A soup for all seasons

Soups are a great way to use leftovers or vegetables that are beyond their best

It’s official: winter is here. Temperatures across the region have dropped significantly — even my potted herbs are starting to grow. When I talk to my friends in London, it takes seconds for the conversation to turn to the weather; Brits are obsessed with the weather.

Here, we take the sun for granted, when it’s either hot or just hotter. October in the UK is the start of a long cold winter, and cosying up on the sofa under a blanket becomes the norm.

Inevitably, the weather would lead to a cold or flu, which only means even more time snuggled under a blanket. Now I’m no medical expert, but the food/drink of choice would always be chicken noodle soup. I don’t know of its medicinal credentials, but there are definitely healing qualities in this broth-based soup.

This was the only time

I would even consider eating/ drinking soup.

For years, I’ve always considered soups as drinks with bits in, and

I think my early experiences with soup may have scarred me. Now, with all due respect, my mum was and is a good cook. However, her soup recipe was awful. I can only describe it as a huge pot of soggy vegetables, stringy celery and mushy potatoes.

I’m going to reference Oliver Twist here, because as kids we used to joke about the soup. I wasn’t alone in my ‘gruel’ thoughts — not one of us has ever said, ‘Please sir, can I have some more?’ Sorry mum, but even little Oliver would have declined a second bowl.

I wore the soup scar for years, shunning the stuff — unless I had the flu, of course. I’ve tried tinned, packet and fresh soup. None have really hit the mark; either they tasted too salty, too floury or just had no taste at all.

Researching recipe ide- as, I was met with several versions of the simple soup. Chowder: thick and chunky, traditionally made with seafood or fish. Consomme: a type of clear soup made from richly flavoured stock. Broth: a savoury vegetable or meat soup, made in a stock where bones, meat, fish, or vegetables have been simmered. Bisque: a French style of soup made from crustaceans, such as lobster, crab, shrimp, and crayfish. Sadly, my mum’s soup didn’t fit into any of these categories.

Soups are a great way to use leftovers or vegetables that are beyond their best. Having mastered my own soup recipes, I’m now a soup lover.

Yes, chicken noodle soup is still my go-to when I feel a flu or cold coming, and the recipe alongside is by far my favourite. You can use tinned corn for it, but grilling the corn gives the soup a smoky taste. I love to make a big pot and freeze it into individual portions, ready for those cosy sofa days.

For years, I’ve always considered soups as drinks with bits in...