Gazpacho - a refreshingly cold, raw tomato based soup from Spain

A delicious, healthy and refreshing chilled soup from Spain.

Made predominantly from raw tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, onion and garlic blended together with sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, this soup can be anything from a starter, to a main or a tapa - and on a hot summer's day it's wonderful to be able to just reach into the fridge and pour yourself some out!

 

 

Makes approximately 1.3 litres (or see Notes for double), hence it makes six servings of 220ml.
820 calories for the full batch including extra virgin olive oil (or if you're fasting, you can leave it out, and it will then be 286 calories for the entire quantity).

Hence 136 calories for a 220ml/g serving including the extra virgin olive oil (or 48 calories for a 210ml/g serving excluding extra virgin olive oil) - obviously adding chopped up salad toppings will add a few more calories, and adding a drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) will add around 120 calories per tbsp.

Quick Chinese Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

This tasty soup is so simple to make, it is quicker to rustle it up yourself than pop to your nearest takeaway and bring one back!

Plus when you make it yourself, you know what's in it - and I like to make my version a little more filling and flavourful than the versions I've had in some Chinese eateries, which can err on the side of insipid at times. It's also a great way to use up roast chicken leftovers (although you might need to adjust the calories, if you're counting!).

We had this for our Chinese New Year starter (followed by my favourite of beef in black bean sauce) - the added bonus of making it at home being that I knew it was safe for my daughter to eat as I could guarantee it was gluten free - which won't make a difference to most people, as it's mostly a case of just making sure you use gluten free soy sauce (or tamari) instead. And before anyone says anything, my apologies to anyone of Chinese descent for the authenticity of this soup... it's very popular in the UK!

Serves four people from 195 calories a portion. (A quarter portion weighs around 350g, so you could make them smaller to serve more, e.g. six portions of 235g and reduce the calories to 130 if you like!).

Hearty Ham and Lentil Soup

A really delicious and filling soup that's easy to make and great for the family

This soup is amazingly tasty, given the simplicity of the ingredients - the secret is using a really tasty ham stock, and I carefully saved mine from cooking the Christmas ham, with the express intention of making soup. I made up the quantity of stock to what I needed using a couple of ham stock cubes as well, and you can of course make it just using stock cubes - Knorr do a good ham stock cube, and it's gluten and dairy free as well.

I was originally planning on this being a simple smooth soup (which is why I didn't add any actual ham meat to it, but of course you could easily cube some ham and add it at the end to warm through - especially if you cooked a big joint for Christmas or the New Year and want to use it up!) - however, as you can see, it's not, because when I tasted it once the lentils were cooked, it was so good I decided to leave it just as it was! See what you think... I may yet blitz a batch up, just to find out if it tastes as good smooth!

Serves eight, for 172 calories per serving (approximately 300-350g depending on how much liquid evaporates / is added).

Easy Ham and Cannellini Bean Soup (Gluten and Dairy Free)

A tasty, healthy soup that you can throw together for a nutritious light meal

Well, this was going to be ham and lentil soup, until I realised that my dried red lentils weren't actually gluten free (my daughter can't eat gluten) and I had to think of a quick substitute as things were already cooking away and I didn't want to waste my precious ham stock from cooking the Christmas ham (Knorr stock cubes are good too if you don't happen to have your own ham stock lying around)!

Luckily there are always various tins of beans in the cupboard here, so I substituted some cannellini beans in part of the broth so she could eat it, and put the lentils in the remainder (next blog!) for the rest of the family. You don't have to use cannellini beans, you could use butter beans, haricot or any other mild and creamy tasting white bean. It turned out really tasty, so I thought I'd share the recipe!

Serves four to six, from 93 calories per serving for a smaller portion (six smaller portions at around 250g each, or four larger portions at around 400g each - exact weight depends on how much liquid has evaporated overall) or 139 calories for a larger portion.

