Winter soups are a great option for a wholesome yet nutritious lunch or dinner, packing in vegetables and vitamins.
They are also filling, especially when enjoyed with a wedge of fresh bread, and can be a relatively inexpensive.
There are hundreds of soup recipes using a wide variety of ingredients, and while most South Africans enjoy the likes of butternut soup, chicken soup, mushroom soup, vegetable soup, or tomato soup, there’s a whole heap of slightly more unusual ingredients people are using to make weird soups.
Three chef lecturers from Capsicum Culinary Studio share some of their tasty soup recipes to try at home.
Curry tomato soup (courtesy of the Durban campus)
Ingredients
450g can diced tomatoes, drained and juice reserved
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbs butter
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable stock
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 tsp lime juice
A handful of pumpkin seeds, toasted
Sour cream
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Spread the drained tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Roast until the tomatoes start to brown and shrink slightly, about 20 minutes.
Heat the butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Stir in the celery, carrot, onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
Mix in the roasted tomatoes reserved tomato juice and the stock. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Place the pumpkin seeds in a small pan and toast in the oven (10 minutes) when roasting the tomatoes.
Stir in the curry powder and lime juice, then remove from heat and purée with a hand blender until smooth.
Serve with a swirl of sour cream, a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds, and a slice of fresh baguette.
Thai inspired pumpkin soup (courtesy of the Cape Town campus)
Serves: 6
Ingredients
1 medium pumpkin
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 tbs Thai red curry paste
2 tbs lemongrass
1 litre vegetable stock
400ml coconut cream
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the pumpkin in half and place on a baking tray in the oven for 30 minutes or until soft
Add a little oil to a large pot. Add the chopped onion and the curry paste. Sauté on medium-high heat until the onion softens.
Add the lemongrass, stock and coconut cream.
When ready, scoop the cooked pumpkin out of the skin and add to the pot, simmering for 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat, allowing the soup to cool. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper.
Blend, using a stick blender, until smooth and creamy, and reheat briefly before serving.
Broccoli & cauliflower soup (courtesy of the Boksburg campus)
Ingredients
1 onion
1 tsp olive oil
½ medium broccoli, chopped
½ medium cauliflower, chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbs Dijon mustard
Maldon sea salt and ground black pepper
1 tsp thyme, fresh or dried
1 tbsp basil, fresh or dried
175ml cream
Shallots (optional)
Feta cheese (optional)
Method
Chop the onion, place it in a big pan with the olive oil and cook on low-medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute.
Roughly chop the broccoli and cauliflower. (Save a few broccoli florets for garnishing.)
Place the broccoli and cauliflower into the pan and add the stock. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the cream. Then add thyme, basil. and mustard, and stir well to incorporate the flavours
Blend with a hand blender.
Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with small florets of steamed broccoli and finely chopped shallots or crumble feta cheese on top for a creamy finish.
This originally appeared on IOL
