CATALAN SOUP RECIPE

This spicy catalan soup recipe is a soup of contrasting textures. The vegetables and sausage are diced but kept whole. The soup is not put into a blender, so the stock is a thin delicious liquid. You can of course alter this if this texture is not to your taste.

These are some of the ingredients for the Catalan soup, carrots, turnip, onion and potato.

This shows the chorizo sausage chopped into small pieces before going into the soup. This sausage is a spicy sausage that we get in the UK from Spain. I expect that the same can be obtained in different parts of the world or use a substitute which is spicy, hot and a good firm texture. I got a German version at a German Christmas market in the city of Manchester. It had a superb flavour but Germany is well known for its large variety of salami and sausages.

This shows the completed Catalan Soup Recipe. It is good with chunky brown bread and a great winter warmer.

Ingredients

1.5 litres--3 pints of beef or vegetable stock--fresh or as stock cubes

2 large potatoes peeled and diced, 3 carrots peeled and diced, 1 turnip peeled and diced, 1 large onion peeled and diced, 2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped, 2 celery stalks washed and sliced, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 3 bay leaves, 2 tablespoons of basmati or long grain rice, 1/4 teaspoon of saffron--this can be left out if you do not have any, or a pinch of turmeric would add colour if you want it to look a golden colour. 7 ozs--3/4 cup of chorizo sausage chopped--see the photograph.

Method

Get out a large pan and bring the stock to the boil in it. Add the potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, celery, turnip, bay leaves, salt and pepper, and bring it to the boil again. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the rice, saffron and the chorizo sausage. Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is cooked. Take out the bay leaves. Serve the soup .

Variations

Use a blender to blend half the soup and mix it with the rest to create a more textured full-bodied soup
Do you like casseroles, cupcakes, homemade chutney, pasta and salads? Check out the links for more recipes and ideas. Crazycupcakes.

BROCCOLI SOUP RECIPE

This is a really tasty thick soup that contains lots of broccoli which is full of vitamins and a good source of folic acid. It has lots of good dietary fibre and there are variations on the recipe.
Ingredients
2 onions chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
2 heads of broccoli, cut into small pieces and the centre stalk can be peeled and the tender centre chopped
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
4 sticks of celery washed and sliced
2 pints--1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock(see stock recipe)
1/2 pint--250ml of milk
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of thyme
butter or olive oil

Method
Put the butter or olive oil in a large pan and sweat, cook on a gentle heat with the lid on the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and add the broccoli, potatoes and celery. Stir and sweat for 5 minutes. Add the stock, salt, pepper and thyme. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes. Check the soup and stir. Liquidise the soup and add the milk.
Taste and season as required. Serve.

Garnish
The soup can be garnished with :
1. chopped celery leaves
2. chopped walnuts
3. a swirl of cream, natural yoghurt or creme fraiche
4. pieces of crumbled stilton, this is a strong English blue cheese
5. Lancashire cheese crumbled, this is a white cheese with a nice soft texture and a sharp and tangy flavour.

Variations
1. Use soy milk but do not boil.
2. Add tofu to the soup as a good protein garnish.
3. Leave out the milk to make it non-dairy.
4. Use a different herb such as sage.