Mushroom and cauliflower soup

 

I created this soup one winters’ night, when I had a few mushrooms left in the locker, and was growing tired of an everlasting cauliflower that I'd bought. It was, I admit, a huge one, but as it was the same price as the other ones, which were two-thirds the size, and super-expensive to boot, I went for the best value for money. I love cauliflower, but after 6 consecutive nights of eating it, I was ready for a change.

When I'm looking at recipes on line, I often see people suggesting puréeing cauliflower to make a thick and creamy sauce. I thought I’d try this idea, to save mixing up a nut cream – and also out of curiosity. The resulting soup was delicious – better than I’d hoped for – and I had the added satisfaction of cooking it on my little fire. It is therefore very much a cream of mushroom soup. With a slice or two of home-made longevity bread, it made a filling and warming meal.

 

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course

Ingredients

 

4 or 5 large mushrooms or the equivalent if smaller

1 bay leaf

4 cups water

1 onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic

olive oil

approx 2 cups cauliflower florets

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp za’atar or dried thyme

1/2 tsp mushroom stock powder

grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

Method:

• Cut the mushrooms into chunks – about the size of a small, button mushroom.
• Put a cup of water into a large saucepan, together with a bay leaf and the mushrooms and bring to the boil.
• Simmer gently for a few minutes while you chop the onion and garlic.
• Pour the mushrooms and water into a bowl and set aside.
• Using the same pan, heat the olive oil and then add the onion and garlic. Fry gently for about 5 minutes until translucent. Turn down the flame if they’re starting to colour.
• In the meantime, divide the cauliflower into florets and dice any stem that you’ve cut off in the process. Add to the pan when the onions are softened.
  Add in the ground coriander and stir everything around until the cauliflower is evenly coated.
  
• Pour in the remaining three cups of water together with the water that the mushrooms have been sitting in. Leave the mushrooms to one side.
• Now add the za’atar or thyme and mushroom stock powder, if you have any. Bring to the boil and then simmer over a moderate heat until the cauliflower is completely softened.
• When it's cooked, mash the soup into a thick purée, or use a stick blender.
• Return to the heat and add the mushrooms. Grate over nutmeg and add salt and pepper to taste. Be generous with the black pepper – the soup can take it.

Note:

• Add some dried mushrooms to the water, with the fresh mushrooms for increased depth of flavour.
   
  
  
  

Cream of asparagus soup

This luxurious soup can be made from whole asparagus. However, the following recipe allows you to have your asparagus and eat it, so to speak, because it’s made from the trimmings.

The best way to trim asparagus is to bend each stalk as close to its base as you can. It will snap off just above the tough section.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

Serves 4 as a first course

Ingredients

 

The trimmings from a bundle of asparagus

2 cups water

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup tbsp butter/olive oil

1 tbsp flour*

salt and pepper

1 tbsp lemon juice

 fresh parsley, if available

6 tbsp thick (vegan) cream

Method:

• Cook the trimmed asparagus: put it on a raised trivet in your pressure cooker, so that it isn’t immersed, and pour in 2 cups water. (You could stand it on end to do this, but might need to cut it to size.) Bring to pressure and cook for 1 minute. Reduce pressure rapidly if you like crisp asparagus, naturally if you like it soft. Put the asparagus to one side for another dish. Pour the water into a jug or bowl and set aside.
• Cut the trimmings into 2 cm/1 in lengths.
• Finely dice the onion and garlic. Melt the butter/oil in the pressure cooker, add the onion and garlic and stir it until it’s all covered in melted butter. Lower the heat, cover the pan and cook gently for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened.
• Stir in the flour and mix.
• Add the reserved water that you used to cook the asparagus, together with the trimmings. Bring to pressure and cook for 10 minutes.
• Reduce pressure naturally and then mash with a potato masher. Then pass the resulting purée through a sieve to remove any stringy bits. Alternatively blend with a stick blender or food processor
• Return to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Taste and add the lemon juice and more water if you think it can take it.
• Add the parsley and bring back to the boil.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.

