My 3 Favourite Autumn Soups

I feel like we’re fully into the swing of soup season. It’s chilly outside and all I want to do is curl up with a bowl of something comforting and warm. I only started making soup about a year ago, the hand-held blender was much too intimidating I had images of being drenched in red like I was in a Tarantino film. But I’m so glad I got over that fear because these days I always have a tub of homemade soup to hand either on the stove or saving for later in the fridge. So, in what has now become a bit of a quarterly tradition, I thought I’d share a few recipes of my favourites with you.

All of the soups here are vegetarian, and they can all be made vegan with some very simple substitutions so there should be something for everyone. All of these recipes make around 4 portions for lunch or dinner.

CREAMY (VEGAN) TOMATO

So, this tomato soup uses coconut milk rather than cream. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about using the coconut, but you can’t really taste it at all and it’s a healthy throwback to my childhood favourite (still a favourite if I’m honest) canned tomato soup. This is also the simplest soup to make.

• 1 Red onion – diced
• 2 Cloves of garlic – minced
• 1 Red pepper – diced
• 2 Cans of tinned tomatoes
• Handful of cherry tomatoes – halved or quartered
• 500ml Stock of your choice (add more if needed at the end)
• 4 TBSP Tomato puree
• 1 TBSP mixed herbs
• 1 TSP Smoked paprika
• 1 TSP Chilli flakes (optional)

METHOD

1. Put the pepper and cherry tomatoes on a baking tray and roast in the oven at 200C for 15-20mins
2. Fry the onion for 5 minutes or until soft in a large saucepan
3. Fry the garlic for 2 minutes or so, and add in the herbs and spices
4. Stir in the tomato puree
5. Add the tinned tomatoes and coconut milk, leave to simmer for 10 minutes
6. Add the stock, and the roasted pepper and tomatoes
7. Blend!
8. Season well
9. Serve alone, with a cashew cream or grilled cheese.

 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

This recipe was inspired by my holiday to Portugal in the summer. Every restaurant we ate at seemed to have some variation of this soup on the menu and it was so tasty that I wanted to recreate it as soon as I got home.

• 1 White onion – diced
• 2 Cloves of garlic – minced
• 1 Butternut squash – diced
• 1 Courgette – diced
• 1 Large carrot – diced
• 500ml Stock of your choice (add more if needed at the end)
• 2 TSP Mixed herbs
• 1 TSP Chilli flakes (optional)
• Handful of watercress for serving

METHOD

1. Fry the onion for 5 minutes in a big saucepan
2. Add the garlic and fry for an additional 2 minutes, and add in the herbs and spices
3. Add the courgette and fry for 4-5 minutes
4. Add the squash and carrot (you can also add in a stick or so of celery but I can never get through the leftovers), then cover with the stock
5. Leave to boil for 20 minutes or until everything is very soft
6. Blend!
7. Season well
8. Stir in the watercress when serving so it’s just wilted

FRENCH ONION

The first time I ate French Onion soup a dear friend cooked enough to feed a small army of our loved ones. It was delicious. Now this recipe takes quite a bit longer than the others so that you can get the most flavour out of the onions, so I tend to see it as a bit of a treat and let me tell you it is so worth it. I tend to set this one going at the start of a big Sunday meal prep session and just let it do its thing while I cook everything. FYI – this one is pretty much Mary Berry’s recipe.

• 50g Butter
• 1 TBSP Olive oil
• 6-7 Large onions – halved and sliced
• 1 TSP Sugar
• 4 Cloves of garlic – minced
• 2 TBSP plain flour
• 1 TBSP Mixed herbs
• 250ml White wine (if you’d prefer not to use wine, just add additional stock)
• 1L Stock of your choice
• 4 slices of bread (optional for serving)
• 140g grated cheese (optional for serving)

METHOD

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan
2. Fry the onions over a low heat for at least half an hour or until fully caramelised, adding in the sugar about halfway through (keep stirring!)
3. Add the garlic and herbs and fry for an additional 2-3 minutes
4. Sprinkle in the flour
5. Gradually add in the wine and stock, stirring as you go
6. Simmer for 15-20 minutes
7. Serve by putting the soup in heatproof bowls, the topping with the bread and cheese and putting under the grill – or if you’re lazy like me, you can just top the soup with the grilled cheese on toast

Natalie