Soups

Someone on another NG I read posted a message asking for home made soup
recipes, and that made me think about how really nice a good pot of
'comfort soup' would be! What's your favourite, easy-to-make,
just-leave-it-to-cook, warm, comforting soup? Do you do anything
different to make yours special? I sent the poster my favourite: split
pea and ham! Mine's not a special recipe, but I do like it!

I soak the split peas (yellow or green, doesn't really matter) overnight
in water that started out boiling. About an hour or two before I want
to eat, I sauté an onion and a clove or two of garlic (all diced) in a
little butter, cut a couple of lean gammon steaks into cubes (or smoked
bacon or lardons or pancetta cubes or whatever. Something vaguely
bacony, anyway) and add those to the onions and stir fry for a bit.
Drain and rinse off the peas, add them to the pot and mix everything up
together. Cover with chicken or vegetable stock, cook until the peas
are tender enough for your liking and season to taste. I like to cook
mine to mush rather than blending any of it in a blender or with a hand
mixer. Saves a bit of washing up! heh If you're feeling extra
decadent, a little good cheddar grated into it it also nice (but be sure
not to over salt if you're adding cheese after seasoning).

That's it really... nosh with some good, crusty bread.

-Jen

Jen P. wrote:
> Someone on another NG I read posted a message asking for home made soup
> recipes, and that made me think about how really nice a good pot of
> 'comfort soup' would be! What's your favourite, easy-to-make,
> just-leave-it-to-cook, warm, comforting soup? Do you do anything
> different to make yours special? I sent the poster my favourite: split
> pea and ham! Mine's not a special recipe, but I do like it!
>
> I soak the split peas (yellow or green, doesn't really matter) overnight
> in water that started out boiling. About an hour or two before I want
> to eat, I sauté an onion and a clove or two of garlic (all diced) in a
> little butter, cut a couple of lean gammon steaks into cubes (or smoked
> bacon or lardons or pancetta cubes or whatever. Something vaguely
> bacony, anyway) and add those to the onions and stir fry for a bit.
> Drain and rinse off the peas, add them to the pot and mix everything up
> together. Cover with chicken or vegetable stock, cook until the peas
> are tender enough for your liking and season to taste. I like to cook
> mine to mush rather than blending any of it in a blender or with a hand
> mixer. Saves a bit of washing up! heh If you're feeling extra
> decadent, a little good cheddar grated into it it also nice (but be sure
> not to over salt if you're adding cheese after seasoning).
>
> That's it really... nosh with some good, crusty bread.
>
> -Jen

Split pea comes out really well in the crockpot. I add a bag a peas, a
chopped up large onion, sliced carrots, a cubed potato, 2 cloves of
garlic, a ham bone with meat or some cubed ham. Add water to an inch
from the top and let it go all day.

George wrote:
> Split pea comes out really well in the crockpot. I add a bag a peas, a
> chopped up large onion, sliced carrots, a cubed potato, 2 cloves of
> garlic, a ham bone with meat or some cubed ham. Add water to an inch
> from the top and let it go all day.

Hmm, that might be worth trying when I get my slow cooker back out of
storage! I could have it during the week instead of only on weekends
or via leftovers.

Thanks for the idea!

-Jen

My fall-back:

Curried Chicken/Turkey Soup

chicken poached in broth
onions (lots)
celery "
rice
(optional)1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
(optional)canned diced tomatoes, drained
(optional) hot dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
curry powder

Serve hot with crusty bread, corn muffins, or biscuits.

gloria p

Jen wrote on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:10:28 +0000:

, cut a couple of lean
> gammon steaks into cubes (or smoked bacon or lardons or
> pancetta cubes or whatever. Something vaguely bacony, anyway)

Gammon is some sort of smoked pork I guess, I think I've heard the word
before but don't remember what it is.
--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

In article <hen7j5$1rk$1@news.eternal-september.org>,
"James Silverton" <not.jim.silverton@verizon.net> wrote:

> Jen wrote on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:10:28 +0000:
>
> , cut a couple of lean
> > gammon steaks into cubes (or smoked bacon or lardons or
> > pancetta cubes or whatever. Something vaguely bacony, anyway)
>
> Gammon is some sort of smoked pork I guess, I think I've heard the word
> before but don't remember what it is.

According to my dictionary:

ham that has been cured or smoked like bacon

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
dabel@sonic.net

Jen P. wrote:
> George wrote:
>> Split pea comes out really well in the crockpot. I add a bag a peas, a
>> chopped up large onion, sliced carrots, a cubed potato, 2 cloves of
>> garlic, a ham bone with meat or some cubed ham. Add water to an inch
>> from the top and let it go all day.
>
> Hmm, that might be worth trying when I get my slow cooker back out of
> storage! I could have it during the week instead of only on weekends
> or via leftovers.
>

Thats what I like about that method the most. There is minimal effort to
prepare it and you have great soup waiting when you get home.

> Thanks for the idea!
>
> -Jen

gloria.p wrote:
> My fall-back:
>
> Curried Chicken/Turkey Soup

Oh, that looks interesting! I've never thought of making a curry sort
of soup before (although, the curries I've had at some restaurants might
as well have been... heh). I might give that a go when I'm off for my
Christmas hols! Cheers, Gloria

James Silverton <not.jim.silverton@verizon.net> wrote:

> Jen wrote on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:10:28 +0000:
>
> , cut a couple of lean
> > gammon steaks into cubes (or smoked bacon or lardons or
> > pancetta cubes or whatever. Something vaguely bacony, anyway)
>
> Gammon is some sort of smoked pork I guess, I think I've heard the word
> before but don't remember what it is.

Gammon is, in this context, ham cured like bacon. It does not have to
be smoked and, in fact, usually isn't (or else it tends to be called
other names). It is an English, as opposed to American, thing. It can
also mean the lower piece of flitch of bacon, hind leg including.

Victor