Curried Parsnip Soup

Makes 4-6 bowls

Chop a couple of onions (they are going to be blended later, so roughly is fine) and soften them for a couple of minutes in a small amount of butter/spread.

Stir in 2-3 tsps of curry powder, and about two flat teaspoons of plain flour (To be honest, I usually don't add flour, I just use a parsnip or two more than listed below and get the thickness that way).

Once it is mixed with the soft onions, add about a pint of milk, slowly to start with to make a paste.

Bring it gently to the boil then add a couple of large parsnips (three or four if they are little and skinny) and add some black pepper (and a half or whole chicken or veg stock cube if you like).Turn it down to a low heat and leave to simmer with a lid on for about twenty minutes (I would give it a stir once or twice) until the parsnips are really soft.

Blend it to smooth (I use a wand blender in the pan - less washing up).


This reheats well in the microwave, so is also a tasty lunch for work

You might also like:

Tomato Soup

Potato and Bacon Soup

Mushroom Soup

Beef in Beer

Chilli Beef Stew

Stuffed Peppers


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Tomato Soup

Makes 4-6 bowlfuls of a tasty and filling 'everyday' tomato soup.

Put a tiny amount of oil in a pan, roughly chop a couple of onions (three if they are small) and a clove or two of garlic (it's all going to be blended later, so no need to be dainty) and soften for a couple of minutes.

Add a tin of tomatoes then refill the tin with water and add this to the pan too. Bring to the boil adding a couple of chopped carrots (three or four if they are small). Add some black pepper, a pinch of parsley, a pinch of basil and a squirt of tomato purée (about 2-3 tsps). Leave to simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes, until the carrots are soft.

If I am making this is in advance I usually switch the heat off at this point and leave it to cool for an hour or so before sticking the wand blender in. Taste it and adjust the seasoning (it may benefit from a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar).

If I was going to serve it straight away I would probably simmer it for an extra 5-10 mins and then blend.

If you don't have a blender, then give it a good bash with a potato masher (and push it through a sieve with a spoon if you want it a bit smoother)

This reheats well and is fine in the microwave, so is good to take to work for lunch. It should freeze okay too.





For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Mushroom Soup

Makes four generous bowlfuls.

Put a tiny amount of vegetable oil and butter/spread into a pan, just enough to soften two chopped onions for a couple of mins (can be roughly chopped as it is going to be blended later).

Add 8-12 ozs of mushrooms (if they are big, chop them roughly or tear them up as you add to the pan) and soften with the onions for a couple of minutes, then lower the heat and put a lid on for five minutes to keep softening.

Then stir in about an ounce of plain flour (I don't measure it out, a heaped dessert spoon or a rounded tablespoon is about right) and let it cook while stirring for a minute.

Add a pint of liquid slowly at first while stirring to mix in flour paste . This can be all milk if you like it creamy, but can be mixed with water (I would recommend you use at least half milk).

Add in a pinch of dried basil and some black pepper (you might also want to add in about a half a vegetable or chicken stock cube) and bring it to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Turn heat down low and let it simmer for 10-15 mins partly covered (ie put the lid on but leave the spoon in), giving it the odd stir.

Finally, blend it to however smooth you like. (I use a wand blender; it's far less washing up). Have a taste and add more basil, pepper or salt/stock to taste. If it is too thick, add a bit more milk or water and reheat.


(This reheats well. so I usually make it the day before, when I'm cooking that night's tea, as it doesn't take a lot of preparation or attention, and just leave it simmering or switch it off while eating, and come back to blend quickly after. It also reheats in the microwave quite well, so is good to take to work for lunches, but I wouldn't imagine it would freeze well.)


You might also like:

Potato and Bacon Soup

Tomato Soup

Mushroom Rice

Potato/Cauliflower Soup

Curried Parsnip Soup


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Bacon and Potato Soup

Quick, simple, cheap and tasty

This will serve four but it scales up and down easily according to how hungry you are, how many it has to feed and what you have to hand.

Bacon – how much is up to you, I would suggest at least a slice or a couple of rashers per person. Smoked bacon recommended. Chopping up part of a raw bacon/gammon joint into small pieces can be more economical and tasty than sliced bacon. Lardons work well. Pieces of leftover roast gammon or bacon is fine too, but doesn’t flavour it quite so well. Wiltshire cured bacon doesn’t seem to work particularly well though.

New potatoes – again, depends how filling a soup you want, about 1-2 per person. The more you add, unsurprisingly the chunkier or thicker the soup. You can use up cold ones, which is quicker to make but the flavour is much better if they go in raw, as they soak up the soup flavour.

Onion finely chopped – at least 1 medium or large, or a couple of small

Milk – about a pint.

Parsley – dried or fresh

Black pepper

Chop the bacon into bite size pieces and put in pan. Start off on a gentle heat to release some of the fat so no oil is needed. Cook for a couple of minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the onion and continue to cook until the onion is soft (about 2-3 minutes).

Add milk and chopped potatoes, and parsley and black pepper to taste. Heat and then simmer gently until potatoes are soft (about 10 minutes if raw used, depending on size of pieces) stirring occasionally. (If you like your soup thicker, bash the potatoes up a bit when stirring.)

(If using leftover gammon, start by softening onions in a little oil, then add it with the potatoes)

A handful of frozen sweetcorn can be added when it’s simmering if you want to include some veg.


Loaded skins


Mushroom Soup

Tomato Soup

Mushroom Rice

For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )