Posted on

Chicken Broth Stellette Soup

Chicken Stellette Soup

I’ve been struggling with a winter cold for weeks now and while I’m normally an ‘it will pass’ kind of sick person, I’m about at the end of my tether with this particular cold, so it’s definitely time to dig out the big guns – in this case a chicken broth stellette soup.

The chicken in this recipe is already cooked, left over from Sunday lunch and it’s worth mentioning that the ratios of the spring onions, mushrooms, chicken and pasta can vary. It won’t hugely affect the end result, and it’s better than leaving a random mushroom alone in the punnet in the fridge!
Chicken Broth Stellette Soup

Mushrooms are great for colds and flues apparently, containing cytokines that play an important role in defending the body against viral infections and tumours and help boost the immune system. And I’ve read conflicting advice about the consumption of mushrooms, but it seems that in order to get the most nutrition from them, they must be cooked otherwise they’re undigestable.

According to Chinese medicine, spring onion is good for expelling a winter cold, especially if consumed within the first two days of the cold.

Parsley has high levels of Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, and betacarotene that boosts the immune system of the body and protects it from colds, cough, and other infections.

Chicken is rich in a compound called carnosine, and it’s this that studies suggest helps reduce that stuffy, congested feeling in your nose and throat.

I also like using Stellette or Stelline pasta as they are small and don’t require much chewing and small enough to swallow (great when you have a sore throat) and then they are kind of pretty too!

I might try adding ginger and garlic next time too, not only because of the health benefits but because they might add a little extra flavour kick at a time when you can’t taste much!

 

 

Chicken Stellette Soup
Recipe Type: Soup, Broth
Author: Keeper of the Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 spring onions, chopped
  • 1-2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 shredded chicken breast
  • 1/2 cup stellette soup pasta
  • 125ml dry white wine
  • 3-5 stalks fresh parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Place the chicken stock and bay leaf in the Thermomix and heat Varoma/Speed 2/ 2 minutes/Reverse Speed
  2. Add the spring onions, the mushrooms and pasta to the pot and cook Varoma/Speed 2/5 minutes/Reverse Speed
  3. Add dry white wine & parsley and cook for a further 2 minutes/Varoma/Speed 2/Reverse
  4. Remove the bay leaf, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Regular instructions
  1. Place the chicken broth and bay leaf in a pot and bring to the boil
  2. Add the spring onions, the mushrooms and pasta to the pot and boil for 8 minutes
  3. Add dry white wine & parsley and boil for another 3 minutes
  4. Remove the bay leaf, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Click here for more soup recipes

Click here for more recipes containing broth

 

Posted on

Pumpkin & Parmesan Soup

Pumpkin Parmesan Soup

Pumpkins in the UK have been a bit of an education for me. Where I grew up, pumpkins came in one size: big. And they had thick, hard-to-cut-through skin and bright, dark orange flesh, and tasted… well, like pumpkin. Here I find pumpkins come with thin skins, and light flesh that doesn’t taste like a whole lot of anything, so I normally try to mix some butternut squash in for a bigger hit of flavour if I’m making a soup.

Pumpkin Parmesan Soup

I think it may vary again in other places because I have read on US boards that they say the smaller pumpkins have more taste than the bigger ones, but this certainly isn’t my experience. In South Africa, we used to make pumpkin fritters, and they definitely were bright orange and tasted of pumpkin!Pumpkin Parmesan Soup

The smaller pumpkins are very easy to cut, though, and to scoop out, so they make a convenient soup bowl if you’re making this recipe for two – three people.
Pumpkin Parmesan Soup

I love fresh sage, lightly fried in butter to crumble over this, but I can’t always find fresh sage. Never mind. If you like chillies you can add some spice to this soup too, and if you have a bit of spare time, sautee an onion first and add it at the start with the rest of the ingredients. If you have fresh or homemade chicken stock, that’s even better than a stock cube too.

