Healthy And Hearty Winter Soup Recipes

Mushroom And Barley Soup With Potato Croutons

What’s better than a creamy mushroom soup to warm you up from the inside out? But these kinds of soups are often laden with heavy cream. Try out this health-conscious mushroom and barley soup for a delicious meal without the added calories:

Ingredients

• 30ml (2 Tbsp) butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 x 250g button mushroom punnets, cleaned and halved
• 250g exotic mushrooms, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Fresh thyme, picked
• 1.25l (5 cups) chicken stock
• 1 potato, cut into 1cm blocks
• 500ml (2 cups) pearled barley, cooked according to packet instructions
• 45ml (3 Tbsp) soy sauce
• 125ml (1/2 cup) coconut cream 
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Micro herbs, to garnish
• Reserved fried mushrooms
• Chilli oil or cream for garnishing

Method

1. Heat a large pot over a medium to high heat and add the butter with a dash of olive oil to prevent the butter from burning. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-5 minutes, or until nicely browned. Reserve some mushrooms for garnishing.
2. Lower the temperature to a medium heat. Add the garlic and fresh thyme, to your taste, and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add your chicken stock and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes. Heat a frying pan and add a small knob of butter and a dash of olive oil. Fry the potato cubes until cooked, golden and crispy. Season to taste and set aside until needed.
4. Use a stick blender to puree the soup. Adjust with some chicken stock or water if you feel like a runnier soup.
5. Add the cooked barley and allow to heat through. Once heated, add the coconut cream and soy sauce and stir. Remove from the heat and serve with micro herbs, reserved mushrooms and chilli oil or cream as garnish.

Adapted from: https://foodloversmarket.co.za/recipes/mushroom-barley-soup/ [caption id="attachment_112726" align="alignnone" width="660"] https://foodloversmarket.co.za/recipes/mushroom-barley-soup/[/caption]

Bean Soup With Chorizo And Parsley 

Beans are packed with protein and fibre, which means you stay fuller for longer. Whip up this wholesome kidney bean soup topped with crispy chorizo and parsley oil to see you through long winter days. You can exclude the chorizo for a vegetarian version or substitute with crispy bacon bits. 

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 200g sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 400g can diced tomatoes
• ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 chorizo sausage, sliced

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic and sweet potato and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in stock and tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato is tender.
2. Meanwhile, blanch parsley in boiling water for 30 seconds until bright green. Refresh in chilled water and drain well. Process in food processor until pureed. Add extra virgin olive oil and process until combined.
3. Puree soup in a food processor (or use a stick blender) until smooth. Return to the pan. Add beans and keep warm over a low heat.
4. Fry chorizo in a small, non-stick frying pan until crisp. Ladle soup into serving bowls. Top with chorizo and drizzle with the parsley oil.

Source: https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipedetail/4034/bean-soup-with-chorizo-tomato [caption id="attachment_112727" align="alignnone" width="660"] https://www.freepik.com/carpaumar[/caption]

Chicken Noodle Soup 

There’s a reason moms make chicken noodle soup for their little ones when they feel under the weather. It’s packed with good nutrients and helps soothe sore throats. If you feel a sniffle coming along, brew up a pot of this healing broth. You can freeze the leftovers for those cold winter nights when the very last thing you want to do is slave over the stove. 

Ingredients

• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 large leeks, trimmed and finely sliced
• 2 corn on the cobs, corn kernels cut off
• 200g vermicelli noodles
• Small bunch parsley, finely chopped For the stock:
• 2 onions, quartered
• 1 leek, cut into chunks
• 2 carrots, thickly sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 black peppercorns
• Parsley stalks
• 4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1.3kg chicken

Method:

1. Put all the stock ingredients and the chicken in a very large saucepan, then cover everything with about 3 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 1 hour -1½ hours, until the chicken is cooked through. Skim off any froth every 20 minutes or so. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Strain the stock through a sieve, skimming off as much fat as you can.
2. Rinse out the pan and put the stock back in, then simmer on a high heat until reduced a little – you need about 2 litres in total. Add the carrots and leeks, then simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, shred the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones. Add to the pan with the sweetcorn. Add the vermicelli noodles, unless you want to freeze the soup, and simmer for about 7 minutes more, until the corn and pasta is cooked. Ladle into bowls, sprinkled with the parsley. 

Source: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-sweetcorn-noodle-soup [caption id="attachment_112728" align="alignnone" width="660"] https://www.freepik.com/stockking[/caption] Do you have any go-to winter soup recipes to share? Let us know about them!