Serve with croutons

 

Note:

*Use 1 tbsp gram flour for gluten free.

 

Variations:

• If you like to have bits of asparagus floating around in your soup, trim pieces from the ends of the cooked stalks and add these with the lemon juice.
• For a really thick and luxurious version, use all the asparagus.
  
• This soup can also be made successfully with canned asparagus. Purée the bottom ends of the stalks and keep the tips to chop up and add to the soup with the lemon juice.
  

Carrot and lemon soup

Not a main-course soup, but a very pleasant starter. Carrots and lemons combine together beautifully and the coriander complements both.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt. 

Serves 4 as a starter

 

Ingredients

 

1 onion

6 carrot

2 tbsp butter OR 1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp gram flour

2 tsp ground coriander

3 cups water

1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

chopped parsley

Method:

• Dice the onion and carrots. Fry gently in the butter for about 10 minutes in a covered pan. Stir every minute or so and don’t let them brown.
• When the vegetables are soft, add the coriander and stir it in. Mix the gram flour with 1/4 cup of water and add it to the pan, stirring it carefully so that everything is blended .
• Add 3/4 cup of water and mix again.
• Pour in the rest of the water and the lemon rind, if you have any. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 – 25 minutes until the vegetables are thoroughly softened.
• Mash to a purée with a potato masher, or use a stick blender, and season with salt and pepper.
• Add the lemon juice, reheat and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley, if you have any.

Cauliflower soup

I first came across this soup in Norway in 1985 and have loved it ever since. Although using a cauliflower for soup may seem rather extravagant, you can usually get two meals out of a very large one and make use of the stem, to boot. I love this soup; it has a delicate, creamy flavour, which is even more delicious if you can make it with butter rather than olive oil. I like to serve it with herb bread.

If you have any choice, try to use a floury potato for this soup; for once, it should be peeled because the soup should end up as a thick, greeny-white purée, which would be less attractive with bits of potato skin.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 4 to 6 as a starter, 2 for a main course

 

Ingredients

 

2 tbsp butter OR olive oil/1 onion, diced

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1 small or half a large cauliflower

2½ cups water

1 tsp salt

2½ cups (plant) milk/pepper

grated nutmeg

 

Method: 

• Melt the butter/oil in a large saucepan.
• Add the onion and potato and cook gently until they’re softened. Don’t let them brown because the soup is meant to end up white.
• When you can easily stick the point of a knife into the potatoes, break the cauliflower into the pan. Dice the stalk. Don’t use the leaves – they’re too dark. You can, however, use their white stems.
• Add the water and salt and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, by which time the cauliflower should be thoroughly cooked.
• Take a potato masher or stick blender and purée the soup.
• Pour in the milk and bring back to simmering point for a few more minutes, adding generous amounts of pepper.
• Pour into warmed bowls and grated nutmeg over before serving.

Variations: 

• Replace some of the milk with cream for an extra luxurious soup.
• Sprinkle the soup with toasted, flaked almonds.

Italian chickpea Soup

This is a substantial and well-flavoured soup, suitable for winter lunches or a main meal. It would go very well with sun-dried tomato bread. The ingredients are not really voyaging vegetables, but they keep reasonably well and you would still be able to make this soup a week into your passage.

