From zingy Spanish tomato to silky sweet corn, via rich slow-cooked goat OFM compiles the best soup recipes to make at home

Simon Hopkinson’s asparagus soup

This is an extravagant indulgence. Although I have tried (and succeeded) to make asparagus soup with all the trimmings, peelings and off-cuts, it always ends up tasting a little bit like tinned soup. (I can only presume that this is because that is exactly what the manufacturers do.) This recipe, however, uses a nice, trimmed-up bunch of fresh asparagus, and not much else. If you can come by the asparagus called “sprue” – which is thin and straggly and consequently much cheaper – then this can be used. It sort of goes against the grain to turn the most beautiful of vegetables into a soup, but this simple and very pure recipe transforms it into an elixir.

Serves 4
butter 110g
leeks 4 small (white parts only), trimmed and chopped
water 900ml
potato 1, peeled and chopped
salt and pepper
fresh asparagus 450g, trimmed and peeled
double cream 300ml

Melt the butter and stew the leeks until soft. Add the water and potato, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 15 minutes. Quickly chop the asparagus, and add it to the soup. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Blend thoroughly, then pass through a fine sieve. Add the cream and check the seasoning. This is equally good hot or cold.
From Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson (Ebury, £16.99)

Samin Nosrat’s silky sweet corn soup

Samin
Samin Nosrat’s silky sweet corn soup. Photograph: Louise Hagger for the Guardian

I’m a firm believer that the best cooking is not so much about fancy techniques and expensive ingredients. Sometimes the tiniest – most inexpensive – thing will make all the difference. Nothing demonstrates that idea as well as this soup, whose secret ingredient is a quick stock made using nothing more than cobs and water. Use the freshest, sweetest corn you can find and you’ll see how five simple ingredients can add up to a singularly flavourful soup.

Serves 6-8
ears of corn 8-10, husks, stalks, and silk removed
butter 115g
onions 2 medium, sliced
salt
Indian coconut-coriander chutney to serve (see below)

For the Indian coconut-coriander chutney (makes about 225ml)
cumin seeds 1 tsp
salt
lime juice 2 tbsp
grated coconut 35g, fresh or frozen
garlic 1-2 cloves
fresh coriander 40g, leaves and tender stems (from about 1 bunch)
fresh mint leaves 12
jalapeño pepper ½, stemmed
sugar ¾ tsp

To make the chutney, place the cumin seeds in a small, dry frying pan and set over medium heat. Swirl the pan constantly to ensure even toasting. Toast until the first few seeds begin to pop and emit a savoury aroma, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately dump the seeds into the bowl of a mortar or a spice grinder. Grind finely with a pinch of salt.

Pulse the lime juice, coconut, and garlic together in a blender or food processor for 2 minutes until no large chunks remain. Add the toasted cumin, coriander, mint leaves, jalapeño, sugar, and a generous pinch of salt and continue blending for another 2-3 minutes, until no chunks or whole leaves remain. Taste and adjust salt and acid. Add water if needed to thin to a drizzle-able consistency. Cover and refrigerate until serving. You can cover and refrigerate any leftovers for up to 3 days.

If you can’t find fresh or frozen coconut, pour 225ml boiling water over 30g dried coconut and let sit for 15 minutes to rehydrate. Drain and continue as above.

To make the soup, fold a kitchen towel into quarters and set it inside a large, wide metal bowl. Use one hand to hold an ear of corn in place upright atop the kitchen towel – it helps to pinch the ear at the top. With your other hand, use a serrated knife or sharp chef’s knife to cut off 2-3 rows of kernels at a time by sliding the knife down the cob. Get as close to the cob as you can, and resist the temptation to cut off more rows at once – that’ll leave behind lots of precious corn. Save the cobs.

In a soup pot, quickly make a corn cob stock: cover the cobs with 2 litres of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the cobs. Strain and set the stock aside.

Return the pot to the stove on a medium heat. Add the butter. Once it has melted, add the onions and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are completely soft and translucent, or blonde, about 20 minutes. If you notice the onions starting to brown, add a splash of water and keep an eye on things, stirring frequently, to prevent further browning.

As soon as the onions are tender, add the corn. Increase the heat to high and saute just until the corn turns a brighter shade of yellow, 3-4 minutes. Add just enough stock to cover everything, and crank up the heat to high. Save the rest of the stock in case you need to thin out the soup later. Season with salt, taste, and adjust. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.

If you have a hand-held blender, use it to carefully blend the soup until it is pureed. If you don’t have one, work carefully and quickly to puree it in batches in a blender or food processor. For a very silky texture, strain the soup one last time through a fine-mesh sieve. Taste the soup for salt, sweetness, and acid balance. If the soup is very flatly sweet, a tiny bit of white wine vinegar or lime juice can help balance it out.

To serve, either ladle chilled soup into bowls and spoon salsa over it to garnish, or quickly bring the soup to a boil and serve hot with an acidic garnish, such as the Indian coconut-coriander chutney.
From
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat (Cannongate, £30)

Edson Diaz-Fuentes’s goat birria estilo Distrito Federal

Edson
Edson Diaz-Fuentes’s goat birria estilo Distrito Federal. Photograph: Louise Hagger for the Guardian

This is one of my favourite Mexican broths; each region and family has its own style. The slow-cooked goat marinated in dried red chillies gives a delicious flavour to the broth. It is served with a side of tortillas, lime and finely chopped onion to make tacos out of the meat in the soup.

