Full of flavour Broccoli Soup.

Adapted from Melissa Clark's Seared Broccoli and Potato Soup

Serves 2 to 3

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
450 g (1 heads) broccoli, separated into small florets, stems peeled and diced
1 teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 large Spanish onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, more for finishing
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 pound potatoes, peeled, and thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, more to taste
Grated or shaved Parmesan, to finish (optional)
Flaky sea salt, to finish

In a large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoons of oil over high heat. 

Add about a half of the broccoli, just enough so that it covers the bottom of the pan in a single layer without overcrowding. 

Cook broccoli without moving it for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until dark brown on 1 side only (leave the other side bright green). 

Transfer to a big bowl and repeat with remaining broccoli and more oil. 

When all the broccoli has been browned, season with 1 teaspoon salt and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low. 

Add butter + remaining of oil to pan 

onions

garlic 

black and red peppers 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

Cook onion-garlic mixture until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. 

Add potato to the pot with 1 Liter water or veg broth and remaining salt.

Bring to a simmer, cover pot and cook until potato is just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. 

Add broccoli, cover again and cook until tender, another 5 to 10 minutes.

Add lemon zest and roughly purée soup with an immersion or regular blender, leaving some small chunks for texture. 

Stir in lemon juice. 

Finish with grated Parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper and flaky sea salt.

Note: 

If you have a powerful grill, you can be even lazier in applying the half-seared technique. 

Instead of searing in the soup pot, you are grilling.

You can do a whole pan at once in under 5 minutes. 

I cut each head of broccoli lengthways and put the one side, leaving the other side barely cooked.

Same principle, just brown one side without cooking the whole vegetable.

“If it's chilly outside I want deep, rich flavors, so browning the broccoli makes sense.

In warmer times, I like to sweat the broccoli, which provides a cleaner, greener, and altogether lighter broccoli flavour.”

This technique also works well with zucchini and butternut squash, according to Clark, and I could see it doing great things for other vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, or potatoes. 

In every case, the full range of their powers are just waiting to be unlocked, and for once, adding cream will be the last thing you'd think to do.

Link https://www.melissaclark.net

Farro Soup.

Ingredients
Serves: 4
100g farro/barley
125g pinto/haricot beans or other white beans
1 litre vegetable stock
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Parsley
I also added a parmesan cheese rind

Method
Canned pinto beans or if fresh to:
Soak the pinto beans in cold water overnight, and then boil them in 1.5 litres of salted water.
Blend half of the pinto beans, and then set both the whole and the blended beans to one side.
Heat the olive oil in a pan, and fry the onion, carrot and celery until softened.
Add the tomato sauce, and cook for a further two minutes.
Add the farro to the pan, and then pour over the litre of vegetable stock.
Season with salt and rosemary, and then simmer for 40 minutes.
Add the whole pinto beans to the pan, and also stir in the blended pinto beans.
Cook for a further five minutes.
Season, serve and garnish with chopped parsley/basil.

New Potatoes Leek Soup.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
bacon chopped
2 to 3 not large leek stalks, chopped
2 to 3 large potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and sliced into big chunks
1L vegetable broth
2 stems fresh thyme
1 bay leaves
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
lemon juice

for the sour cream:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
pinch of salt

optional toppings:
reserved bacon bits
reserved horseradish sour cream
snipped chives or green onions sliced
grated cheddar cheese

Instructions
soup:
In a soups pan add the olive oil
- add the bacon.
Cook until crispy, and then remove to a paper-towel-lined plate.
Reserve for garnish.

- Saute the leeks, stirring frequently until very soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, vegetable broth, 1 L of water, plus the thyme and bay leaves.

For the Sour Cream:
While the soup cooks, prepare the sour cream.
Add all of the ingredients to a small mixing bowl and whisk well.
It will not be perfectly smooth because horseradish is coarse.
Taste, and add a little more horseradish, if you'd like extra heat.

