Chicken and Leek Soup

This is another great soup with a stew consistency. I particularly love the flavours of chicken and leek in this
recipe. The herbs also add the extra flavour to the soup to give it the finishing touch.

Serves 6 generously

Ingredients
1.2kg chicken
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 leek, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
1 Swede, chopped
2 sprigs parsley
4 sprigs thyme
2 litres chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
500ml cream

Method
Remove the skin and any fat from the chicken, wash thoroughly and set aside. Heat the butter in a large
saucepan and add the onion, garlic, leek, celery, carrot, parsnip and Swede. Cook until a light golden brown.
Add the chicken, parsley, thyme, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and remove any scum. Stir in the
cream and then turn down the heat and cook for 1½ hours. Take out the chicken and remove the meat from
the bones. Tear into small chunks and return to the saucepan, discarding the bones. Heat the saucepan
enough just to reheat the chicken then serve into soup bowls with a sprig of thyme on top and crusty warm
bread chunks.

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Sweet Potato & Ginger Soup

Serves 6
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
Seas salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ tbsp grated fresh ginger
1.5 litres chicken stock
150ml double cream
1 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce) or more to taste
1 tbsp maple syrup
Juice of ½ lime or to taste
Method
Peel and roughly chop the sweet potatoes. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions, along with a
pinch of salt and sweat gently for 5 minutes or so until soft and translucent. Now add the ginger, stir, then
add the sweet potato and stir once more. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Immediately reduce
the heat to a simmer and cook gently for 25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes fall apart when prodded with
a fork. Remove from the heat and puree soup with a hand blender. Strain the soup through a fine sieve back
into the pan and reheat gently. Stir in the cream, tamari and maple syrup, and then squeeze in the lime juice.
Check for seasoning and flavour – the soup should taste deep, warm, sweet and lightly spicy. Serve warm.

Red Lentil Soup

Serves 4
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
250g red lentils
1 litre vegetable stock
2 red onions, finely sliced
80g fresh coriander
Method
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil into a large saucepan and add onion, ginger, cumin and coriander. Cook over a
medium heat until the onion is soft and transparent. Add the carrot, lentils and stock. Bring the soup to the
boil then cover and reduce to a simmer. Stirring occasionally cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils have
completely disintegrated and all the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed by the lentils. Meanwhile, heat
the remaining olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the red onions, cook until the onions are
caramelized and brown. To serve. Ladle the soup into four soup bowls, garnish with a generous sprinkling of
coriander leaves then top with a spoonful of the caramelized onions.

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Red Lentil & Chard Soup

This is a more complicated take on the Red Lentil Soup from earlier in this chapter. I love both of these recipes
and often find it hard to decide which recipe to use. Ill let you decide which one you prefer.

Serves 6

Ingredients
500g split red lentils
2.5 litres of cold water
2 medium red onions
2 tbsp olive oil
200g Swiss Chard
50g coriander leaves
2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp coriander seeds
3 garlic cloves, crushed
50g unsalted butter
Grated zest of ½ lemon
Sourdough bread
4 lemons cut into wedges
Salt and pepper

Method
Wash the lentils in plenty of cold water. Place in a large saucepan with 2.5 litres of water, bring to the boil and
simmer for 35 minutes or until soft. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface during cooking. Using a
slotted spoon, remove about half the lentils from the cooking liquid and set aside in a bowl. Add a generous
pinch of salt to the lentils and water in the pan and liquidise using a hand blender or food processor. Return
the reserved lentils to the soup. Now comes the arduous chopping part of the recipe. Pell the red onions, halve
and thinly slice them. Place a frying pan over a medium heat, add the olive oil and onions and cook, stirring
occasionally for 4-5 minutes, until the onions soften and become translucent. Meanwhile, remove and discard
the large stems from the Swiss chard. Wash and rinse the leaves thoroughly, then chop them roughly. Do the
same with the coriander, leaving a few whole leaves for garnish later. And that’s all the chopping done. Mix
the cooked onions, chard leaves and chopped coriander into the lentil soup and season with cumin, cinnamon
and some salt and pepper to taste. Reheat the soup and simmer gently for 5 minutes. In a mortar and pestle,
or using the end of a rolling pin, crush the coriander seeds and garlic together. Melt the butter gently in a
small saucepan over a medium heat, add the garlic and coriander seeds and fry for about 2 minutes, until the
garlic starts to colour slightly. Stir this into the soup, remove the pot from the stove and cover with a lid. Leave
the soup to infuse for about 5 minutes before serving. Serve garnished with lemon zest and coriander leaves
and pass around some sourdough bread and lemon wedges. Make sure everybody squeezes the lemon into
their soup.