 

Pumpkin and Parmesan Soup
Author: Keeper of the Kitchen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3 servings
If you’re able to find fresh sage, lightly fry the leaves in butter till the edges go brown, and sprinkle over the soup for a crunchy, tasty topping. 2
Ingredients
  • 700 – 800g Pumpkin or Butternut Squash, cut into cubes
  • 20 – 50g Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 Chicken or Veggie Stock Cube
  • 250g Water
  • 1 Teaspoon Sage
  • 1 Teaspoon Garlic Granules (or 1 Fresh Clove of Garlic, crushed and sauteed)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • Pepper to Taste
Instructions
  1. Add everything except the pepper to the Thermomix Bowl
  2. Put the MC in place, and hold it down while you liquidise – 30 seconds/ speed 10
  3. Turn the heat up to Varoma/15 mins/speed 3. Keep the MC in.
  4. When it’s done, serve and top with pepper.
Calories: 419 Fat: 16 Carbohydrates: 55 Sugar: 19 Sodium: 3568 Protein: 26

 

Posted on

Deconstructed Butternut Squash Soup

Deconstructed Butternut Squash Soup

This soup came about because I really don’t like a chunky soup. Contrary to popular belief this isn’t because of the texture, but rather is because I get bored half way through a bowl of same tasting bite after bite. And by the time you’ve boiled your vegetables long enough to extract the flavour into the broth, every bite tastes the same.

I prefer a deconstructed soup. It’s still hearty, filling, healthy, but it looks much prettier since everything retains it’s colour and shape, and every bite is a mini-adventure.
 Deconstructed Butternut Squash Soup

Take this soup for example. Butternut soup with lardons, sage and Grana Padano cheese.

The first bite has a little bit of lardon and a small sliver of sage. It’s tasty. The next bite,  has a hint of garlic, and a bit of onion along with the butternut, and tastes homey. The following spoon picks up a large piece of melted cheese, and the rich full flavour of Grana Padano accompanies the butternut down my throat. The next spoon hits a pocket of sage butter, and provides a whole other taste to any of the previous bites – and next it’s just a plain spoon of butternut, that almost cleanses your palet. And so it goes, on and on.

Grana Padano Butternut Squash Soup

Well, it works for me, and I hope you like it too!

For this soup I like to roast the butternut squash. While you can just go ahead and make it from an uncooked butternut squash, which gives it a fresh flavour, I find a roasted butternut squash has so much more depth to it. It’s definitely worth the extra 40 or so minutes.

Deconstructed Butternut Squash Soup
Recipe Type: Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3 -4
It may seem a little fiddly, but for this soup you need to roast the butternut squash. Once it’s cooked, boil the soup for 15 minutes, while at the same time cooking the lardons and sage leaves for 10 minutes each. Slice up the cheese and everything should be ready at the same time.
Ingredients
  • 1 Butternut Squash
  • 4 Garlic cloves
  • 1 Onion
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • 30g butter
  • 10 sage leaves
  • 75g pasta
  • 140g bacon lardons
  • 50g Grana Padano shards
  • pepper to taste
  • olive oil to drizzle
Instructions
  1. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
  2. Peel four garlic cloves and put them inside the hollowed out butternut squash.
  3. Drizzle a good quality olive oil over the butternut squash, place on an oven tray and bake at 200C for about 40 mins till it’s soft all the way through. Set aside to cool slighly, then chop into rough chunks. If it’s a young butternut squash you can keep the skin, but if it’s older, discard.
In the Thermomix
  1. Add the onion and baked garlic cloves to the Thermomix and chop 3 seconds/speed 4.
  2. Cook for 3 minutes/100C/Speed 1
  3. Add the chicken stock and butternut squash, and cook 15 mins/speed 4
  4. Meanwhile in a pan, fry the bacon lardons until they are crispy, about 10 minutes.
  5. In another, smaller pan, melt 30g butter, and add the sage leaves. Gently fry for about 10 minutes on low heat until the butter is browned and the leaves are crispy.
  6. Thinly slice ‘shards’ of the Grana Padano cheese.
  7. To serve, dish up the soup, making sure to get some pasta in each bowl and sprinkle cheese over. On the side, serve lardons, additional cheese chards and the sage leaves.
  8. Drizzle the sage butter over the butternut squash soup, and serve.
Regular Instructions
  1. Chop and slice the onions and garlic, and saute for about 10 mins in suitable suit pot, till translucent.
  2. Add the chicken stock and butternut squash, and cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat.
  3. Meanwhile in a pan, fry the bacon lardons until they are crispy, about 10 minutes.
  4. In another, smaller pan, melt 30g butter, and add the sage leaves. Gently fry for about 10 minutes on low heat until the butter is browned and the leaves are crispy.
  5. Thinly slice ‘shards’ of the Grana Padano cheese.
  6. To serve, dish up the soup, making sure to get some pasta in each bowl and sprinkle cheese over. On the side, serve lardons, additional cheese chards and the sage leaves.
  7. Drizzle the sage butter over the butternut squash soup, and serve.