Brrrrrr! Is it us or is South Africa back in winter? It’s just been constant rain and cold weather for more than a week and while that has put a dampener on some spring celebrations, it’s another opportunity for us to try out some delicious soups.
The three soups we have chosen are all perfect for a chilly day. It will take you a maximum of 30 minutes to make these, which is ideal when you need some comfort food on a cold day, but don’t have the luxury of time.
Moroccan-Style Lentil Soup (Serves 6)
Ingredients
30ml olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled, chopped
5ml chopped garlic
5ml ground cumin
5ml ground coriander
5ml ground turmeric
3ml ground cinnamon
3ml pepper
375ml lentils
2 litres of vegetable stock
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
30ml tomato paste
300g cauliflower, cut in florets
100g baby spinach, chopped
125ml chopped fresh coriander
30ml fresh lemon juice
Heat the oil in a pot and fry the onion, carrots and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the spices and pepper and fry until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the lentils and fry for a further 2 minutes.
Stir in the stock, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste.
Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until lentils are almost tender.
Add the cauliflower and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the spinach, coriander and lemon juice and heat through for 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Serve.
Quinoa and Mushroom Soup (Serves 6-8)
Ingredients
15g dried porcini mushrooms
250ml boiling water
30ml olive oil
500g mushrooms (use a selection of button and exotic), sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large carrot, cut into julienne strips
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1.5 litres of vegetable stock
180ml tomato passata or tomato purée
125ml quinoa
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
Put the dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Set aside for 20 minutes to soften.
Drain and reserve the liquid. Chop the mushrooms finely. Set aside.
Heat the oil and gently fry the button and exotic mushrooms until nicely browned.
Add the onion, celery, carrot and pepper and fry for 5 minutes.
Stir in the stock, passata and quinoa and bring to a simmer.
Add the bay leaf, reserved mushroom water and chopped dried mushrooms and season well.
Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the quinoa is cooked.
Remove the bay leaf and serve.
Chickpea and Chorizo Soup (Serves 6)
Ingredients
250g Spanish-style sausage, sliced
15ml olive oil
3 large leeks, sliced, washed well
2 stalks of celery with leaves, chopped
5ml chopped garlic
5ml ground cumin
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1.5 litres of chicken stock
400g tin of chickpeas, drained, rinsed
2ml chilli flakes
5ml smoked paprika
200g baby spinach, chopped
salt and pepper
Method
Cook the sausage in a large pot over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the oil and fry the leeks, celery and garlic for another 5 minutes.
Add the cumin and fry for 1 minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
Add stock, chickpeas, chilli flakes and paprika and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Wait, there’s more...
For more delicious soup recipes, check out the IOL Food soup edition, which is crammed with delicious soup ideas for both cold and hot days.
Read it here