 

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

Serves at least 8 as a starter, 2 or 3 for a main course

Ingredients

 

3 large sticks of celery

1 leek

1 cup chickpeas, soaked

5 cups boiling stock or water

2 bay leaves

1½ tsp oregano

3/4 tsp rosemary

1/4 tsp chilli

14 oz/400 g tin of diced tomatoes

 handful of finely chopped fresh basil or parsley, or 1 tsp dried basil

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Method:

• Thinly slice the celery.
• Trim the leek, removing the root end and any discoloured outer leaves; trim the top. Slice thinly, washing any slices that have grit or soil lodged in them.
• Drain the chickpeas and put them in your pressure cooker, together with the water/stock, celery, leek, bay leaves, oregano, rosemary and chilli.
• Bring to pressure over a high heat and then cook at high pressure for 20 minutes. Reduce pressure naturally.
• Remove the bay leaves and discard. With a slotted spoon, take out 4 or 5 spoons of chickpeas and put them in a bowl together with half the tomatoes. Mash together to thicken the soup.
• Put the tomato/chickpea mix back in the pressure cooker together with the parsley or basil and the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
• Simmer for a further few minutes so that the tomato flavour permeates the whole and serve hot. 

Variations:

• Add (vegan) Parmesan cheese at the table.
• Try using butter beans instead of the chickpeas

Corn Chowder

This recipe is a vegetarian replacement for fish chowder and I think that it is equally good: it’s rich and filling – definitely a main-course soup when served with hunks of bread. For all that, it would make a good starter, if you followed it with a light main course.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 4 to 6 as a starter, 2 for a main course

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
4 mushrooms, sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 potatoes, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp gram flour
2½ cups water OR vegetable stock
1 cup (vegan) milk
400 g (14 oz) can sweetcorn
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
salt
1 cup (vegan) single cream

Method:

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and green pepper. Don’t let them brown – the soup is meant to be very pale. If you prefer, you can ‛sauté’ them in a little water until they are softened, and then add the olive oil.
• While this is happening, peel and chop the potatoes. (If you prefer not to peel them that’s fine, but the bits of peel do rather spoil the appearance of the soup.) Add to the pan, stir and fry for a few minutes. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Put 1/2 cup of the water in a mixing cup, add the gram flour and whisk to a smooth paste.
• Add this to the pan, together with the rest of the water. Stir gently until the soup is about to boil, so that the gram flour is properly incorporated.
• Lower the heat and cook until the potatoes are tender – about 10 minutes.
• Add the sweetcorn and the milk; reheat until boiling. 
• Stir in the cream and reheat just before serving.

Variation:

• 1/2 tsp paprika or chilli adds variety
• If you can get hold of any, a handful of chopped, fresh parsley added with the cream is delicious.
• Use dried mushrooms, soaked in a little hot water for half an hour, to turn this into a voyaging soup.
  

Note: 

• Although the potatoes serve to thicken the chowder, they should not disintegrate and disappear. If you can only get very floury potatoes, this is unavoidable, but they won't spoil the flavour of your creation.

Split lentil and carrot soup

The sweetness of carrots marries well with lentils and lemon, and the soup comes out a very pretty orange colour. This recipe is intended for a starter – main course lentil soup is generally thicker than this.* 

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

 

1 large onion 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground coriander seeds

3 medium carrots

3/4 cup split lentils

4 cups water/stock

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Method:

• Dice the onion.
• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cover and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dice the carrots, scraping them if necessary. Add the coriander and cook for a further minute, then add the carrots and lentils and stir well.
• Pour in the water and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Cover, lower the heat and cook for 25 minutes, by which time the lentils should have disintegrated and the carrots should be completely softened. Give them a little longer, if necessary.
• Take off the heat and mash into a purée, using a potato masher or a stick blender. Add the lemon juice and season to taste. Add a little more lemon if you prefer it to be slightly sharper.
• Reheat before serving.

Variations:

• A tbsp of tomato purée makes a pleasant change.
• Add a swirl of cream to each bowl.
• Use lime or orange juice instead of the lemon.
• Garnish with some twists of the appropriate peel.
• Add 1/2 tsp chilli flakes to give the soup a bit of a lift.
  
• * To turn this into a main course soup, double the amount of lentils.
  

Split lentil soup

Warming, filling, nutritious and comforting: lentil soup is one of my favourites. It’s also very quick to make and is ideal for lunch or as a starter when unexpected guests arrive and you have to spread your dinner further than anticipated!