Chunky Minestrone Soup (includes Thermomix and Instant Pot Pressure Cooker instructions)

A delicious, hearty Italian soup originally made from leftovers and seasonal ingredients.

This is possibly my favourite soup - I just love the comforting flavours, and the feeling that because of the wonderful mixture of vegetables, tomatoes, legumes and pasta that you're eating something really good for you. If you can resist it, the flavours improve and it tastes even better the day after making! Omit the pancetta and use vegetable stock to make this into a fantastic vegetarian dish. Use rice or gluten free pasta to make it wheat / gluten free (I like to use gluten free spaghetti broken up into short lengths). Substitute any vegetables and beans you like (or have to hand!) to make it your own.

When I planned the ingredients to make this (I normally just throw everything in when making this kind of soup! But when I'm going to blog something, I plan it in advance) I wasn't really thinking in terms of volume, and ended up using two stockpots to fit everything in, so I have scaled it down to more reasonable proportions - however, feel free to halve the recipe below if needed, you won't really need to adjust the timings particularly. It depends on your appetites, and how much of a meal as to how many portions you end up with, and it freezes and defrosts really, really well. I just portion it out into small food bags which easily fit a 500g portion each, or more.

Makes 16 lunch-sized servings of approximately 250g at 106 calories per serving (I find 250g is quite filling) - or for a dinner-sized serving, double it to 500g for a pretty hearty and filling meal! Add grated parmesan on top for 39 calories per 10g (goes pretty far if you use a microplane grater).

For those counting calories, I've put them in square brackets next to each ingredient, along with the weights of the vegetables. If you're not counting, don't feel obliged to stick rigidly to the weights given below, they're just a guide.

Moroccan Spiced Roast Vegetable and Lentil Soup

Warning: This soup will fill the house with gorgeous smells whilst cooking!

This delicious (and healthy!) soup came about for two reasons: Firstly, I wanted to create a vegetarian soup with Moroccan flavours which didn't contain chickpeas, and secondly, there's a jar of ras el hanout in my spice cupboard which was crying out to be used in something!

So here it is, I'm very pleased with it, and everyone else really loved it too! Feel free to shake up the flavours by substituting a different spice mix, or adding cooked pulses after blending it to make a heartier soup.

Yields 10 portions (recipe easily halved) of approximately 250g each, at only 99 calories per serving!

Tom Yum Gai (Hot and Sour Chicken Soup) or Goong (Prawns) with Vegetables

This fragrant and healthy, hot and sour Thai soup is deliciously simple and tasty, and what's more you can make it into a filling meal with the addition of rice or noodles

This is a really tasty Thai soup, which you can make a healthy meal of by adding a few optional vegetables, and even some rice or noodles in the bottom of the bowl before you ladle on your soup, if you want something really hearty (if a little inauthentic)! Keep it minimal for a great starter to a Thai meal.

You can make this with prawns instead of chicken if you prefer, adding them right at the end to make Tom Yum Goong, the popular prawn version of the dish (you can even make the stock up from the prawn shells, cooking them in a little oil until pink, then adding a litre of water and simmering for 20 minutes before straining), or make a vegetarian version with vegetable stock and add tofu to it for the protein element.

A more recent version of the soup, Tom Yum Nam Khon involves adding some coconut milk to the finished broth (usually when making with prawns), and a small amount of toasted dried chillies, if you fancy something a bit creamier - just splash some in at the end - you could also use 100g creamed coconut, or to taste, whizzed into the stock.

For the Thermomix instructions for this recipe, see here.

Serves four to six, from 211 calories per serving for a quarter portion (served between four), or 141 calories for a sixth portion, made with home made curry paste and skinless chicken breast and vegetables as stated.  

With prawns - 181 calories per serving for a quarter portion.

With tofu - 177 calories per serving for a quarter portion.

