Cold weather begs for warm, steamy dishes and these soups will give you enough variety in texture and flavour so you don’t feel bored. Plus, you can whip up a couple and freeze them for work lunches. Score! Start with a good-quality chicken or vegetable stock (plus, some chilli, garlic and onion) and build up from there.
Cauli Soup
Ingredients:
— 1 Large onion, chopped
— 1 Clove garlic, chopped
— 1 Red chilli, finely chopped
— 1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
— 1 Head cauliflower, chopped
— 2 to 3 Cups vegetable stock
— Parsley, for garnishing
Method:
1/ In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, garlic and chilli in the olive oil.
2/ Add the cauliflower, cover with stock and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, until the cauliflower is soft.
3/ Blend with a hand blender until creamy. Garnish and serve.
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Spinach And Broc Soup
Ingredients:
— 1 Large onion, chopped
— 1 Clove garlic, chopped
— 1 Red chilli, finally chopped
— 1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
— 1 Head broccoli, roughly chopped
— 1 Bag baby spinach, divided in half
— 3 to 4 Cups vegetable stock
— Half a handful of fresh basil
Method:
1/ In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, garlic and chilli in the olive oil. Add the broccoli and half the bag of baby spinach then cover with vegetable stock. Cook over medium heat until broccoli is soft, about 30 minutes.
2/ Remove from the heat. Add the rest of the baby spinach and some basil and blend with a handheld blender. It’ll go bright green. Serve with some chopped spring onions and extra basil. Garnish with extra chilli (optional).
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Spicy Butternut Soup
Ingredients:
— 1 Medium-sized butternut, chopped
— 1 Large onion, chopped
— 5 Cloves garlic, whole, unpeeled
— 1 tbsp Masala curry spice
— 1 Chilli, chopped
— 1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
— 1 Cup vegetable stock
— Half tin coconut cream
— Coriander, for garnishing
Method:
1/ Preheat the oven to 180° C. Place all the ingredients, besides the stock, coconut cream and coriander, in a roasting pan and roast for 40 minutes until cooked through and slightly charred. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
2/ Squeeze the sweet, soft garlic flesh out of the cloves and place with the rest of the ingredients in a large saucepan. Add the cup of stock and coconut cream.
3/ Using a hand blander, blitz all the ingredients together and reheat until desired temperature is reached. Garnish with coriander.
Looking for something a little sweeter? Try these four sweet treat recipes.
These recipes originally appeared in the June issue of Women’s Health South Africa.