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 4 to 6 as a starter, 2 for a main course

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil OR butter
1 onion 

1 cup split red lentils 

4 cups water 

2 tbsp lemon juice 

salt and pepper

Method:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or pressure cooker. Chop the onion and cook it for about 5 minutes until it has started to brown.
• Stir in the lentils, add the water and bring to the boil. If you are using the pressure cooker, cook it for 5 minutes; if cooking conventionally, simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Reduce pressure naturally. Using a potato masher or stick blender, purée the soup. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper and add the lemon juice. Serve piping hot.

• Variations: 
• Add 1/2 tsp cumin and a garlic clove with the onion.
• Chop a carrot and cook it with the onion.
• For a delicious, quick Curried Lentil Soup, add one garlic clove and some diced fresh ginger to the onion while it’s frying. Stir in 2 tsp curry powder/paste just before adding the lentils. Serve with chapatis.

 Note:

• You can make this soup thicker and more substantial by adding another 1/2 cup of lentils.
  

Minestrone soup

The name ‘Minestrone’ has become something of a catch-all for a tomato, vegetable and pasta soup. I don’t pretend that the following version is any more authentic than most, but it certainly is attractive and full of flavour. I usually use black-eyed peas, because they enrich the colour of the soup, but it’s equally good made with whole lentils or chick pea(s).

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 4 to 6 as a starter, 2 for a main course

 

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
1 carrot
1 stick celery OR 1 tsp celery seed
4 cups water
1/4 cup black-eyed peas
1 cup chopped cabbage
a piece of Pamesan cheese rind

14 oz/400 g tin of chopped tomatoes

2 tsp Annie's Mixed Herbs

about 20 lengths of spaghetti

salt and pepper

 Parmesan cheese

Method:

• Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker.
• Chop the onions and garlic and cook over a fairly high heat until they’re starting to brown. 
• While this is happening, dice the carrot and the celery (seed). Add to the other vegetables. 
• Pour in the water, add the black-eyed peas and bring to the boil. Pressure cook for 10 minutes. Reduce pressure gradually. 
• When you can safely remove the lid, add the chopped cabbage to the pan. Return it to the flame. If you’re using the Parmesan cheese rind, cut this into small dice and add. 
• Empty the tomatoes into the pan and mix them in.
•  Now add the herbs and stir thoroughly. 
• When the soup is boiling once more, lower the heat to a simmer, break the spaghetti into 25 mm (1 in) lengths and add this. Stir to separate the pieces of pasta.
• Add salt and pepper. Minestrone responds well to ½ tsp of cracked black pepper. Taste after a couple of minutes to see if it needs more salt.
• Cook until the spaghetti has softened – you can bring it back up to pressure for 3 minutes if you wish.
• Serve with chunks of bread and, if you have it, plenty of Parmesan cheese.

Variations:

• Use cannellini beans instead of the black-eyed beans. These will need soaking first. Or you could use a can.
• Replace the cabbage with kale
• Add 2 tbsps of freeze-dried peas
• Add chopped pepper to taste
• Replace the celery with 1 tsp celery seed
• Use chopped tomatoes in purée for a thicker soup.
• Add 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
  

Note:

• Vegans can use home-made vegan "Parmesan" cheese!

Mushroom soup

 

Mushroom soup is lovely and because mushrooms are often something of a luxury, is worth making with extra love and care. There are several variations on the theme, which I give below. The initial recipe is adapted from one of Rose Elliot’s and produces a very elegant concoction, ideal for entertaining. The ones that follow are a little more down to earth.

