O D E   TO SOUP.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..

For breakfast, lunch, dinner + snacks.

Every single one of you, my dear peeps, has heard me wax lyrically about the benefits of soup.

In all it’s iterations, soup is nutritious, seasonal, flexible, portable, freezable, economical and IMHO, best served warm/hot. (Cold soups ARE a thing, and there are some delish ones.. may do a Summer post on these babies).

Best of all, soups are #Healthy.. the ultimate work smart/not hard #FoodHack.

Soup is a VIBE, it’s a riff that responds to

What’s in the fridge, what’s in the veggie box, + what’s languishing unloved in the crisper that needs using (ZERO #FoodWaste!)

This baby has..

TEN vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, eggplant, zucchini, tomato, chilli, capsicum, spinach, garlic)

SPICES (smoked paprika, salt, pepper, tumeric)

HERBS (rogue parsley from the garden)

STOCK (homemade chicken because I had it in the freezer)

LEGUMES/GRAINS (can of chickpeas and half cup of red rice I found in the freezer)

MEAT (some mystery sausages in freezer that turned out to be turkey ones from the Sausage guy at the local market).

Need a method?

Big pot, medium heat, good slug of olive oil

Chopped onion, carrot and celery, stirred till onion gets a little colour (a CLASSIC cheffy thing called a MIREPOIX that acts as a flavour base for a zillion recipes. A technique to add into your cooking #TootSweet)

Chuck in rest of chopped veggies, stir around, let them catch a bit on the bottom of the pot to get some brown bits.. gently, gently

Chuck a tablespoon of paprika and tumeric in and stir around again.

Throw in raw sausies, grains/legumes and add stock to cover, probs a couple of litres.

Stir up all the bits from the bottom.. these are little flavour bombs.

Lid on and let this baby simmer. LOW HEAT.

I actually put the pot on top of the fire for about 3 hours.

Salt and pepper to taste.

I have eaten a bowl (or two) for the last 3 days with a slab of homemade sourdough smeared with pesto or avocado. A really solid meal, filling, nutritious and bloody #Yummy.

That’s it. Not hard, hey.

The best thing?? It gets tastier as the days go by. Will happily sit in fridge for 3 days and if there is any left, chuck it into the freezer.

The #TCMPerspective says..

FLAVOURS: sweet, pungent, neutral

BENEFITS: Spleen, Stomach, Heart, Lungs, Kidneys

ACTION: Tonifying AF* (NOT a classical action)