Winter Warmers

Here comes the cooler weather - and for me that means steaming hot bowls of soup.

The best thing I personally find about soup (ok a few things):

1. Filling - if you make the right soup it's literally a meal on it's own
2. Nutritious - as you are generally using in season produce
3. Keeps in the freezer for 3-6mths depending on recommendation from manufacturer

I'll admit - I do make my soup 'thicker' than most - so with that in mind here we go :)

As an alternative to bread - why not get some mini cob rolls from your local bakery (most do them in 6 packs for $2 or thereabouts) and make your own 'soup in rolls' (simply cut off top, scoop out like you would for a cob loaf, slightly bake bread for 'crispness' and serve with the insides of the roll reserved for dipping - Add a side salad to bulk it further. Conservative estimates have the following recipes pricing between $10 and $15 for feeding 4-6 (or more depending on serving size).

These are a little different than your 'run of the mill' vegetable or pumpkin soup.

CWA Quick and Easy Recipe: Sweet Potato and Pear Soup
serve approx 4-6

Ingredients

25g butter
1 small white onion, chopped
750g sweet potato (chopped into bite-sized pieces)
2 firm pears (again, bite-sized pieces)
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup cream
chopped mint to garnish

Method

Melt butter and add onion - cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
Add the sweet potato and pear and cook stirring for 1 - 2 minutes.
Add stock, bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes until soft.
Cool, then blend.
Return to the pan and stir in cream while heating.
Season with chopped fresh mint.
Service with crusty bread

Vegetable, Bacon and Risoni Soup

Ingredients (serves 4)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
125g 97% fat-free bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
1 parsnip, peeled, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
6 cups reduced-salt beef stock
400g can diced roma tomatoes
1/3 cup dried risoni pasta
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bacon and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add carrot, parsnip, celery and zucchini. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Add stock and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Stir in risoni. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until risoni is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir through parsley. Ladle soup into bowls. Serve.


Lamb Shank and Pasta Soup

Ingredients (serves 4)
olive oil cooking spray
2 lean lamb shanks, trimmed
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
400g can diced tomatoes
4 cups salt-reduced beef stock
3/4 cup small shell pasta
1/4 cup basil leaves, finely shredded
4 crusty wholegrain bread rolls, to serve

Method
Lightly spray a large saucepan with oil. Heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add lamb shanks and cook, turning, for 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Increase heat to medium-high. Return lamb to pan. Add tomatoes, stock and 2 cups cold water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Cook for 1 hour 30 minutes or until lamb is tender. Remove lamb shanks to a board. Shred meat.
Return soup to the boil over high heat. Stir in pasta. Cover and cook for 7 to 8 minutes or until pasta is tender. Add shredded lamb and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into shallow bowls. Serve with crusty bread rolls.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 large stick celery, thinly sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
6 cups (1.5 litres) chicken stock
300g chicken breast fillets, diced
50g dried spaghettini pasta, broken into 5cm pieces
2 tbs chopped flat eaf parsley leaves
Thick wholegrain toast, to serve

Method
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add onion and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add carrot, celery and potato and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Add stock, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chicken and pasta, partially cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Stir through parsley. Season to taste. Ladle soup into serving bowls and serve with wholegrain toast.

Chicken and Sweetcorn - PERFECT for quick meals as you slice the chicken thin and it cooks in the boiling liquid

Ingredients (serves 4)
1 litre chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
310g can corn kernels
310g can creamed corn
3 small chicken breast fillets, thinly sliced
3 green onions, chopped

Method
Place the chicken stock in a large saucepan with the soy sauce, ginger, corn kernels and creamed corn.
Cook over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken and green onions and cook for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Serve sprinkled with extra chopped green onion.

Minestrone
Ingredients (serves 4)
3 bacon rashers, rind removed, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 desiree potato, peeled, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1L (4 cups) beef stock
1 300g can red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 425g can rich and thick finely chopped tomatoes (Ardmona brand)
40g (1/2 cup) 3-minute rollini pasta (Nanda brand)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh continental parsley

Method
Place the bacon, carrots, celery, potato and garlic in a large saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over high heat, uncovered, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Add the beef stock, red kidney beans and tomatoes to the pan, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. (To freeze the soup, see note).
Increase heat to high. Add pasta and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into serving bowls and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.


Of course any of these could be theoretically done in a slow cooker - just use your judgement in terms of cooking time. This should be a good little 'jump' start - soup is one of the most forgiving foods to cook I have found, it takes a fair amount of effort to bugger it up :)