Butter gives a richer flavour than olive oil.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 4 for a starter, 2 for a main meal

 

Ingredients

 

3 cups mushrooms

1 small onion

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp tarragon

1 tsp green peppercorns, crushed

2½ cups water

(vegan) milk

4 tbsp butter OR 2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp flour

salt

freshly grated nutmeg

hot sauce/cracked black pepper

2 tbsp sherry

Method:

• Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and put them in a large saucepan, together with the quartered onion, garlic clove, tarragon and green peppercorns. Add the water and bring to the boil; leave to simmer for at least 10 minutes to create a stock.
• Pour the liquid through a sieve into a measuring jug and make up to a litre with the milk. Discard the mushroom stalks, etc.
• Put half the butter/olive oil into the saucepan and, when it melts, stir in the flour and mix it for a few moments. Remove the pan from the heat, pour in the contents of the jug and stir until everything is thoroughly blended. Make sure that all the flour and butter mixture is cleared away from the corners of the pan.
• Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring continually. Lower the heat and continue to stir for another 2 or 3 minutes to cook the flour. Put to one side.
• Slice the mushrooms and fry them lightly in the remaining half of the butter. When they’re softened, add them to the milk mixture in the saucepan.
• Reheat to a gentle simmer while carefully seasoning with the salt, nutmeg and hot sauce/cracked black pepper
• Simmer for a further 3 or 4 minutes to let the flavours blend. Better still, make the soup several hours before you need it and let it stand, with a lid on, until you want to eat it. Reheat just to boiling and serve with a dollop of sherry in each bowl. 

Variations:

• For a simpler and quicker soup, dice the onion and garlic and fry it in the butter until soft. Chop the mushrooms and cook them for a few minutes. Add 1 tbsp cornflour, 2 cups water and 2 cups milk. Stir until the cornflour is dissolved and then add the tarragon and green peppercorns. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, season and then simmer for 5 minutes. You can still serve this with the sherry!
• Try making a Lentil and Mushroom soup: Add half a cup of whole lentils.  Use a standard onion, garlic clove, half the butter or olive oil, the tarragon and green peppercorns, 4 cups water and seasoned salt. Fry the vegetables, add the tarragon and green peppercorns, then throw in the lentils and cook under pressure for 10 minutes. Mash the soup with a potato masher or stick blender and then season with the salt.
• For Mushroom and Potato soup: use a chopped onion, 3 cups sliced mushrooms, 4 chopped potatoes, a litre of water, salt and pepper. Fry the vegetables, add the water, bring to pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Mash lightly to thicken the soup and season. You can substitute milk for up to half the water if you want; or stir in cream after the soup is cooked.
• Use brandy instead of sherry

Notes:

• While this soup is also good with oyster mushrooms, I don’t recommend cremini, portobello or Swiss mushrooms, which make the soup too dark.
• To make this soup gluten free, use 1 tbsp cornflour instead of the flour.
  

Italian mushroom soup

This is definitely a special-occasion soup, calling as it does for mixed mushrooms and French bread. No prizes for guessing that I love mushrooms! Try finding ceps and oyster mushrooms Even if you can’t find anything particularly exotic, this is still a delicious soup, served in an attractive manner.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
6 cups mixed mushrooms
1¼ cups milk
3¾ cups water
8 slices rustic or French bread
3 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup finely grated cheese preferably Swiss (See notes) 

salt and pepper

Method:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the chopped onion for a few minutes until softened.
• Roughly chop the mushrooms.
• Add them to the pan, stirring so that they’re all covered with oil.
• Add the milk and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 5 mins.
• Stir in the water and bring up to simmering point.
• Toast the bread.
• Mix the garlic and butter together and spread on the toast.
• Put two pieces of toast in the bottom of each bowl and pour the hot soup over.
• Top with the grated cheese and serve at once.

Notes:

• I can give no suggestions for a vegan equivalent of Swiss cheese, unless you happen to be in a very large town, or somewhere sufficiently cosmopolitan to have a wide range of good, vegan cheeses. This is very unlikely, I’m afraid.