Add on 165 calories per portion, per 50g raw rice, or if you want a filling soup without the extra calories, you could use konjac / magic / slim noodles for only a few extra calories. Rice or beanthread noodles would be delicious with this too. [Calories in square brackets]

Easy Pea, Ham (or Feta) and Lettuce Soup (includes Thermomix method)

A twist on classic flavours, with a variety of textures in this delicious soup

I like to use petit pois in this, because I prefer their more tender texture and sweeter flavour, and to make life easy, you can use bought ham (or chicken/vegetable) stock if you like, and pre-shredded / pulled ham, which is also easily available. Otherwise, sear then gently simmer a ham hock in a couple of litres of water for a couple of hours, with a carrot, leek, celery stalk and a few fresh herbs (parsley. thyme, bay) plus some peppercorns and skim off any scum and strain. Then you can shred the meat from the hock to add to the soup.

For vegetarians, use vegetable stock, and substitute crumbled feta cheese and a handful of chopped fresh mint for the ham (as per the ingredients list) for an equally delicious soup.

Serves eight, 121 calories per serving - one of those soups which is delicious in any season!

Cream of Celeriac Soup with Fresh Thyme and Truffle Oil (includes Thermomix method)

The delicious, earthy flavours of celeriac, thyme and truffles compliment each other perfectly in this beautifully smooth and sophisticated soup

There's just something about the flavour of certain root vegetables. They have a real, rich, earthy depth to them which is complimented by so many other flavours and celeriac is possibly my favourite of them all.

      

I chose to use fresh, young thyme leaves in this - adding most at the beginning to meld in with the other flavours during cooking, and then a few more leaves at the end to add that beautiful fresh-picked taste, together with just a little scattering on top, and a luxurious drizzle of extra truffle oil on the top (well, I do have a big bottle bought for me last Christmas by my children which I realised needs using up!). It would have been amazing to have shaved some fresh truffle over the top, and maybe a little blended into the soup right at the end, but one must save these luxuries for special occasions (or find an amenable pig and an appropriate area in the woods to find one's own truffles...still, there's nothing stopping you doing this if you want to impress your guests!).

I think crispy pancetta, would make a delightful topping too, sprinkled on right at the end. To be honest, I was *this* close to doing so, but I thought it might not look quite so pretty and refined in the photo - but go on... do it to yours, it will taste delicious! (Unless you're a vegetarian, of course!).

Makes around 2 litres of soup, hence 8-10 servings. From 63 calories per skinny portion (for a tenth using 300ml extra stock at the end instead of cream and milk), to 152 calories for an eighth of the full fat version. [Calories in square brackets].

Tom Yum Gai / Goong (Hot and Sour Chicken / Prawns) two ways in the Thermomix TM31 or TM5

This fragrant and healthy, hot and sour Thai soup is deliciously simple and tasty, and what's more you can make it into a filling meal with the addition of rice or noodles

You can choose to take full advantage of the Varoma dish, and steam a whole chicken over a bowl of simmering stock which you then use for your soup base (using around half of a chicken to feed four people, giving you enough leftovers for another meal or two, plus a carcass for stock/broth), or you can use raw or pre-cooked chicken breast or thigh, weighed out to suit you, whilst steaming vegetables in the Varoma tray to add to your soup (if cooking a whole chicken, you do this whilst it rests).

You can also make this with prawns instead of chicken if you prefer, adding them right at the end to make Tom Yum Goong, the popular prawn version of the dish (you can even make the stock up from the prawn shells, cooking them in a little oil until pink, then adding a litre of water and simmering for 20 minutes before straining), or make a vegetarian version with vegetable stock.

A more recent version of the soup, Tom Yum Nam Khon involves adding some coconut milk to the finished broth (usually when making with prawns), and a small amount of toasted dried chillies, if you fancy something a bit creamier - just splash some in at the end - you could also use 100g creamed coconut, or to taste, whizzed in at the end to avoid diluting the soup unduly.

Serves four to six, from 206 calories per serving for a quarter portion (served between four) made with home made curry paste and chicken breast and vegetables as stated. Add on 165 calories per portion, per 50g raw rice. [Calories in square brackets].

