A couple of nice nourishing 'soups'

PhilipMarlowe

Plenty of eating and goodness in these two, have often made the minestrone but only made the chicken noodle one once (so far). A family of 4 here so usually make a large amount and keep some over for the following day.

Minestrone with seasonal vegetables (read: whatever's in the fridge).

Largest saucepan on a very low heat...
Plenty of olive oil (5 tablespoons full)
Chop up a pack (6-10) rashers into strips and cook slowly in the olive oil while preparing the rest of the stuff....
3-4 carrots chopped
1-2 Parsnips
3-4 Sticks of celery
Some baby potatoes, diced (optional)
Cook all these slowly in with the bacon, just softening the veg really, maybe 5 mins....
Add in 3 cloves of crushed garlic, plenty of black pepper and salt
Then add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes and about 2 pints of chicken stock (I use 1 stock cube dissolved into 1 pint of boiling water x2) and bring the whole lot to a boil, then reduce heat (a lot) and leave simmer gently for about 40 mins.

At this stage, I add a tin of cannellini beans and a few fistfuls of pasta (shells, macaroni, bow-ties, whatever you have), bring to a boil again before you again let simmer until pasta is cooked (maybe 20-30 more mins?).

Perfect with your favourite fresh white bread...

If the soup gets too thick or, if after leaving overnight in the fridge you need to add moisture to it, just make up another chicken stock cube in a pint of boiling water and away you go.




Chicken Noodle

I sliced 6 chicken breasts (each on into about 3 pieces) and fried them in about 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan on a low/medium heat.While the chicken was frying, I kinda 'mashed' it with a wooden spoon, shredding it into smaller size chunks.

Another 4 tablespoons of olive oil in my largest saucepan on a low heat....
One medium/large onion, finely chopped.
4 spring onions, chopped, but not too finely
Chopped in 4 carrots, 4 sticks of celery, a small pack of mangetout peas (largely chopped) and the same with some babycorn.
3-4 cloves of crushed garlic.

When the veg had softened, I added in the chicken which was mostly cooked.
Then added in 3 pints of chicken stock (3 cubes in 3 pints of boiling water), some chopped rosemary and 4 or 5 bay leaves (take out before eating), brought to a boil and then left to simmer over a low heat for maybe 30 mins or so.
Then added in some (100-200g) thread egg noodles after breaking them up and continued cooking for another wee while until the noodles were ready.
I didn't add any salt or pepper to this but you could if you want... maybe even some soy sauce.

Again, smashing with white bread.

mike65

Sounds lovely

Mike.