Onion soup

This is an old standby, always popular and can be used either as a filling, main-course soup or as a lighter starter, depending on how thick you make it. I give the main course version as standard.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

Serves 2 as a main course

Ingredients

 

3 large onions

salt

2 tbsp olive oil OR butter

2 tbsp flour

1 litre water

1 tsp Marmite

pepper

Method:

• Slice the onions and heat the oil. Add about 1/4 tsp salt, which speeds up the browning. Cook the onions until they’re just on the edge of burning. The richness and flavour of this soup comes from this stage, so don’t be impatient. If you cover the pan, it speeds things up, but stir them frequently so that they don’t actually burn.
• Pour in the water and then add the Marmite, if you’re using it. This adds extra colour and flavour to the soup, but isn’t necessary. (Use Bovril instead – as Conor O’Brien recommends, in Across Three Oceans, but ensure it’s the vegetarian one; or any other yeast extract paste which doesn’t contain sugar.)
• Bring to the boil and then simmer for at least 20 minutes or pressure cook for 5 minutes.
• When the soup is about cooked, taste and season with more salt if it needs it, and generous amounts of black pepper. It can take a lot.
  
• Serve with plenty of bread.

Note:

• If you want to make this soup less substantial, use 1 less onion and leave out the flour.
• To make the soup gluten free, use 2 tbsp gram flour
  

Variations:

• Add a generous measure of brandy or sherry to the bowl when serving.
• Serve with grated (vegan) cheese.
• In France and Italy, the soup often has a slice of bread put on top and cheese grated over this.
• Add 1 cup grated (vegan) cheese and 1/4 cup (vegan) Parmesan cheese to the soup, just before serving. In this case, don’t add salt until the last minute, because the cheese will make it saltier; and don’t reboil – this could make the cheese go stringy.
• Substitute Dijon mustard for the Marmite.

Split pea soup

Split peas are more a cool climate food because for some reason, they don’t keep well in the tropics: after being on board for about a year, they completely refuse to soften, even with pre-soaking and cooked in a pressure cooker. Chana or toor dal might keep better, but I’ve never tried.   However, they would work well in this recipe, which, while pretty much the same as lentil soup, tastes completely different and makes a pleasant change when you’re eating a lot of soup.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 4 to 6 as a starter, 2 for a main course 

 

Ingredients

 

1 tbsp olive oil OR butter

1 onion

1 cup split peas

4 cups water

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Method:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan or pressure cooker. Chop the onion and cook it for about 5 minutes until it has started to brown.
• Stir in the split peas. Add the water and bring to the boil. If you’re using the pressure cooker, cook for 5 minutes; if cooking conventionally, simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Reduce pressure naturally. Using a potato masher, or stick blender, purée the soup. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and plenty of black pepper. Serve very hot, with warm bread and butter.

Variations:

• Dal Soup is a warming alternative. Chop 1 garlic clove and some fresh ginger and fry it with the onion. Stir in 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp coriander and 1 tsp cumin. Add 1/4-1/2 tsp chilli, if you want a soup with a bit of zing. Cook as above. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice just before serving with bread or chapatis.

Potato soup

Potato soup is a favourite of mine. It’s very quick to make, cheap, warming and filling, as well as being excellent cold weather food and delicious with herb bread. Although it’s a simple recipe, it’s full of good things: iron, protein, vitamin B6, potassium, and vitamin C. Potatoes are seriously underrated food. Unfortunately, especially in the tropics, they’re often not the easiest of vegetables to come by, nor the cheapest.   If you want to eat soup in the tropics, however, there are plenty of other recipes about!