Finish the soup:
Remove the thyme stems and both bay leaves.
Add a big pinch of salt to the soup, and use an immersion blender to blend the soup to your preferred texture.
Go slowly and stop frequently to scoop out a spoonful of the soup to text for texture.
In a small mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup of the sour cream, and pour a 1/4 cup of the hot soup over it.
Whisk immediately, until smooth
Stir into the soup

Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as necessary.
Add splash of lemon juice to enhance the flavors, if necessary.
Ladle into bowls, and serve with a dollop of the horseradish cream, and bacon toppings.
Notes
My recipe for 1 person!

Farro Lentils Soup.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
50g finely sliced Prosciutto
1 onion finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
2 small carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 (400g) can chopped tomatoes
1 zucchini, diced
100 g (3/4 cup) green lentils
150 g (1 cup) farro
A good handful of freshly chopped fresh Basil
Red hot pepper flakes (optional)
Salt, Pepper

To Serve:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or
Grated Parmesan, to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and cook the prosciutto for a few minutes.
Add the carrot, celery and onion and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and zucchini, continue to cook for 2 minutes.
Add the can of diced tomatoes.
Season with salt & pepper, and half a teaspoon of chilli flakes (optional).
Add the equivalent of 3 to 4 cans of water.
Bring to a simmer.
Add the farro and green lentils.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and continue to cook for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables, farro and lentils are tender.
If the soup is too thick, add more water and season accordingly.
Serve with leaves of basil, grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Shchi - Russian Cabbage Soup.

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, sauté onion, carrot and chopped celery stirring frequently (Sofritto recipe!).
Add 1 small red pepper diced and sauté about 3 minutes, stirring frequently (Optional but I like).
Add shredded cabbage and sauté about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add bay leaf, black peppercorns to taste and 8 cups (or 2 L) hot stock - vegetable or chicken...beef does the job too.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
Add 1 peeled and chopped potato + 1 whole potato to soup and bring back to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add the chopped 3 fresh tomatoes or undrained canned tomatoes or 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and bring back to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove bay leaf and peppercorns from the pot.
Some cooks leave the peppercorns in.
Grab the whole potato from soup, crushed it with a fork, and sent the mashed potato back to the soup - stirring.
Add crushed garlic before turning off the heat.
Serve soup in warm bowls with dill and sour cream (optional) as garnish.
Accompany with rye bread, if desired.

Note:
Adding the ingredients to the same pot in stages allows you to build up flavors in a short period of time.
feel free add:
- Chili flakes
- Parsley root and leaf.
- The green or savoy cabbage (green is not quite as soft as the savoy).
- Bacon, chorizo or meatball bring a rich, porky, smoky flavor to the soup.
- Turnip or swede a bit.
- Beans

Shchi from sauerkraut.

Shchi - is a Russian style cabbage soup.
When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, while soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi.
Very little is required for cabbage soup.
In my case - actually sauerkraut, quite sour, as I love.
A handful of dried mushrooms, a pair of onions and a pot.

Cut onion into squares 5-7mm and fry in vegetable oil in a saucepan with a thick bottom, add cabbage and fry more for 10-15 minutes.
Then put pot in the oven - 150C for 40 minutes without cover.
During this time the cabbage was browned a bit.
At the time, put mushrooms in cold water, and boil - you can have quite a decent dark broth.
Pour the broth with the mushrooms into the cabbage, stirred it, covered the pot with a lid and returned it to the oven 150C for half an hour.
After half an hour lower the temperature to 110C and held for another 2 hours.
Then turn off the oven, but did not take out the pot - left it till morning.

Sprinkle with dill and ate it with inexpressible pleasure.
A magnificent thing!

My allotment Ribollita - a leftover vegetable soup.

Ribollita in Italian means re-boiled, and simply refers to a leftover vegetable soup, mixed with stale bread and then reheated.

My recipe is more like a guideline since the soup has been traditionally cooked with pretty much whatever was available from the vegetable garden.

