Category Archives: Soups

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Soup

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cortijoblog butternut squash soup

QUICK AND EASY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

We generally harvest our butternut squashes in September and then leave them out in the sun for several days to ripen. It is important to treat them with care so that they don’t bruise and leave about 10cm of stalk on each one so that they don’t go off. We then store them upright in crates with a single layer in each one. They will happily keep for 5 or 6 months like that but you shoUld check them every so often just to be on the safe side. If you find that any of the stalks have fallen off, it is a good idea to peel and process them. Bags of grated squash or pieces can be frozen and later used in soups, stews or for bhajis or fritters.

cortijoblog butternut squash soup

Quick and Easy Butternut Squash Soup

This is a really quick and easy soup to prepare in the pressure cooker and only takes 20 minutes to make.

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 potato, roughly chopped
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • 2 spoons of Greek yoghurt
  • salt and pepper

METHOD

  1. Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds and cut into chunks.
  2. Put all the ingredients in the pressure cooker and pour over the vegetable stock.
  3. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Stir well.
  5. Cover the pressure cooker and bring to pressure.
  6. Turn down the heat and cook for 20 minutes.
  7. Turn off the heat and leave the pressure cooker for 5 minutes before releasing the pressure.
  8. Blend with a stick blender.
  9. Check for seasoning and then serve.

Onion and potato soup

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Onion and potato soup
Serves 6
Until our own onions are ready, we need to buy them in and the other day I bought a sack of massive Spanish onions. Normally, I would use four large onions but with these ones, three were enough.
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Ingredients
  1. 3 extra large onions or 4 large onions, halved, quartered and then sliced
  2. 2 large potatoes, quartered
  3. 1 litre vegetable stock
  4. 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  5. 2 dessertspoons Greek yoghurt
  6. salt and plenty of pepper
  7. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat some oil in a pressure cooker and vigorously fry the onions for 10-15 minutes.
  2. Add the potatoes, stock and salt. Put the lid on and bring up to pressure.
  3. Cook for 15 minutes and then quick release the pressure by placing the pressure cooker under the cold tap.
  4. Transfer the potato into a 1-litre measuring jug with some of the onions and stock.
  5. Blend with a stick blender.
  6. Stir in the Greek Yoghurt.
  7. Season with pepper.
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Cauliflower soup

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cauli1

INGEDIENTS:
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium potatoes, chopped
1 medium cauliflower, stalks and florets, roughly chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
a pinch chilli powder
500ml milk
1 carton Greek yoghurt

Heat some olive oil in a pressure cooker or saucepan and fry the onion until soft. Add the cauliflower, potato and spices, mix well and fry for another 5 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the vegetable stock.

If using a pressure cooker, bring to pressure and cook for 15 minutes. If using a saucepan, bring to the boil and then simmer for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked.

Remove the lid and blend the soup with a stick blender. You can make the soup as smooth or as chunky as you like.

Pour in the milk and heat through. Stir in the Greek yoghurt and serve.

cauli2

 

Spicy red pepper soup

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red pepper soupINGREDIENTS:
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 large red peppers, roughly chopped
1 large red pepper, finely shopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
chilli powder
spicy paprika
salt and pepper
vegetable stock
1 carton Greek yoghurt

Heat some olive oil in a saucepan or pressure cooker and soften the onion. Add the roughly chopped red pepper and fry for another 5 minutes or so.

Sprinkle over the chilli powder and the paprika and stir will.

Pour over the tomatoes and fry for another 5 minutes or so before adding the vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper.

If using a pressure cooker, bring to pressure and cook for 15 minutes. If using a normal saucepan, simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and blend the soup. Add the finely chopped red pepper and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. Stir in the Greek yoghurt.

Sopa de Ajo – Spanish Garlic Soup

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spanish garlic soup

Spanish garlic soup

Seeing as garlic soup is one of our all-time favourites and we are always happy when it’s included on the “menú del día”, I thought it was about time I learnt to cook it myself – especially as we’ve grown so much garlic this year and the chickens are still laying plenty of eggs.

I tried this recipe the other day and it came out well so am cooking it again tonight. Here is the recipe for 2 for a main meal or 4 for a starter. If there are four of you, I would probably double up on the bread and the ham. Some recipes use a ham bone instead of the diced ham but this is a quick alternative and can be rustled up in no time at all.

sopa5

INGREDIENTS:
8 cloves of garlic (or as many as you like), finely sliced
4 slices of French loaf
olive oil
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon spicy paprika
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
25g chopped Serrano ham
salt
pepper
1.2 litres chicken stock
2-4 eggs

sopa3Heat the oven to 200ºC. Line a baking tray with foil. Slice the bread, arrange on the tray and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes.

sopa4Leave to cool for a while and then cut into cubes.

Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and gently sauté the garlic until soft but not coloured. Add the ham and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the paprika and chilli powder and stir well before adding the fried bread.

sopa2Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil.

Turn the heat down to a low simmer and crack the eggs into the soup. Cover the pan and leave the eggs to poach for 2-3 minutes and then serve.