I’m taking a completely new departure with today’s blog! And I think you and I are both ready for it.
I’m not a dietitian or nutritionist as you know, but I have a great interest in food, both in terms of what supports and nourishes our wellbeing as well as all the ways food brings us together as family, friends and community – from the growing of it, the preparation, the cooking, and the eating.
I have always collected recipes (and cookbooks!). And often, when I visit friends or family and have some quiet time, I love nothing better than to delve into their treasure trove of recipes and cookbooks and borrow from their collections.
All this is by way of explaining to you that in today’s blog I’m sharing with you a recipe!
It’s a simple soup recipe and I think it is so perfect for this time of year. The clocks have gone back for most of us, the days are shorter and darker, the weather is reflective of the dark (or so it seems) and we need some comfort!
I believe this recipe came originally from Darina Allen, the amazing chef and cookery writer behind the phenomenal Ballymaloe Cookery School and Restaurant in Co. Cork.
I’m sharing it in my own words because I’ve used it so often, I don’t need to look up the instructions anymore. That said, if there are any mistakes, they are all mine. You can rest assured though, I’ve double, and triple checked the instructions that follow, and it is absolutely how I make this every time!
Basically, it is a 5:5 equation, that is to say, 5 cups of vegetables to 5 cups of water or stock.
What I love about this is you can use any size cup you like – a teacup, a mug, a pint jug, or a liter jug for example. Once you use the same 5 coups to measure out your vegetables and your water or stock respectively, it will work perfectly.
As regards the mix of vegetables, there are only two ‘rules’. One cup must be onion and there can only be one cup of potato. After that you can mix and match at your leisure. I’ve used carrot, parsnip, leek, turnip, sweet potato, additional onion, celery. Any of the latter don’t have to be exactly a cup in volume, you just need a mix of them to make up the equivalent of 3 cups. It’s a great way to use up bits of vegetables lurking in the bottom of the fridge!
I think that’s the beauty of this soup really… because you can mix and match the vegetable combination, it never really tastes the same twice, while still having a beautiful, comforting familiarity.
Wash, peel and chop the vegetables and sweat in some oil and butter for about 10 minutes. Add the stock or water – personally I always use stock (vegetable) as I think it needs the flavour, but you can be your own judge of that. And if you want to know what stock I use, it is usually Dr Coys.
Bring to the boil and simmer the soup for about 20-30 minutes – this will depend on the size of the chunks of vegetable so you can do a taste test to check if they are fully cooked as necessary.
Blend and serve. If you like chunky soup, just blend half of it.
And again, if you’re curious about our preferences as a family, it’s definitely the fully blended option!
We have used this recipe to celebrate having all our family around the table at the end of a busy week, it’s gone to school and work in lunch bags, I brought it to my Aunt’s house after we buried her husband and we needed something to warm and nourish our aching hearts, I made several pots in support of my son this week – he has a tooth abscess and can only drink soup!
I know it’s not chicken soup, but I truly believe this vegetable soup is the Irish equivalent and the answer to pretty much everything. Enjoy!
✨ Do please let me know how you get on with this recipe and let me know if you’d like me to share more recipes in future.
Photo by Aaron Wilson on Unsplash