Ingredients
- knob of butter
- small onion
- small potato
- salt and pepper to taste
- cup of milk
- 2 cups of water
- optional ingredients, tried and tested combinations are put together here (separated by semi colons) but fill your boots and try any combination you think might work: 1 parsnip and 1tbs curry powder; 4 mushrooms and 1 clove garlic; 1 carrot and either 1tsp ground ginger or 1 tsp grated root ginger; cup of frozen peas and 1 tsp mint jelly, or 1 tsp dried mint or 3 leaves fresh chopped mint; 1 cauliflower floret and 1 broccoli floret; half a leek.
Equipment
- Chopping board – preferably not glass (there are spare in the centre’s kitchen if needed)
- Dishcloth
- Teatowel
- Flask (to take soup home)
- Saucepan
- Wooden spoon
Method
Chop the onion. Chop the potato – no need to peel if you don’t want to. Melt the butter in the saucepan and gently fry (sauté) the onion and potato. If you do this for a few minutes, the resulting soup has a nicer flavour, more umami I think it’s called. Add the vegetable combination of choice and saute for a little longer. Add herbs, if using, and the water and milk. Simmer for 15 minutes until everything is soft. Liquidise either with a stick blender (I’ll be doing this in the session for the children – make sure you protect from splashes by covering the top of the saucepan) or in a jug liquidiser. Season to taste.
If you prefer a chunky soup, my husband’s Scottish method could be for you instead – after sautéing, simmer the onion and potato in the liquid until the potato has broken down completely. This will thicken the soup slightly. Add chopped vegetables and then simmer longer until these are cooked. Serve and enjoy with bread.
Skills
- sautéing
- chopping
- simmering
- liquidising
- seasoning to taste