Soups made with leftovers

[Renee Profile]

Luca, your chickpea, red pepper dip sounds just my thing at the moment. Do you have a recipe please?

[Luca Profile]

Luca, your chickpea, red pepper dip sounds just my thing at the moment. Do you have a recipe please?

Hi Renee

It's one of those throw together and no fixed amounts. Basically I roast the red pepper with garlic, at least two cloves. Put roasted pepper into plastic bag and seal perfectly. Once cool this allows very easy removal of skin. Blend red pepper, garlic, equal amount, more or less, of cooked chickpeas. Add some evoo, salt and ground black pepper et voilà. Squeeze over fresh lemon juice and dip with anything you like. Toasted pitta strips go well.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I would imagine that many famous " soups" were created with bits and pieces of leftovers.
We could start with " minestrone"....

[Bethgem Profile]

That's a good idea! What about mulligatawny? Must have been invented from the last of the servings of a good Curry

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I believe Mulligatawny is a British (highly modified!) version of Rasam - pepper water. Coming from Tamil Nadu, I suppose the original version must have been pretty damn hot!

[Bethgem Profile]

I bet!
My favourite is tomato soup. I have tried making it but I cannot get the taste that I am used to having with Heinz tomato soup.
My leftovers soup I made last week was also a bit of a failure too. I tried anyway, not wanting to throw stuff away.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Sometimes those soups are delicious, and other times, they just don´t seem to hit the spot. Never mind - try again!!

[Renee Profile]

Thank you so much Luca! Sorry, I have only just seen your reply.

[Luca Profile]

No problem Renee. I hope you enjoy it. I sometimes add some whipped or soft goat cheese too.

[Renee Profile]

Yes, that would be nice too. I'll make it tomorrow.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Some years back it worried me the amount of peelings I was generating, thinking that they'd probably be an entire meal for some third world family as they went in the bin. I deliberately saved my peelings and "end bits", till I had what looked like it would make a substantial soup, with all the ingredients for a full-blown veggie soup, albeit in peelings (deliberately generous peelings).

Unfortunately the resulting broth tasted like mud

[Renee Profile]

Oh dear, that did make me laugh, Sakkarin and can well believe it! Mind you, if you were starving and there was nothing else you would have been glad of it.

Bethgem, I once made tomato soup for my two boys and they didn't like it, preferring of course, Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup! I never made it again.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Hahaha. I can imagine how awful the soup tasted Sakkers.

Bethgem, I have a tomato soup recipe that tastes like Heinz. The trick is the apple.

Ingredients
roasted tomatoes, or tinned plum tomatoes
shallots, wine,
1 apple, parsley,
1 clove garlic,
chicken stock,
double cream

sauté shallot apple and garlic, and add the tomatoes and stock
plus tied bundle of parsley
simmer for 30 mins, remove parsley
purée thoroughly with a stick blender
make croutons and cool
& add cream to soup before serving

[MariaK Profile]

More waste not, want not than leftovers: next time you buy a bunch of radishes use the leaves in a "green soup" they have a slightly peppery flavour. Chopped onions, bit of leek, finely diced stick of celery , a potato (optional) all softened in a bit of butter or oil or both. Chop up the raddish leaves & add - cover with stock or water. Outer leaves of a cos lettuce are also good - add at the very end, When cooked purée with stick blender . I like to add a bit of cream and serve with croutons. A lonely courgette is also a good addition.

[jeral Profile]

One thing I learned the hard way about skins is not to use those of apples. I recall you're not supposed to use unpeeled apples in smoothies. I stewed some baking apples once, thinking the skins would loosen (like spud skins). Instead the whole lot tasted foul.

On tom soup, I find a finely grated medium carrot seems to add something... No idea what or why but it seems to taste better with it.

Interestingly, Gillthepainter, I add grated apple to spag bol tom sauce, although only a quarter of a large apple to two 400g tins of toms, although with toms I usually add a half teaspoon sugar too.

[Renee Profile]

Now that sounds better than the one that I made, Gill. I'll copy it and put it with my recipes. Thanks!

Thank you for those tips MariaK. I always throw radish leaves away. What a waste.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Agree with jeral about apple skins,we had an apple tart in Lille of the kind that is filled with apple puree and finished with thin slices of apple. In this case the skin was left on the apple slices which looked pretty, but it was like eating little strips of dental floss

Not tried putting apple with tomatoes or in soup, other than parsnip and apple, and I prefer Jane Grigson's parsnip soup, without apple.