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Onion Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients
1.1 kg onions, peeled and sliced
A handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 bay leaf
Olive oil
A good knob of butter
1.3 litres beef, chicken or vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 baguette or ciabatta
115g melting cheese

Method
In a think-bottomed non-stick pan, slowly fry all the onions with the thyme, garlic and bay leaf in a good
drizzle of olive oil and the butter. Place a lid on the pan and slowly cook them for about 15 minutes, withour
colouring, stirring occasionally so the onions don’t catch on the bottom. The slower you can cook them, the
better. Then remove the lid, turn up the heat and colour the onions until they are light and golden. This will
encourage a sweetness and a real depth of flavour. Add the stock, then turn down and then simmer for about
20 minutes. You can skim any fat off, but I think it add good flavour.
Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. When its perfect, pour into your serving bowls and place these on
a baking tray. Place a sliced piece of baguette on top of the soup in each bowl, then drizzle over some olive oil
and put the cheese on top. Place the baking tray in a preheated oven on medium heat to lightly toasts the
bread and melt the cheese.
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Tom Ka Gai
Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk, Lime & Coriander

Serves 4

Ingredients
4cm piece of galangal or ginger, peeled and sliced
Small bunch of coriander
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 stem lemon grass, halved lengthways
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Juice of 2 limes
400ml coconut milk
250g skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
1 red chilli, seeded and sliced

Method
Put the galangal, coriander roots, lime leaves, lemon grass and I litre of water in a saucepan and bring to the
boil. Add the fish sauce and lime juice, lower the heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the
coriander roots. Add the coconut milk, bring back to the boil and boil for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken
pieces and cook for just a minute or so, until the chicken is soft and milky looking and cooked through. Throw
in the chilli and mix through. Serve in bowls with the coriander leaves roughly chopped and scattered over the
top

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Mushroom Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients
A small handful of dried porcini
Olive oil
600g mixed wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1 red onion, finely chopped
A knob of butter
A handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
1 lemon

Method
Place the porcini in a small dish, add boiling water just to cover and leave to soak. Get a large casserole type
pan nice and hot, then add a good couple of lugs of olive oil and your fresh mushrooms. Stir around very
quickly for a minute, then add your garlic, onion, butter and thyme and a small amount of seasoning. After
about a minute you’ll probably notice moisture cooking out of the mushrooms and at this point add half of
your porcini, chopped up, and the rest left whole. Strain the soaking liquid to remove any grit and add it to the
pan. Carry on cooking for about 20 minutes until most of the moisture disappears.
Season to taste and add your stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. I usually remove half
the soup from the pan and whiz it up to puree at this point, then pour it back in, adding the parsley and
mascarpone and seasoning carefully to taste again.
You can serve this soup as you like, but there are a few things to remember when finishing it off. Mix together
a pinch of salt and pepper with the zest of one lemon and the juice of half of it, then spoon a little of this into
the middle of the soup. When you go to eat it, stir it in and it gives a wonderful flavour.