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 cloves of minced garlic
Salt and ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. tomato paste or 1/3 cup of canned diced tomatoes or 1 fresh tomato
1/2 cup cooked or canned cannellini beans
1L vegetable or chicken stock
250-300g chopped kale
4 large, thick slices whole-grain bread
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 thyme sprigs (leaves only)
crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf

optianal:
Add fresh vegetables:
Sweet potatoes or butternut squash (cook before adding)
Savoy cabbage
Swiss chard
Zucchini
Leeks (white parts only), sliced
...freshly grated Parmesan

How i did it:
- Start by putting the dried beans in salted, cold water – about five times as much water as beans by weight.
Now heat the beans to a gentle simmer – keep the beans at a simmer, never a hard boil.
The time of cooking really varies on the bean variety and there is no better method than… tasting.
Cannellini beans usually take way more than an hour – and possibly over three hours.
When the beans are cooked, drain them, reserving the cooking water.
In a blender or food processor, puree about 3/4 of the beans and return the bean purée to the cooking water with remaining whole beans.
OR: Drain the beans; if they’re canned, rinse them as well.

- Meanwhile, prepare the soffritto: put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
When it’s hot, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the thyme leaves, the remaining fresh vegetables, the tomato paste, the bean purée + whole beans (with its water if You like), along with an additional 1L of stock.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the soup bubbles steadily; cover and cook, stirring once or twice to break up the tomatoes, until the flavors meld, 15 to 20 minutes.

Fish out and discard rosemary and thyme stems, if you like, and stir in kale.
Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add bread in large pieces and wait.
Wait, wait and wait again.
...so the bread essentially falls apart and thickens the soup.
The soup should be thick but not dry, so add a little more cooking water if you need to loosen it.
Then cook again for 5 minutes until boiling but only before serving.
OR: Let soup sit for at least a few hours, ideally overnight.
Then, reheat the soup, boiling for a few minutes at low heat.
Stir, add olive oil and eat.

You can scatter red onion slices over the top, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Parmesan if you like.

There are a few boundaries for your creativity:
Ribollita was originally developed as a way to utilize stale bread.
- cook the dried beans without soaking them: “slowly.”
If you cook the fresh beans and add rosemary and salt in the cooking water, you can use some of that water to thicken and flavor the soup.
Another trick is to use a hand blender to blend sauteed garlic cloves, a some cannellini beans and fried sage together and then add that paste to the soup.
Since cooking the beans takes so long, cook the beans the first day (maybe in the evening, while doing other stuff) and then prepare the soup the next day, which then serve on the third day (!) - the taste will be at its peak the following day.
If you don't have cannellini beans you can substitute:
- White (navy) beans
- Flageolets

- Try to keep the same proportion of vegetables to bread.
Cavolo nero should always be present for an authentic taste.
It is excellent when made with swiss chard, cavolo nero and good Italian stale bread.

- Don't stint on the herbs because the white beans absorb flavor.

- Don't put in the microwave.
Ribollita means "boiled again".

- Cook early in the morning or better the day before.

- Ribollita | authentic recipe | Italian recipes | Tuscan | soup

- Canned Or Dried Beans? 5 Ideas When Buying Beans - DrWeil.com

Mushroom Barley Soup.

- Mushroom Barley Soup - Comforting Deli-Style Soup Recipe

Artichoke Soup by Memorie di Angelina

- Zuppa di cardi (Cardoon Soup) | Memorie di Angelina

White Bean, Chorizo and Cavolo Nero Soup.

A chunky autumn soup-come-stew, made with white beans, paprika-laced chorizo sausage and Italian black cabbage leaves.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion - halved and thinly sliced
pinch of dried chillies
half can of 400g Beans in Water
100g smoked dry-cured bacon lardons
100g spicy cooking chorizo - skinned and sliced
1 large garlic cloves - crushed
two small peeled floury potatoes, such as King Edwards: 1 - cut into small chunks, 1 - whole
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
100g cavolo nero leaves - washed
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the casserole.
Add the bacon lardons and fry for 3 minutes until lightly browned.
Add the chorizo sausage and fry for another 1- 2 minutes until these too are lightly browned.
Add the onion and dried chillies, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until soft but not browned.
Add the garlic and fry gently for another minute, make sure that the garlic does not brown.
Stir in the potatoes (1 - cut + 1 - whole), beans, stock.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are almost soft.

