Spicy Noodle Soup Packed with Greens

So I started my week with a cough, which has slowly but surely evolved in to the mother of all colds. Needless to say I’m desperate for a little R&R. What with copious amounts of shorthand practice and court visits filling my time (for those of you who weren't sure I’m a trainee journalist rather then a criminal), rest and relaxation days have been few and far between, but thankfully I have found solace in food, and particularly soup. 

This soup is perfect for those needing a good dose of vitamins to ward off all those winter nasties, the addition of the noodles saving this meal from becoming too health conscience. Add as much ginger and sweet chilli sauce as you like, and be sure to add more if you, like me, want to blast away a cold. 

This dish is also stupidly quick to put together, all the more important when you feel like your head’s going to explode...

Serves 1

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

half red onion, peeled and finely sliced

1/2 thumb ginger, peeled and finely chopped

handful of sugar snap peas

1 spring onion, sliced

handful of bean sprouts

two leaves of pak choi

straight to wok noodles for one

a bowls worth of chicken or vegetable stock

tsp malt vinegar

slosh of soy sauce 

1 to 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce (depending on taste)

large pinch of sugar

finely sliced cucumber, to serve

coriander leaves, to serve

1. Warm up the stock and add the vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce and sugar. Keep on a low heat whilst you prepare the greens.
2. Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan, add the noodles and toss for 1 minute. Then add the remaining ingredients and toss for a further minute. You want the veg slightly charred but still crunchy. 
3. Put the veg and noodles in the bowl and pour over the stock. Serve with a sprinkling of coriander and scatter of sliced cucumber.

Chorizo and Chickpea Soup

I am fast becoming a big fan of soup. It’s strange really as I’ve never been big on mushed indistinct food stuffs in the past, but since I’ve been back at university and the weather has turned so cold it’s the first thing I turn to when I’m wanting something warming and packed with lots of good things. I think the fact that I always add a home baked roll with wedges of goat butter into the mix makes the whole thing even more appealing.

That this soup came out so well is a bit of a fluke really. I always like to have a chorizo on the go, it perks up even the most boring of dishes, and the other ingredients were knocking about at the back of the cupboard. The result is a hearty meaty soup with a slight kick, and enough chickpeas to make a filling supper. 

Being a DIY job I’m not ashamed to say that this soup is a work in progress. On its own it’s great, but I don’t think it would hurt too much to throw in some more veg, a little chopped celery or some peppers perhaps.

Serves 2

1 cured chorizo sausage, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

a pinch of paprika

a heaped teaspoon of dried oregano

200g tinned chopped tomatoes

200g tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

500ml vegetable stock

salt and pepper

small handful basil leaves, sliced into strips

1. In a large saucepan that has a lid, fry the chorizo on a medium heat until it begins to release its oil and starts to crisp.
2. Add the garlic, onion, paprika and onion and cook on a low heat until the onion has turned translucent. Stir occasionally.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then add the stock and chickpeas and bring to a boil.
4. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Season and add the basil, then simmer with the lid on for a further 10 minutes or so.

Spiced Parsnip and Apple Soup

A slight diversion from affordable mid week suppers, this Spiced Parsnip and Apple Soup is by no means expensive to make, but is probably more suited to lunch. If I’m being honest, my photos don’t really do this one justice, I’ll admit I was more interested in eating it then taking photographs of it. I made this soup for a lunch date with Rose, and I think she will agree it was really rather tasty, the empty bowls and six devoured petit pains bearing testament to this. The best thing about this soup was that both the flavours of parsnip and apple shone through rather then one dominating. Delicious and really easy to make too.

Adapted from Bill’s Cook Eat Smile

Serves 2/3

2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks

a drizzle of sunflower oil

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 small stick celery, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 potato, peeled and cut into small chunks

2 parsnips, peeled and diced

1 tsp curry powder

750ml vegetable stock

½ tbsp honey

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Toss the cubed apple in the sunflower oil. Place in a baking tray and roast for around 10 minutes until soft. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a deep pan, add the diced vegetables and cook over a low heat with the lid on for about 20 minutes.
2. Stir in the curry powder and cook for 3 minutes, then add the stock. Bring to the boil, add the apples and honey and simmer for 5 minutes. Blitz with a hand held blender (or wait to cool a little before carefully liquidizing in a blender).
3. Season and serve with crusty bread.

Leekie Soup

Since when is it December?! The last few months have just gone so quickly, I’m at my 100^th post and have almost been cooking a year now – how time flies. Not that I’m complaining, being a Christmas-aholic, the countdown has officially begun, and I cannot wait to hand in my last essay next Thursday and let the celebrations start with our Christmas Party. In the meantime, I’ve been keeping myself sane whilst essay researching and writing with cooking lots of lovely winter warmers. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this season’s food is definitely the best, give me casseroles and soups over salads any day.

This leek and potato soup comes from Bill’s Cook Eat Smile, which never fails to amaze me with easy seasonal recipes that are always delicious. If you’ve got a spare couple of hours to chop and stir and check then it really is worth it making home made soup, and quite frankly it’s therapeutic too. I have become increasingly disillusioned with shop bought soups, which promise so much and deliver very little (although if you really are looking for a speedy lunch then the best I’ve found are from Glorious Soups with their tempting alphabet of flavours). Bill’s soup is called Cock-a-Leekie, but is without the chicken, so is really just leekie. The addition of half the chopped vegetables after blending makes this soup feel like more of a hearty meal, and served with crusty bread and butter, it makes the perfect lunch for a cold winters day.

Adapted from Bill’s Cook Eat Smile

Serves 2

½ tbsp olive oil

½ onion, chopped

1 large leek, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

½ tbsp butter

1 large or 2 small sticks of celery, chopped

small bunch of fresh sage, chopped

500ml hot vegetable stock

½ tbsp honey

1. Heat the oil in a large deep pan, and fry the onion until translucent. Add the butter and when that’s melted, add half the potatoes, leeks, celery and sage. Cook gently for 25 minutes over a low heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Blitz carefully with a hand held blender (allow to cool slightly if using a food processor) until smooth.
3. Add the remaining vegetables and the honey, and season. Put the lid back on and simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle over a little more chopped sage and serve with crusty bread.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

I, and the rest of the world, have been suffering with a cold over the weekend and really didn’t feel like cooking. Luckily, Ben stepped in and cooked the weekly roast, he’s better at doing it then me anyway, and I was left with some lovely leftovers to work with on Monday. Still feeling a tad under the weather I decided to go for Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, chicken soup being the perfect antidote to a cold, and all the vegetables providing lots of lovely nutrients. I bought a Tesco stir fry pack, which included a chili, and a packet of bean sprouts to add crunch, but you can throw just about anything in.

Serves 3

1 litre chicken stock

around 200g noodles (or spaghetti if you’re desperate)

200ml coconut milk

3 x desert spoons fish sauce

4 cm chunk of peeled and chopped ginger

1 deseeded and chopped red chili

2 tsp turmeric

couple handfuls of shredded leftover chicken

vegetables (such as spinach leaves, curly kale, spring onion, mange tout, tender stem broccoli, mushrooms etc.)

juice of 1 lime

fresh coriander

1. Put the hot chicken stock into a deep pan on the hob, and cook the noodles according to manufacturers instructions.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the stock, except the vegetables, stir and bring to the boil.
3. Add the vegetables, and when they are tender, add the drained noodles. Stir everything together, and serve with torn coriander leaves and a spritz of lime juice.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £5

Kitchen Requirements: BASIC (JUST ONE BIG PAN)