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Ribollita
Meaning “re-boiled”, this soup is a Tuscan classic made
using leftover vegetables re-cooked with stale bread. This
is a fresher version; while the quantities are large, it’s
worth it as it is even better re-boiled the next day. You’ll
need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Serves 10

Ingredients
100 ml olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
140 gm flat pancetta, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1.75 litres (7 cups) chicken stock
800 gm canned tomatoes, crushed
200 gm dried cannellini beans, soaked in cold water overnight, drained
1 desiree potato (350gm), diced
2 fresh bay leaves
3 bunches cavolo nero, coarsely chopped
1 day-old Italian country-style white loaf (625gm), torn into bite-sized pieces
To serve: extra-virgin olive oil and finely grated parmesan

Method
Heat olive oil in a flameproof casserole or large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, pancetta and garlic
and stir occasionally until tender (10-15 minutes). Add stock, tomato, beans, potato and bay leaves, bring to the simmer
over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until beans are just tender (30 minutes). Add cavolo nero, season to taste and
stir occasionally over medium heat until beans are very tender and cavolo nero is very soft (30-40 minutes, see note).
Divide torn bread among bowls. Ladle soup over and serve hot drizzled with olive oil and scattered with parmesan to taste.

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Spicy Crab Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients
1.2 kg (about 300gm each) green blue swimmer crabs
3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
2 vine-ripened tomatoes
½ small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 dried chilli, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Lime wedges to serve

Method
Bring 2 litres of well-salted water to the boil in a large saucepan, add the crabs, and bring back to the boil and
cook for 5 minutes. Remove crabs, and reserve the liquid.Clean the crabs and remove and reserve the meat,
return shells to pan, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and reserve liquid, discarding the shells. Preheat
oven to 180C. Combine garlic and tomatoes in a small roasting pan and roast for 10 minutes or until soft.
When cool enough to handle, peel and process with onion in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.Heat oil
in a large saucepan over medium heat, add tomato mixture and cook, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes or
until thickened slightly. Add reserved liquid, cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes. Stir in chilli and simmer
for another 10 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper, stir in crab meat and cook until warmed
through. Stir in coriander and serve with lime wedges and crusty warm bread.

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Spanish Chickpea & Chorizo Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients
Olive oil
150g chorizo sausage, finely chopped
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
500g fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8 fresh tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
1x 410g tin or jar of good quality chickpeas, drained
1.3 litres chicken stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
55g prosciutto, finely chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 hard boiled eggs

Method
Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a large saucepan and add the chorizo. Allow to heat up and cook
for a couple of minutes until the fat comes out of the sausage, then add your onion, garlic and celery. Turn the
heat down and cook slowly for 15 minutes with a lid on and without colouring the onions. Now take the lid off
– the smell and colour will be fantastic. Stir it around and get some colour happening now. Add your spinach,
tomatoes, chickpeas and chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 40
minutes. At this point you can remove about a third of the mixture and puree in a food processor. Pour it back
into the pot. Give it a little stir and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the
prosciutto and 2-3 tablespoons good quality extra-virgin olive oil. Divide into bowls and grate some hard
boiled egg on top. The egg adds a lovely richness.

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Pumpkin Rice Laksa Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
600g pumpkin, halved, peeled and deseeded
A small handful lime leaves
2-3 chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger root, peeled
3 sticks of lemongrass, outer leaves removed
A large handful of fresh coriander, leaves picked, stalks
chopped
1 heaped tsp 5-spice and 1tsp ground cumin
Olive oil
1 white onion, peeled and finely sliced
565ml chicken or vegetable stock
200g basmati rice
2x 400ml tins coconut milk
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 or 2 limes

Method
First of all you need to chop the pumpkin flesh into 5cm pieces. Then place the lime leaves, chillies, garlic,
ginger, lemongrass, coriander stalks, 5-spice and cumin in a food processor and blend until a pulpy mix is
formed. Remove any stringy bits that remain in the pulp. Now put the contents of the food processor into a
saucepan with some olive oil and the finely sliced onion and cook gently for about 10 minutes to release the
flavours. Add the pumpkin and the stock to the pan. Stir around, scraping all the goodness off the bottom of
the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer with a lid on for about 15 minutes. Until the
pumpkin is soft. At this point, add the rice and give it a really good stir. Some of the pumpkin will begin to
mash up, but you will also have some chunks. Continue to simmer with the lid on until the rice is cooked, then
take off the lid. Add the coconut milk, stir again, taste and season carefully with salt and pepper. Now add the
lime juice. Serve the soup in warmed bowls. Sprinkle with the coriander leaves.

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