There is nothing better than a hearty, delicious soup on a cold winters evening. We have put together some great soup recipes and best of all – they don’t take hours to prepare!

 

1) BUTTERNUT COCONUT CURRY SOUP

Ingredients
1 large butternut, cut into chunks
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced (I use my pestle and mortar)
2 teaspoons hot curry powder (use mild curry powder if you want it less spicy)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of salt
500ml chicken stock
1 can lite coconut milk
½ lemon
Pumpkin seeds, for garnish

Method
Place the butternut on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven until cooked and slightly caramelised.
Heat oil in a large pot over a low heat. Fry the onion and cook until translucent and soft. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, cinnamon and turmeric and stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the roasted butternut and coconut milk. Use a hand blender to blend until smooth. You could also use a potato masher for a more chunky texture. Add the juice of half a lemon and season to taste.
Serve in bowls. For the garnish, add pumpkin seeds to a dry pan and roast on a low heat for a few minutes until they start to pop. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the soup and enjoy!


 

2) ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND BUTTER BEAN SOUP

Ingredients
4 cloves of garlic
1 head cauliflower
1 onion, diced
Olive oil
1 can butter beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ cup Chicken stock
½ – 1 cup milk

Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C.
Cut the cauliflower into smaller pieces and place onto a baking tray. Add the garlic cloves (keep the skin on). Drizzle with olive oil and season. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the cauliflower is slightly caramelized.
Add a splash of olive oil and the diced onion to a pot on a medium-low heat. Once translucent, add the stock, butter beans, cauliflower and soft garlic (remove the skin). Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Use a hand blender to blend until smooth. Add milk to the consistency you like it. Leave the pot on the heat for a few minutes to reheat.


 

3) MINESTRONE SOUP

Ingredients
2 – 3 Tbsp. Oil (Olive or Canola)
1 Onion, medium, peeled and diced
4 Cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
1 Potato, Medium, peeled and diced
3 Carrots, Medium, peeled and chopped
3 Leeks, Baby, chopped
2 Celery stalks, medium, chopped
1 cup Split peas (Optional: 1 cup soup mix)
1 cup Parsley, chopped (keep 2 Tbsp. for garnish)
4 cups Water, boiling
4 tsp. Vegetable stock
1 Tin Tomato Puree
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
Pinch of Salt
Pepper to taste
Optional: 2 cups Water, boiling

Method
Heat a large pot over medium heat and add oil
Add onions and sauté until they become translucent. Add garlic and heat for about 30 seconds.
Add the rest of the vegetables (except tomato puree and paste) and cook until it softens, around 5 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock to the water and mix well, add to the pot of vegetables.
Add the split peas or soup mix to the vegetables.
Lastly add the tomato puree and paste and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables and split peas or soup mix is tender.
Flavour with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh parsley

OPTIONAL: add extra water if soup is too thick.

*TIP: Half of the soup can be pureed and poured back into the pot – this makes for a nice thick and creamy-like soup.
Freezes well – pour leftovers into freezer bags and freeze for up to three months (remember to write the date and dish on the bag)


 

4) ROASTED TOMATO AND RED PEPPER SOUP

Ingredients
1kg large cherry tomatoes (quartered if normal sized tomatoes)
2 red peppers, cut into chunks
4-6 garlic cloves, whole
Olive oil
600ml chicken stock
1 teaspoon Paprika
50g sachet tomato paste
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Salt
½ cup low fat milk

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Add the tomatoes, red peppers and whole garlic cloves to a baking tray. Season and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until slightly charred and caramelized.
Meanwhile, add the chicken stock, paprika, tomato paste, lemon juice and brown sugar to a pot. Bring to the boil and simmer. Add the roasted tomato and red pepper. Remove the garlic flesh from the skin and add to the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Puree using a hand blender. Add the milk and serve.

Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

*TIP: Add ½ cup fresh basil leaves to the soup before pureeing.


 

5) SLOW-COOKER RED LENTIL SOUP

Ingredients
1 onion chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, chopped
2 red chillies, sliced (remove the seeds if you want it less spicy)
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 ½ cups red lentils
6 ½ cups stock (I used beef stock for a meaty flavour, but you could also use a good vegetable stock)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
Salt and pepper

Method
Add all the ingredients to the slow-cooker. Cook on low for ±8 hours.
Serve in bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.


 

6) SWEET POTATO AND CARROT SOUP

Ingredients
1 kg sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
600g carrots, cut into chunks
6-8 cloves of garlic
Fresh Rosemary
Olive oil
Robertson’s crushed garlic powder
4 onions, roughly chopped
1-2 chillies (optional)
2L chicken stock
Milk (optional)

Garnish:
Plain yoghurt
Pumpkin seeds

Method
Heat oven to 220°C and put the sweet potatoes, carrots, whole garlic cloves and rosemary into a large roasting pan, drizzled with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and crushed garlic powder. Roast the vegetables in the oven for 30 minutes or until caramelised and soft.

Meanwhile, fry the onion and chilli in olive oil over a low heat for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the stock and the roast vegetables. Squeeze the garlic flesh out of the skin. Simmer for 10 minutes. Blend until smooth. Stir in some milk if you want the soup a bit thinner.

Garnish with plain yoghurt, pumpkin seeds and some dried rosemary.

*TIP: Keep the skin on the sweet potato and carrots for added fibre.