Crab and Spinach Ohitashi with Mixed Mushrooms (Thermomix Method)

A deliciously light and tasty Japanese dish, perfect as lunch, or an elegant starter, or as part of a selection of Japanese dishes.

Although it is a beautiful looking dish, it's actually incredibly simple to cook and plate up. You just add the ingredients for the broth to the bowl, with the mushrooms and spinach in the varoma and press go! If you would like to cook this without using a Thermomix, see here for my original recipe with a method on the hob. This serves two to four people (timings for both in method, and if you're counting calories, it's a mere 121 calories per person!).

            

Feel free to tweak this dish to suit you. I've converted this version to Thermomix with a dashi broth substitute I came up with for Japanese soups, as I am aware that most people won't be making their own dashi broth, and the majority of 'instant dashi' powders and concentrates you can buy contain MSG as an additive. MSG does actually occur naturally - the white residue you find on seaweed, i.e. Kombu (kelp, one of the two ingredients dashi is made from) is naturally occurring MSG but I don't think most people want to add it to their food, or include it in chemical form, although opinions are mixed. Also, I thought it might make a nice use of a light bone broth, for those who make them.

Dustbin Soup - and / or Broccoli and Stilton Soup

Yes, DUSTBIN soup! Which is delicious, unlike its name - so please don't be put off, and read on, read on!

I did debate whether to call it by this name, which is what we call it at home, but not to do so, just wouldn't feel right! It's alternative name could have been "Green and Blue Soup", an allusion to the fact that it is predominately made from green vegetables, and the flavour lifted by a touch of blue cheese. But to calm your beating heart, I've included the suggestion for broccoli and blue cheese soup, just in case you want to serve it to anyone else and have a name for it...

Anyway, I digress. Basically, this is something which happens on a regular basis, especially during the colder months, as a way to make the most out of vegetables which need eating, and also (especially?) to use up tasty parts of vegetables which might otherwise be consigned to the dustbin (hence the name!) - such as broccoli stalks, and asparagus ends.

Broccoli stalks are often thrown away, and yet they're actually really delicious once peeled - either raw and julienned in salads, or cooked in soups, or again julienned (yes, you can't beat a bit of mandolin action!), steamed and tossed in butter with a grinding of fresh black pepper. Asparagus ends are another victim to the bin or compost heap, and yet they too make delicious soup - if they're particularly woody it pays dividends to finish by passing the soup through a sieve for a deliciously smooth and creamy result. Just using broccoli and asparagus stalks alone, and making up to 500g with some cauliflower makes for a delicious, and delicately flavoured soup.

The quantities suggested will give you around 1,400ml of soup, which gives you 7 servings at 200ml per serving (a couple of ladlefuls). If you want a calorie count, just measure what you've got, and divide it into portions to suit you - for the soup below, it's 91 calories per 200ml serving (or 95 calories if you make with 500g broccoli, for a delicious broccoli and stilton soup).

Thai-Spiced Butternut Squash Soup (includes Thermomix instructions)

A nice light soup full of Thai flavours, perfect as a light starter to a meal or a tasty lunchtime snack.

This makes a smooth, light soup - if you want a thicker soup, then just halve the amount of stock, and add extra at the end to reach your desired consistency.

The quantities as below will yield you approximately 1.8 litres. For me, two small ladle-fulls constitutes a portion of soup, so this gives me ten portions at 62 calories each, but divide yours up as you feel fit (especially if you've made a thicker soup, and want, say, six large bowls of it at 103 calories each). The total calorie count for the whole batch is 617 calories.

Spicy Mirliton and Shrimp Soup

So, I bought these 'chayotes' a week ago, and had never cooked or eaten one before...

Turns out I've been missing out! They're very versatile, and can be eaten raw (they have a taste a little like a combination of raw courgette and melon, and a crisp texture a bit like an asian pear - more here in my blog about chayotes) or cooked, and they're low in calories too (only 19 calories per 100g).