Meanwhile, slice the green leaves of the cavolo nero away from either side of the thin stalks.
Discard the stalks, bunch up the leaves and slice them across into 2.5cm wide strips.
Stir the cabbage into the soup, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Mash whole potato from soup with fork and stir in.
Uncover and simmer for another 2 - 3 minutes until the cabbage leaves are tender, the beans have heated through and the potatoes are just beginning to break apart.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and serve sprinkled with some chopped flat leaf parsley.

Cook's Notes
- If use dried white beans, such as haricot or cannellini - soaked overnight
Drain the soaked beans and add them to the pan with 1 litre of fresh cold water.
Bring to a simmer, part-cover and cook gently for 45 minutes - 1 hour until the beans are tender.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt, simmer for a further 5 minutes, then tip them into a colander set over a bowl to collect the cooking liquid.
Measure this and make up to 600 ml with water if necessary.
If more, return it to the pan and boil until it has reduced to the required amount.

- Seek out cooking chorizos that are sold whole from the deli counter rather than the pre-sliced chorizo sold in packets from the chilled cabinet.
The whole raw cured sausages have a much better flavour and texture for cooking.
- Any bright green leafy vegetable would work well in this soup like; kale, Savoy cabbage, Swiss chard or spinach.
Add to the soup and just cook until wilted down or tender.
This soup would work well with British butter beans.

Recipe adapted from:
- White Bean, Chorizo and Cavolo Nero Soup | Le Creuset

- Cavolo nero, meatball & cannellini soup recipe | BBC Good Food

- Italian Soup | Vegetables Recipes | Jamie Oliver Recipes

- Nigel Slater's classic ribollita | Food | The Guardian
Ribollita is a famous Tuscan bread soup, a hearty potage made with bread and vegetables. There are many variations but the main ingredients always include leftover bread, cannellini beans, lacinato kale, cabbage, and inexpensive vegetables such as carrot, beans, chard, celery, potatoes and onion.

Turkish lentil soup.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 carrot
1 tsp cumin
pinch of Smoked Sweet Paprika
pinch of chili flakes
1 tbsp tomato paste
half cup of lentils, red or green
4 tablespoons bulgur
chopped fresh or tinned tomatoes
1 tsp dried mint
Salt to taste
A few sprigs fresh mint for garnish
1 lemon when serving

1 spoon (in the original 2) of olive oil - sauté finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic and onion.
Add the carrot, cut into small cubes, and then over a teaspoon of cumin, Smoked Sweet Paprika and chili flakes, as well as a spoon of tomato paste.
When the carrot is soft, add red lentils and pour 1.0 liters of broth or water.
Cook for 20 minutes on low heat until the lentils are cooked.
Add 4 tablespoons of bulgur and finely chopped fresh or tinned tomatoes.
Salt, pepper - boil for another 5 minutes and that's it!
For serving, it is recommended to beat the butter with 0.5 tsp of dry mint and add to the soup.
Or fresh mint leaves grind in a mortar and mix with yogurt.

- Lentil and Bulgur Soup - Give Recipe

Recipes - Hairy Bikers.

- Sausage, chicken and squash traybake recipe - BBC Food
...a flat, usually chewy cake which is baked in a tray, cut into small squares, and served as a biscuit.

- Lamb shanks and flageolet beans - Recipes - Hairy Bikers
*If you forget to soak your beans, try boiling them unsoaked for 5 minutes, then leave them to stand for an hour. That should give the same effect.

- Fennel orange salad with harissa dressing | Lucie Loves Food
Fennel orange salad with harissa dressing (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)

2 medium size fennel bulbs, trimmed, woody central core part removed and thinly sliced
2-3 oranges peeled (white parts out) and cut into 5cm chunks.
1/2 radicchio washed and thinly sliced (escarole or endive also will also works well)
About 20 roasted salted almost slightly crushed with a mortar
Handfull of raisins or sultanas (or a mix of both).

For the harissa dressing
1 tablespoon harissa
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 white wine vinegar
1 pinch ground coriander
3 tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

- Orange, fennel & rocket salad recipe | BBC Good Food
1 fennel bulb
2 large oranges
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 big handfuls rocket
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

- Red Lentil and Harissa Soup - Recipes - Hairy Bikers

Kharcho - Caucasian mutton soup.

