Enter the Soup Dragon!

In our family, we say that if you leave anything edible in the kitchen for long enough without it getting up and moving around on its own, Mum will make soup with it.

Leftover Christmas turkey scraps, the carcass from Sunday's roast chicken, bones from the beef hotpot the other day - none of them were saved from the soup pot. Add a few chopped veg, boil it into submission, blend to a smooth thick paste, pour into bowls and serve with hunks of fresh bread and wedges of delicious, grainy Farmhouse Cheddar. A perfect Saturday lunch or midweek supper.

So, it should come as no surprise that I'm a bit of Soupster myself. But sadly, it goes unappreciated - the Ovver Arf and Kidling Grand have grown up in Greece on Mediterranean fare and they tend to turn their noses up at the thick nourishing soups that made me the woman I am today. Their idea of soup is either a broth with a creamy egg & lemon sauce added or invalid's chicken soup (though I can occasionally tempt them with a serious Minestrone).

But the Soup Dragon lives on - especially on days when the boys demand meat on their plates and I have to come up with something quick, easy and cheap for the weirdo semi-veggy Brit bird who cooks and cleans (OK, I cook) for them.

I get a strange satisfaction from peeling and chopping veg for soups, usually whilst plugged into my iPod listening to podcasts of Radio 4 programmes (yes, I AM that old fogey - and yes, I DO listen to The Archers).

In go the veg, sweating gently in a slick of olive oil at the bottom of the pan - onions, celery, garlic, leeks, carrots, spuds, sweet potatoes, squash, peppers, broccoli.... take you pick according to what soup you're aiming for (or just make it up as you go along). Once it has all started to soften, throw in a good dose of stock (again, the stock you use depends on what you're aiming for), bring to the boil, let it seethe for a while, liquidise and enjoy (or freeze for future use).

This week, I treated myself to a quick and easy leek and potato soup - just right as the first chilly notes of autumn start to nip the air. I sweated thinly sliced leeks, added a couple of diced spuds, and sweated some more (both me and the veg). Then in went some vegetable stock (you can use chicken if you prefer) and I brought it all to the boil, throwing in a few sprigs of fresh sage. As it simmered, I added some salt, pepper and nutmeg, and when it was done, I zapped it in the blender and served with a little grated cheese sprinkled on top.... yum.

Tasty, and it's guilt-free too - virtually fat free and bereft of cholesterol.

I've got a few cheat's soups that can be whipped up in a matter of minutes too, and they're a great last-minute stand-by.

Summer tomato caprese soup:

chop 4-5 toms roughly, boil with a clove of garlic in a little vegetable stock - just enough to cover them - for about 5-10 minutes, add a little seasoning, then chuck it in the blender with a good glug of olive oil, some fresh basil and spoonful of mascapone or other soft white cheese to make it nice and creamy.

Pea and mint soup:

throw 4-5 handfuls of frozen (or even better, fresh) peas in a saucepan with a clove of garlic and a little vegetable stock, add a sprig or two of fresh mint, throw in salt & pepper, plus a smidge of sugar, and boil for about 5-10 minutes. Then throw it all into the blender with a glug of olive oil and some raw fresh mint leaves and eat.

It's ridiculously green - the Ovver Arf says it looks like toxic waste - but it tastes divine.

But don't take my word for it - awake your inner Soup Dragon and get chopping!

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Apologies for all this excessive foodiness lately. It's all the fault of Becca and Cheffy Daddy who have launched their "Oui Chef!" project over at http://www.beckicklesie.com/2010/10/table-1-oui-chef-virtual-kitchen.html?spref=tw Check it out!