So anyway, moving on from the ingredients, to the soup - this is a delicious, spicy Louisiana soup which tastes far more indulgent than it really is - blending half of the chayotes after cooking (but before adding the shrimp/prawns) gives it a nice rich thickness, a bit like when you blend potato into a soup. This gives you a nice hearty portion too, which is delicious on its own!

Serves two, 134 calories per serving (including maximum amounts of all ingredients).

Speedy Spiced Sweet Potato and Tomato Soup

Here is a working example of that saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention"...

You know, when you get in, everyone's hungry, you haven't got much time and you throw together the nearest things with a vague idea of what it's going to taste like at the end?

And then it turns out... DELICIOUS, so you have to quickly jot it down so you can make it again?

Well, this comes from one of those times - and you can make it one of two ways - by blitzing the veg in your food processor, cooking in a pan, then blending with a stick blender, or in a food blender (you can even chop by hand, if you have more time), or if you're lucky enough to own a wonderful gadget which will do all three for you (yes, I'm talking Thermomix! Or I'm guessing one of those new-fangled soup-maker machines will do the same job, but I can't really comment on those), then you can do it that way, with less pots. Happy times!

When I posted it in a popular recipe group I run, I was delighted with the response to it so that's why I've chosen to share it here - it's also the first recipe where I've specifically written up instructions to make in a Thermomix, as although I'm always using mine, the majority of people in my group don't own one (they haven't caught on in the UK as much as in some other countries yet). 

Serves four, 141 calories per person – a deliciously warming spicy soup ideal for colder weather!
Ready in under 20 minutes [Calories in square brackets].

Hokkaido Salmon Hotpot (Ishikari Nabe)

If you're wary of trying Japanese food, this could be for you. A really homely, comforting hotpot, with mild and delicate flavours, from the island of Hokkaido. Feel free to substitute other vegetables in it, or add tofu for extra protein.

And if you cook this and like it, you'll have the miso paste, you'll have the dashi stock (or you can make my simple dashi stock substitute)... so there's no reason not to have a go at the other Japanese soups below - trust me, if you like this, you'll love them too!

Hokkaido Salmon Hotpot (Ishikari Nabe)

This is a lovely, hearty, comforting soup/hotpot originating from the island of Hokkaido. It has a mild and delicate flavour, so if you’re unaccustomed to Japanese food, it’s a great place to start. Feel free to substitute vegetables, or add extra vegetables (such as mushrooms, squash, broccoli etc.) and if you want to up the protein content, you could also add 150g cubed tofu  (add 57 calories per serving).

If you want to make it into a meal, add 2 servings of shirataki (magic/zero) noodles – rinsed, snipped up and added to the soup for 2 minutes (an extra 4 calories each), or on a non-fasting day serve with a bowl of rice or add cubed potatoes to the soup, or ladle over a bowl with your favourite cooked noodles in it.

Serves two (easily doubled), 241 calories per serving

Shiitake Mushroom and Egg Soup

Another delicious soup using dashi stock (or dashi stock substitute!). A nice hit of protein from the egg, and the lovely hit of umami from the shiitake and dashi, this is a fantastic low calorie soup, quick to make, and also a nice starter or side dish for a Japanese meal or sushi.

Shiitake Mushroom and Egg Soup

Serves two, 93 calories per serving.

A great fast day soup, which also goes well with sushi, and simple dishes due to its delicate flavour. If you wanted to bulk it out, you could add extra sliced mushrooms, for 16 calories per 100g

Aubergine, Pork and Ginger Miso Soup

Another light soup. If you like miso soup, then here's a tasty variation. It doesn't require much introduction, as there's not much too it - it's just a light variant on miso soup.

