(Home-made potato soup - only because I'm making it in a minute)
Basic ingredients :
3 x large-ish potatoes
1 x large-ish onion
4 or 5 cloves of garlic
Splash of olive oil
Ground almonds (about two heaped desert spoons)
1 litre full fat milk
500ml of stock (any kind will do)
Variable ingredients :
Sausage/chicken/bacon/salami - I tend to use half a chorizo and some bacon, but I have used chicken and other meats before.
Vegetables - whatever's to hand, really. Celery, carrots, peppers and spinach are all fine, as are broccoli, peas, sweet potatoes, etc.
Mushrooms - if you want a bit more heft to it all and like the flavour.
Herbs and seasoning - again, whatever you like : I use paprika, salt and pepper usually but have made it with chilli before.
Instructions :
1. Chop up the potatoes as small as you can and begin to boil them in a pan.
2. Chop up the onion and garlic and begin cooking them in the oil in the bottom of a large saucepan/casserole.
3. Chop up the rest of the veggies and add to the large pan as you go.
4. Stick the kettle on.
5. Chop up the meat you've selected and fry on a medium heat in a non-stick frying pan. If you've gone for two or more types, do it one at a time, eg chorizo first, then the bacon. When you've finished the first one, pour everything (juices especially) into a bowl for now and move to the next one.
6. With the kettle boiled, make the stock in a jug.
7. The onions and garlic should be browned off and the veggies starting to cook so add the stock to the big pot.
8. Check on the potatoes. They don't need to be completely soft, just at least half-way boiled.
9. Finish cooking the meat. Pour everything into the bowl so you've got a mixed meat selection to add to the mix, but we don't need it yet.
10. Add the spuds to the big pot and stir in so everything's cooking nicely. You can turn up the heat if you're getting hungry. Leave for ten minutes.
11. Do some washing up or your kitchen will look like a bomb-site.
12. It should be looking like a soup by now : translucent veggie broth, coming along nicely. Time to break out the blender : ladles at the ready ! Scoop half the pot into the mixer and whizz for a few seconds till it becomes a lot smoother and resembles warm sick
13. You may wish to pour the content of the blender into a bowl for a moment before whizzing half the remaining contents of the large pot.
Make sure you leave some juicy vegetable chunks in there though - you don't want to blend all of it or it'll be a bit gruelly ..
14. Pour what you've blended back into the big pot. All of it. Now add some seasoning : paprika and a generous amount of S & P.
15. Add the ground almonds to thicken it all.
16. Add half the milk. You might not need it at all, but I like to do this because it makes a lot more soup overall - this will easily serve 4 people, but you can stretch it to lunch the next day if you're canny ..
17. Finally - the best bit - add the meat and all its juices and stir through. If you use chorizo, there should be loads of the good stuff : all deep crimson and that gorgeous smell. You deliberately do NOT want to blend that stuff because it's what makes the soup so good.
18. OPTIONAL : toast some almond flakes and add to the final pot for an added texture. Depends if you like your soup crunchy, I guess
Leave on a low heat till you're ready to eat and serve either with wholegrain crackers, American style, or chunky brown bread.
Don't serve too much of it because it's MASSIVELY filling - better to have a smaller portion first and see how you get on.
I've wasted whole afternoons sleeping this stuff off .. but it's bloody gorgeous, especially on a cold day ..
£2.53 a pack in TESCO enough for 4 easily)
