Cooking club again. This time we made Phổ, a Vietnamese soup with beef and flat rice noodles, which is popular for breakfast all over Vietnam and any time of day in the north. Normally the stock is cooked overnight but because of time constraints we made a pressure cooker version adapted from various recipes. To make enough stock to fill…… Continue reading phổ
Category: soup
black bean soup
Spiced and a little spicy, this hearty soup will satisfy vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. To make this soup first soak ⅔ of a cup of dry black beans in 3 cups of water overnight. Cook the beans until soft (this only takes 10 minutes in a pressure cooker). Dice 1 onion, 1 red bell pepper and 2 sticks of…… Continue reading black bean soup
chicken meatball and risoni soup
A chicken noodle soup fragrant with rosemary and lemon. To make the meatballs combine 500g (17 oz) of chicken mince with 1 crushed clove of garlic, the finely grated zest of ½ a lemon, 1 teaspoon of finely diced fresh rosemary, 2-3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Form into walnut-sized…… Continue reading chicken meatball and risoni soup
sausage and tortellini soup
A hearty Italian meal in a soup. You will need some good Italian sausages for this soup. Remove the casings from 2-3 sausages and fry the meat, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Add a diced onion, 2 chopped carrots and 2 chopped stems of celery and continue to cook until the onion…… Continue reading sausage and tortellini soup
tomato, sweet potato and bacon soup
A simple soup which is lovely and creamy with smoky bacon in every mouthful. For an excellent pasta sauce omit the water and use a potato masher. Take 2 large rashers of bacon and chop them into small pieces. Fry them on low to medium heat until the fat begins to render. Add a large…… Continue reading tomato, sweet potato and bacon soup
hot and sour soup
This Szechuan soup makes a wonderfully satisfying meal. Take a small packet of bean thread noodles and soak them in cold water. Now take some pieces of black fungus or wood-ear fungus (available in Asian grocery stores) and cook them until tender. Meanwhile bring 1½ litres (50 fl oz) of stock to boil. Remove the…… Continue reading hot and sour soup
hot borscht
The recipe for this winter-warming Ukrainian-style borscht comes from PLEASE TO THE TABLE The Russian Cookbook by Anya von Bremzen & John Welchman. This quick version without meat and can be made with chicken or vegetable stock. Melt 60g (2 oz) of butter in a large soup pot and gently fry 1 large finely diced…… Continue reading hot borscht
cauliflower velvet soup
Aptly named, the ‘velvet’ in the title lured me to try this Sylvana Franco recipe. Place a saucepan over medium heat adding 3 cups of milk, 2 roughly chopped cloves of garlic, the white part of a bunch of spring onions and a teaspoon each of cumin seed and ground turmeric. Wash and cut a whole cauliflower into…… Continue reading cauliflower velvet soup
roasted pumpkin soup
It’s winter here, the perfect time for soup! This one, based on a friend’s recipe, is a delicious deviation from the more usual pumpkin soups. First roast pieces of nice sweet pumpkin and whole onions (coated in a little olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper) in a moderate oven until they are soft.…… Continue reading roasted pumpkin soup
tortilla soup
Today I’m making tortilla soup. Usually our left-over tortillas are transformed into quesadillas but this time I’ve made sure to keep a few. First there’s the chicken. This is optional, but I’m making this as a substantial main meal so I’m poaching some chicken in cold water. I find that bringing the heat up slowly…… Continue reading tortilla soup
michelle picker cooks 