                      Aubergine, Pork and Ginger Miso Soup

Serves 4, easily halved. 72 calories per serving. A tasty, light broth ideal for fast days, as a light starter, or an accompaniment to simple Japanese dishes or sushi. If you fancy a bit of a kick, just give it a shake of Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese 7 pepper spice mix) after you’ve served it, and if you want to bulk it out, add some rinsed, snipped up Shirataki (Zero/Miracle) noodles for the last two minutes.

Miso Soup

There's no question about this. Miso soup was one of the discoveries of last year for us. Something so simple, and yet so pleasurable. And versatile too.

I'm not going to pretend that everyone will like miso soup, because if you're Western, these ingredients are going to be pretty alien to you! Dried, fermented smoked tuna, seaweed, fermented soy beans, and that 'tofu stuff'? What is that all about? OK, there's spring onion in there, you'll know that one, but the rest... well, keep an open mind, because you might just decide it's rather delicious. So don't let that put you off! (And you can always make my dashi stock substitute as a base, which doesn't contain fermented tuna or seaweed - and the vegetarian version of dashi stock has dried shiitake mushrooms in it).

It's also incredibly healthy. Miso (paste) is a bit like the mythical 'apple a day'. It's very good for you. And very tasty too - if I say it's a bit like marmite, it's not because you'll necessarily love it or hate it, but it's full on umami flavour which gives a real depth to dishes. There are various different coloured miso pastes - the lighter, the milder and sweeter; the darker the more savoury and stronger. With miso soup, it's somewhat down to personal taste. I'd recommend a medium/red miso paste. Something between the colour of a cheap milk chocolate, and David Dickinson's mahogany tan (red miso). If you're trying to avoid gluten or soy, there's a little information here which might help you in what you select to cook with, and/or Clearspring make organic (white) miso which is gluten free - see here.

So here's my basic miso soup recipe (with tofu and wakame in it). I also like to add mushrooms to this, in fact, you can add in any vegetables. If you don't fancy wakame (give it a go first, it's amazing stuff! Plus it's amazing in this Wakame and Shaved Vegetable Salad in a Soy-Ginger Dressing with Toasted Seeds, too!) then wilt some spinach into it, instead. Oh, and if you like your spice, shake some 'Shichimi Togarashi' over the top, a Japanese spicy seasoning containing chilli and sesame seeds amongst other things. But beware, it likes to lurk at the bottom of your soup, waiting to burn your throat on the last mouthful!

                                              Miso Soup

Serves two, 79 calories per portion (with home made dashi stock)

Crab, Spinach and Japanese Mushroom Ohitashi

"What's an ohitashi?", I hear you cry (in my head, where else?)!

Well, gather round, and I will tell you. In just one sentence! It's a Japanese dish, consisting of a broth (e.g. dashi stock) containing seasonal ingredients, usually green-leafed vegetables. We don't really have a word or equivalent for it - it's that infamous soup/salad hybrid I spoke of in my welcome - but for most people this probably counts as a soup.

I'm quite proud of my version. I'm a creative soul, and spend far too much time making all kinds of pretties, and thinking of things to do with food to make it look even more appetising, and this is what I did to poor old ohitashi. Don't worry, the ingredients are authentic, but I don't think they're usually constructed within a food ring, with the broth and mushrooms poured around it... but... look how pretty it is, I love how you can see the little assortment of mushrooms, laying in the transluscent broth... but anyway, I digress. The recipe...

Crab, Spinach and Japanese Mushroom Ohitashi

Serves two, 111 calories per serving.

Ohitashi is a kind of seasonal broth incorporating salad-like ingredients, which we don’t have a Western equivalent to. It is served anywhere between warm in winter and chilled in the summer, when the ingredients are almost like having a spinach salad in a broth.  You could choose to serve it hot, which is also delicious, as lukewarm soup is not to everyone’s taste! I must admit, I serve the broth and spinach hot, with the crab meat at room temperature on top of the spinach, then when you stir it all together it is nice and hot all the way through.

Vegetarians could substitute diced tofu for the crabmeat, with an extra splash of soy sauce to season it.

For the Thermomix recipe and method, go here.