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

Serves 2 as a main meal, 4 – 6 as a starter

 

Ingredients

1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil OR 2 tbsp butter
4 potatoes, preferably floury ones
3 cups water
1 cup (vegan) milk
Annie's seasoned salt and (cracked black) pepper
freshly grated nutmeg

Method:

• Dice the onion and put it in a pressure cooker, or saucepan, with the olive oil or butter. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
• Peel the potatoes, if you want to (I don't usually bother, because I like potato skins) – the soup will look more elegant without the skins – and dice them. Add to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes.
• Pour in the water, bring to the boil and pressure cook for 5 minutes OR cook for a further 20 minutes.
• Mash the potatoes thoroughly, to produce a creamy purée. You’ll still have bits of onion (and maybe potato peel) floating around, but that’s the way it goes in low-tech living. If you have a stick blender, you can combine it all a lot more effectively.
• Add the milk and reheat to nearly boiling. Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Ideally, potato soup should be a creamy-white purée, but I don’t usually peel my potatoes, so don’t mind the ‛bits’ from the salt and pepper.
• Put into bowls and grate nutmeg over each.

Variations:

• If you have any fresh herbs, add them with the milk.
• Dried thyme and/or rosemary are also nice additions, but will detract from a white soup. 
• Mix in some cream just before serving.

Spinach soup

The basic recipe is one of Rose Elliot’s, somewhat altered to suit the realities of the sailing life. Spinach is a great and versatile vegetable, when you can get hold of it. Its close relatives, such as Swiss chard or curly kale, can nearly always be substituted for the Real Thing. Sometimes the stalks are a bit tough – the easiest way to test this is to bite a piece off and see how stringy it is when raw. If they seem too much of a good thing, cut them out and just use the leaves. Not infrequently, spinach is sold in large packs and unless you happen to be somewhere cool, it will not keep for more than two or three days. This soup is a good way to finish off spinach, because as with most soups, more or less of one ingredient does not ruin the overall dish.

 

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 2 as a main meal, 4 – 6 as a starter

 

 Ingredients

 

1 tbsp butter OR olive oil

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

A bunch of spinach – about 450 g (1 lb)

4 cups of water

1 tbsp lime or lemon juice

salt and pepper

nutmeg

 

Method: 

• Peel and chop the potato; chop the onion and garlic. 
• Heat the butter or oil in a large pan and add the potato and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, but don’t let them brown. 
• Meanwhile, coarsely chop the spinach. Throw this into the pan and turn it with the other vegetables. Pour in the water and bring to the boil. 
• Reduce the heat until the mixture is just simmering; cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes. 
• Take out a piece of potato and check that it’s thoroughly cooked. If it’s of a floury type, it should be crumbling away. 
• When the potato is thoroughly softened, mash the soup with a potato masher , until it’s thickened. You will be left with bits of onion and spinach floating around, but that’s all right. If you prefer use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  
• Season carefully with salt and pepper; add a very generous grating of nutmeg and stir in the lime juice before serving. 

Variations: 

• This soup’s character can be completely transformed by adding a 400 g /14 oz tin of tomatoes, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp coriander. 
• If potatoes are unavailable, a sweet potato could be substituted. 
• Instead of a potato, use one or two plantains and stir in a tbsp of curry powder/paste. 
• Use canned spinach.
  
• Try serving with a dollop of yoghurt – especially if you’ve made the elegant, liquidised version 
  
  

 

Sweet potato/kumara soup

This is a pretty soup, with a West Indian feel to it.  I prefer to make it with orange or yellow sweet potato or kumara.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 2 for a main course, 4 for a starter 

 

Ingredients 

 

2 large or 1 very large sweet potato/kumara

1 onion

2 tbsp olive oil

2 red peppers

1 litre water

2 tbsp cream of coconut

salt and pepper

lime or lemon juice

Method:

• Peel and dice the sweet potatoes, dice the onion.
• Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and cook the kumara and onion over a medium heat, for about 10 minutes.
• Heat the peppers over a flame until the skins bubble and then peel them. Chop them and add the to the other vegetables and mix well.
• Add the water, bring to the boil and pressure cook for 10 minutes. When the pressure has reduced, mash with a potato masher or stick blender, until the vegetables are reduced to a purée.
• Return to the heat and stir in the cream of coconut. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add lime or lemon juice.

