Get real

Soups are easy to make but just as easy to get wrong.

I recently saw a café blackboard with a list of the day’s specials. The first line read “Soup”, followed by a qualifying “(Real)”. Oh dear, I thought, no wonder soup is one of those dishes I rarely order in restaurants. They are easy to make, but also just as easy to get wrong and more often than not I have been disappointed.

In the thick of winter I have eagerly ordered pumpkin soup, expecting something perfumed and silky, only to be served a bowl of thick, lumpy, watery-tasting, bright-orange sludge. And I also remember a particularly bad french onion soup, with only a token sprinkling of what should have been an intoxicating amount of deeply caramelised brown onions, with a garnish of two-day-old, greasy-cheese-covered dried bread.

One of life’s simple pleasures is making soup. Soups define a nation’s culture. Good soup brings comfort and smiles. It’s the kindest course in a three-course meal or may be served as dinner by itself. For a small amount of effort, you can be rewarded with delicious and

fragrant broths or bisques thickened with shellfish, or rich and velvety soups thickened with eggs and cream. Simplest of all, though, are the puréed soups, which can provide indulgent and astonishingly good flavours.

This pea and ham soup uses frozen peas rather than split-dried. Most restaurants use frozen peas, as the flavour is better, the soup has a more seductive texture and the emerald-green colour is extremely

elegant. It’s perfect on a chilly evening.

PEA AND SMOKED HAM

SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS AND RAISINS

STOCK

4 litres water

In a heavy-based pot, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the vegetables, herbs, peppercorns and garlic and cook until they are golden and slightly softened. Add the wine and simmer until it has reduced by half. Add the hock, bacon and water to the pot. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook for 1½ hours. Remove the hock and set aside. Strain the stock, discard the vegetables and return the liquid to the pot. Bring it back to the boil and simmer until it has reduced by a third. This will make more than you need, so freeze the rest. Remove the meat from the hock and dice.

SOUP

ham stock

Place the peas in a large bowl and pour over the hot stock. Place the peas and stock into a liquidiser or blender (you may need to do this in batches) and purée until velvety smooth. Add the olive oil if you are using it. Add salt and pepper to taste, then return the soup to a pot and keep it warm. If you want to preserve the emerald-green colour, do not heat for too long. (If you want to make the soup ahead and still preserve the colour, chill it immediately after blending.) In a frying pan melt the butter then gently sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes. Add the smoked ham and raisins and warm through. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the soup into bowls and place a teaspoon of the mushroom, ham and raisin mixture in the centre of each bowl.

Serves 6.

IF YOU WANT to stop the artichokes in this soup from discolouring, first peel then immediately plunge them into cold water that contains a little lemon juice.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE AND APPLE SOUP

1 tbsp unsalted butter

garnish: chopped chives or croutons

In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter and add the onion, celery, leek, bay leaf, peppercorns and apple. Cook over a low heat until soft and without colour. Add the cider or wine and continue cooking until the liquid has reduced by half. Peel and chop the artichokes, then add to the pot with the stock and cream. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes until the artichokes are tender. Remove the bay leaf, then purée the soup in a

liquidiser or blender until velvety smooth. Season lightly with salt and garnish with chives or croutons.

Serves 6.