The heating here is more of a suggestion, so from November to March I rely on the stove.
These are the three I come back to. None of them takes more than an hour. All of them are better the next day, and all of them can be made from what is left at the bottom of the vegetable drawer.
Leek and potato
Soften two big leeks in butter, slowly. Add three diced potatoes and a litre of stock. Simmer until the potatoes give up, then mash roughly with a fork. Finish with too much black pepper.
Tomato and bread
Fry garlic in plenty of olive oil, add two tins of tomatoes and half a tin of water, and cook for twenty minutes. Tear in stale bread and leave it to drink. Serve thick enough that a spoon stands up.
White bean and greens
Soften an onion, add two tins of white beans with their liquid, some stock and a rind of cheese if you have it. Simmer for twenty minutes, stir in chopped greens and finish with lemon.
Some general advice
- Make twice what you need. Soup is a form of savings.
- Always start with the onion, and always give it longer than the recipe says.
- A spoon of something sharp at the end will rescue nearly anything.
Nobody has ever been sad at a table with a pot of soup and a heel of bread on it. I have checked.
I bring a jar next door when I have too much, and a jar has usually come back by the end of the week with something else inside it. I have come to think that this is what soup is really for.
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