Mutton lamb or beef brisket.
Lamb which should be cut into small pieces.
We warm the thick thick-bottomed pan and throw mutton into it without any butter, i.e. dry.
“Dry” stewing is generally one of the characteristic methods of Georgian cuisine, often applied to chicken.
The meat should browned for about 15 minutes, after which finely chopped onion is poured into the pan and stewed with the lamb for another 15 minutes.
The ratio of meat and onion is 1:1.
After stewing onions to an intense smell, boiling water is poured into the pan (2:1 to the total weight of meat and onions) and cooked over low heat for about an hour.
An hour later, rice is poured — about half a cup into 2 liters of water — they are stirred and boiled for another 20 minutes.
Garlic is pounded with salt and stinging chilli pepper, black pepper is crushed separately - 8-10 peas, cumin and coriander - in a dessert spoon, finely cut a large bunch of Coriander and put everything in the kharcho 2–3 minutes until ready, then add half a cup of tkemali (Georgian sour plum sauce made of cherry plums) or a quarter cup of red wine vinegar or dried plums.

So:
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter and brown the lamb cubes on all sides.
Add the chopped onion, tomato paste and garlic, and sauté 2 minutes, adding more butter, if necessary.
Add the water or stock and 1 teaspoon optional salt.
Bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 1 1/2 hours.
Add dried plums and rinsed and drained rice.
Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
If soup becomes too thick, add more stock or water.
Serve in heated bowls and garnish with chopped dill, if desired.

- Beef Soup (Kharcho) Recipe - NatashasKitchen.com

- Kharcho - Wikipedia

- The 10 Dishes That Will Make You Fall in Love With Georgian Food | Serious Eats

Farro Bean Soup from Mimi Thorisson.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 ounces finely sliced Prosciutto
1 onion finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
2 small carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 (14 Ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 zucchini, diced
100 g/ 3/4 cup green lentils
150 g/ 1 cup farro

A good handful of freshly chopped fresh Basil
Red hot pepper flakes (optional)
Salt & Pepper
To Serve:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or
Grated Parmesan, to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and cook the prosciutto for a few minutes.
Add the carrot, celery and onion and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and zucchini, continue to cook for 2 minutes.
Add the can of diced tomatoes.
Season with salt & pepper, and half a teaspoon of chilli flakes (optional).
Add the equivalent of 3 to 4 cans of water.
Bring to a simmer.
Add the farro and green lentils.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and continue to cook for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables, farro and lentils are tender.
If the soup is too thick, add more water and season accordingly.
Serve with leaves of basil, grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Zuppa di orzo (Italian Barley Soup).

- Zuppa di orzo (Italian Barley Soup) | Memorie di Angelina

Sorrel soup.

- Sorrel soup recipe - Telegraph
A traditonal sorrel soup recipe, with potatoes and cream.
Serves 6
4 tbsp butter
Olive oil
10 spring onions, chopped
½ bunch parsley, stalks and leaves finely chopped
500g floury potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2cm cubes
1 litre chicken stock
250g sorrel leaves, washed
2 egg yolks, beaten
200ml sour cream, plus extra to serve
Chives and fennel tops, to garnish

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and add a splash of oil.
Fry the onions and parsley with a pinch of salt until they are soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the potatoes.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are completely tender.
Roughly chop the sorrel leaves and add to the pan, then take off the heat.

Transfer to a food processor (or use a hand blender) and blend until smooth.
Season to taste.

Beat the egg yolks and sour cream together in a bowl, then stir in two tablespoons of hot soup – you are doing this to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Very slowly whisk the egg and cream mix into the soup.
Serve warm or chilled with a few snipped chives and fennel herbs.

Egg Drop Soup.

- Egg Drop Soup Recipe | Serious Eats

- How To Make Egg Drop Soup | Kitchn

Gingered Red Pepper and Tomato Soup.

- Gingered Red Pepper and Tomato Soup - The Kosher Baker:

'via Blog this'

"soup" on Serious Eats.

- "soup" on Serious Eats | Serious Eats:

'via Blog this'

New England Clam Chowder.

New England Clam Chowder recipe | Epicurious.com:

'via Blog this'