 Variation:

• Add some chilli if you want a spicier soup.

Cream of tomato soup

Most of us were brought up with Heinz or Campbell’s soups, and their Cream of Tomato Soup is the standard by which all are judged. Fresh tomatoes make lovely soup, but if you are trying to achieve that almost-cloying sweetness of Mr Heinz’s comfort food, it’s best obtained via tins. As this makes the recipe particularly appropriate for voyagers, I include it with some satisfaction.

The following recipe is simplicity itself, and actually pretty wholesome, to boot, especially when served with large hunks of freshly-baked bread.

If you’re feeling particularly wealthy, the milk can be replaced with cream. Take care not to boil the soup once the cream has been added, because, particularly if it’s canned or UHT, it may well separate.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 2 for a main meal, 4 as a starter

Ingredients

 

1 small onion

1 large knob of butter OR 2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp gram flour

3 cups water

150 ml (5½ oz) tin of tomato purée

1/8 tsp dried, minced garlic

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp dill (weed)

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

• Dice onion and fry gently in the oil or butter.  
• Remove from the heat and stir in the gram flour. Gradually add the water until all the flour is blended; return to the heat.
• Bring to the boil, adding the tin of tomato purée and stirring to mix it in.
• Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and add the basil and dill, honey and salt. If you prefer to leave the honey out, do so, but it’s necessary for the Heinz effect. Add the milk and pepper.
• Simmer, very gently, for about 10 minutes. Ladle into warm bowls.

Cream of vegetable soup

I created this soup in Greenland, where I used dried vegetables rather than the fresh shown in the following recipe. It was a lovely soup with dried; it’s wonderful with fresh. Should you be in my predicament, I give the dried vegetable version below. The resulting soup is thick and rich: ideal for a main course in cold weather.

There are more cans included than I would normally use, but the baked beans are an essential ingredient because their tomato sauce gives a flavour that is otherwise hard to obtain, while sweetcorn adds extra flavour and texture. The recipe makes loads – probably enough for four people, but like most soup, it only improves with keeping, and in the conditions in which you’d be eating it, there’d by no problems about its going off.

I've tagged this as gluten free - but some makes of baked beans might have flour in them.  Check the label.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

Ingredients

1 leek

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

1 potato

1 turnip

3 carrots

1/4 cup gram flour

6 cups water OR stock

1 tsp sage

2 tsp parsley

6 juniper berries, crushed

1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns

2 tsp seasoned salt

200 ml/7 oz can sweetcorn

400 g/14 oz can baked beans

170 ml/6 oz can cream

Method:

• Wash the leek carefully, slitting down the sides of it to ensure that all the grit and soil are removed.
• Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker or large saucepan, over a low heat.
• Dice the leek, onion, potato, turnip and carrots and put them into the pan. Fry gently for five minutes until the vegetables are softened and well coated with oil.
• Stir in the gram flour, mixing well to remove most of the lumps.
• Pour in the water, turn up the heat and bring to the boil.
• Add the sage, parsley, juniper berries and cracked pepper and seasoned salt.
• If you’re using the pressure cooker, bring to pressure and cook for 8 minutes. Otherwise, turn the heat right down and simmer as gently as you can for 45 minutes.
• Add the cans of sweetcorn and baked beans and bring back to boiling point. Simmer for a further 5 minutes or so.
• Gently stir in the cream, mixing thoroughly. Heat until almost boiling and then serve with warm bread.

Variations:

• For the Greenland version, use 1/4 cup of dried onions and 1 cup of mixed dried vegetables instead of the fresh vegetables. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over the onions and leave them to soak for 30 minutes before adding them to the soup. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the other vegetables and leave them for the same time.
• Extra zing can be added with a tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce, if you use this.
• If you don’t have any cream, mix ½ cup dried milk with ½ cup lukewarm water and add this to the soup.