Serves 6-8
tomatoes 2kg
red onions 3 large
garlic 100g (about 20 cloves or 1-2 garlic heads depending on size)
vegetable oil
cloves 3
cinnamon stick ½
ancho chillies 6, deveined and deseeded (retain seeds for later)
guajillo chillies 3, deveined and deseeded (retain seeds for later)
morita chillies 3, deveined and deseeded (retain seeds for later)
cumin a pinch
Mexican oregano a pinch (available online)
apple cider vinegar ½ tsp
salt and pepper to taste
goat or mutton leg 2kg, on the bone
thyme 2 sprigs
bay leaves 3
corn tortillas (to make your own tacos), chopped red onion, coriander and lime to serve

The day before making the soup, roast 500g tomatoes, the onions and the peeled whole garlic cloves in a non-stick pan with a bit of vegetable oil. Once they are slightly charred and soft, leave to one side.

In a very hot, dry pan toast the cloves and cinnamon stick. Grind to a powder and put to one side.

Toast all the chillies in a pan without burning them, then rehydrate them with enough hot water to just cover them for around 10 minutes or until soft.

Once the chillies are rehydrated, put them and the soaking water in a blender, along with the toasted and ground cloves and cinnamon, the cumin, oregano and the cider vinegar. Add the charred tomatoes, onions and garlic, then add just enough water to help properly blend all the ingredients together. Add a pinch of pepper and salt to taste, then blend to a paste. Taste for salt – this should be slightly on the salty side as it is going to be the rub (known as the adobo in Mexico) for the meat. Rub this paste into the goat, place in a non-reactive container, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The following morning, take the meat out of the fridge and leave it to rest at room temperature for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, blend the remaining tomatoes with 1½ litres of water to make the broth.

In a dry pan, toast all the reserved seeds from the chillies. Set aside, and use to sprinkle on the soup at the end to add flavour, or to make your own chilli oil by adding to olive oil and seasoning with sea salt.

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Place the meat in a deep roasting tray, and pour in the tomato-water puree, then add the thyme and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the roasting tray completely with tin foil to avoid evaporation. Place in the oven. After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 140C/gas mark 1 and cook for 6-8 hours.

Once the meat is fully cooked, shred the meat from the bone and then return to the broth it has been cooked in. Adjust water level and seasoning if necessary, according to taste.

Serve bowls of broth and meat garnished with chopped onions and coriander, and tortillas to make tacos with the meat.

Note
Mexican ingredients can be ordered via mextrade.co.uk.
Edson Diaz-Fuentes is co-owner of
Santo Remedio, London SE1

Greg and Lucy Malouf’s lemony lentil soup with saffron-scrambled eggs

Greg
Greg and Lucy Malouf’s lemony lentil soup with saffron-scrambled eggs. Photograph: Alan Benson

Serves 4-6
olive oil 55ml
onion 1, finely chopped
garlic 1 clove, finely chopped
long green chilli 1, deseeded and finely chopped
dried green lentils 250g
ground allspice 1 tsp
honey 1 tsp
lemon 1, finely grated zest and juice
vegetable stock 1-1¼ litres, or water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
coriander leaves 25g, plus extra to garnish
extra virgin olive oil to serve

For the saffron-scrambled eggs
eggs 4
saffron threads 10-15, lightly toasted and crushed (see note)
double cream 80ml
salt and freshly ground black pepper
butter 40g

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and sweat the onion for 8-10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and chilli, and cook a further minute. Add the lentils, allspice, honey, lemon juice and zest, and then a litre of vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then skim, lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes until the lentils are very tender. Season with salt and pepper, then add the coriander and remove from the heat.

Allow to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes before blitzing to a puree in a blender or food processor. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking and thin with a little more stock if necessary.

When ready to serve, whisk the eggs gently with the saffron, cream and a little salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the eggs over a very gentle heat until they are very softly scrambled. Bring the lentil soup to the boil, skim and pour into serving bowls. Top with a spoonful of the scrambled eggs, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and garnish with coriander leaves.

Note
To toast saffron threads, heat a small dry frying pan over a medium heat for about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, add the saffron threads and spread them out evenly. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until they dry out. Move them around in the pan from time to time to ensure they dry evenly and don’t burn. Once dry, crush the threads to a powder with the back of a spoon.
From
New Feast: Modern Middle Eastern Vegetarian by Greg and Lucy Malouf (Hardie Grant Books, £20)

Nuno Mendes’s tomato soup

Nuno
Nuno Mendes’s tomato soup. Photograph: Andrew Montgomery

Find the best, ripest tomatoes you can for this. I like a selection of vine-ripened plum and heirloom tomatoes – always use what you love. It is a thick and chunky soup – if you’d prefer it more liquid, you can top it up with chicken or vegetable stock, tomato water or even plain water.

Serves 4
extra virgin olive oil 5 tbsp, plus extra for drizzling
red onion 1, sliced into 3–4mm rings
brown onions 2, sliced into 3-4mm rings
bay leaves 3
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
sherry vinegar 1 tbsp, plus a little to serve
madeira 2 tbsp, plus a little to serve
tomatoes 1.3kg (a mixture of types), roughly chopped
sourdough 4 slices, or other rustic loaf, thickly sliced
mint leaves a small handful
sea salt flakes and ground white pepper
thin slices of lardo or a poached egg per person to serve (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large, wide pan over a low heat, add the red and brown onions and cook for 10 minutes, or until soft and juicy. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bay and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the sherry vinegar and madeira, increase the heat to medium and simmer for 2 more minutes to burn off some of the alcohol. Stir in the chopped tomatoes. Cook, covered, over a medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes have broken down a bit but are not mushy.

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Drizzle each side of the bread with olive oil, place on a baking tray and bake for 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

Taste the soup for seasoning, adding a dash of sherry vinegar and madeira if needed. To serve, place a slice of toast in each bowl with a few mint leaves on top and ladle the soup over. Finish with a few thin slices of lardo or a poached egg.
From
Lisboeta by Nuno Mendes (Bloomsbury Publishing, £26)

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