How To

Our Favourite Soup Recipes

Pumpkin Soup
20
Nov

It’s always soup season here at Neo Direct! We’re looking forward to bringing you a fantastic selection of different soup recipes that we know you’re going to love. Soup is a favourite for any meal of the day, whether you’re wanting to warm yourself up or eat something that’s going to keep you full for longer, it’s always a great option.

How to make chicken and sweetcorn soup

Chicken and sweetcorn soup is an old reliable, perfect for batch cooking or family meals; you can whisk it up from scratch in no time.

Ingredients

  • Chicken carcass
  • 2 onions, diced 
  • 2-4 garlic cloves (depending on preference)
  • Large tin of sweetcorn 
  • 100 grams of pre-cooked and shredded chicken
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 3 spring onions, using the whites only

Method

Step 1

Fill up your kettle to the maximum water level and boil. Break up your chicken carcass into a large pan, adding your ⅔ of your garlic and your diced onion. Turn on the heat and cook, regularly stirring, for around 2 minutes. Then, add your 1.5 litres of boiling water, cover, and leave to simmer for another 2 minutes.

Step 2

Sieve the liquid over a large bowl, you will need roughly 450ml of liquid. Move the onion from the sieve and place it into a blender with ¾ of your sweetcorn, blending until you reach a smooth consistency.

Step 3

Pour the liquid back into the large pan, adding your blended sweetcorn and onion as well as the remaining sweetcorn, garlic, spring onion and shredded chicken. Simmer this for around 5 minutes, turning off once done. You will then need to add the egg, making sure you stir gently to create what is known as ‘egg thread’.

Step 4

Season as you see fit with salt and pepper, serve up and enjoy!

How to make chunky vegetable soup

Looking for the perfect way to reduce waste and utilise what’s in your fridge, what better way to do so than making a chunky vegetable soup?

Ingredients

  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 leek chopped
  • 1 carrot chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb chopped
  • 225-250 grams of potato diced
  • 225-250 grams of suede or turnip diced
  • 1 whole bay leaf
  • 600ml vegetable stock cube
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • Chopped chives for garnishing purposes
  • Oil

Method 

Step 1

Heat your oil in a frying pan and add your chopped onion, frying until soft. Proceed to add your leek, fennel, potato, swede or turnip and carrot to the mix until they have softened.

Step 2

Add your bay leaf and stock cube liquid and chopped tomatoes into the pan. Season with salt and pepper as you see necessary and cover to boil. Once your pan reaches the boil, you will need to reduce the heat, simmering until all of your vegetables are soft.

Step 3

Sprinkle your chives over the soup and serve with a delicious chunk of crunchy bread.

How to make sweet potato and red pepper soup

For something a little different, why not try your hand at making sweet potato and red pepper soup for a satisfying, yet healthy meal alternative?

Ingredients

  • A whole sweet potato diced
  • 1 red pepper diced without seeds
  • 1 red onion diced
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, preference dependent 
  • 200ml of vegetable stock cube
  • ½ tablespoon of sriracha sauce 
  • 200ml of coconut milk
  • Oil

Method 

Step 1

Roast your sweet potato, onion, red pepper and garlic in the oven for around 30 minutes, making sure that they’re all evenly coated with oil. If you want to add a smokey undertone to your soup, add a small amount of paprika to the roasted vegetables. 

Step 2

Pour your roasted vegetables into a blender and blitz with your coconut milk, stock and sriracha sauce. Blend until you reach the consistency you want, adding it back into your pan to heat up. Serve and enjoy!

How to make spicy pumpkin soup

Spicy pumpkin soup is an Autumnal favourite, embracing all things spooky, using the insides of your pumpkin that you don’t need is a great way to minimise waste and create a delicious meal.

Ingredients

  • 2 diced onions
  • 1kg of  pumpkin – peeled, deseeded and cubed
  • 700ml of vegetable stock
  • 150ml of double cream

Method

Step 1

Fry your onions in a pan until soft, adding in your pumpkin and fry for another 10 minutes until it turns golden brown.

Step 2

Add your vegetable stock and season as you see fit. Proceed to bring your pan to the boil, after this you will need to simmer your soup until your vegetables are softened.

Step 3

Add your double cream into the mix and bring your ingredients back to the boil. Add this into your blender and blitz to the consistency you prefer. Serve and enjoy!

Of course, not everybody has time to make soup from scratch – adding endless pots and pans to the washing-up pile isn’t always plausible. However, here at Neo Direct, we may have the perfect solution for you. Our soup makers are great for batch cooking or leaving your soup maker to create dinner while you’re busy elsewhere, so be sure to invest for hassle-free dinner preparation.