Souper dooper

Now there's a chill in the air, there's always one thing that's guaranteed a warm welcome by all the family and friends. No prizes for guessing I'm thinking of big, hearty, home-made soups. There's nothing as comforting, nor, if you've got the basic ingredients to hand, as enjoyable and easy to make. You can conjure up soup from almost anything and for next to nothing. It's fine to use leftovers - as long as they're the right sort. I mean a roast chicken carcass as a good base, or the cooking liquid from a boiled ham joint, rather than overcooked meat and veg that's been in the fridge for a week. At this time of year mushrooms, game and root vegetables are all crying out to be turned into soup if you haven't enough to make a solid meal of them.

Now there's a chill in the air, there's always one thing that's guaranteed a warm welcome by all the family and friends. No prizes for guessing I'm thinking of big, hearty, home-made soups. There's nothing as comforting, nor, if you've got the basic ingredients to hand, as enjoyable and easy to make. You can conjure up soup from almost anything and for next to nothing. It's fine to use leftovers - as long as they're the right sort. I mean a roast chicken carcass as a good base, or the cooking liquid from a boiled ham joint, rather than overcooked meat and veg that's been in the fridge for a week. At this time of year mushrooms, game and root vegetables are all crying out to be turned into soup if you haven't enough to make a solid meal of them.

A good stock is essential - that's where the chicken or ham bones come in. Having said that, concentrates and stock cubes aren't as salty as they used to be and as long as the other ingredients are up to scratch will be fine.

Soup used to be a staple of every banquet. If you've ever read an old-fashioned menu, there'll always be a soup course, including, perhaps, a forgotten gem like mock turtle.

Nowadays in restaurants few people seem to order soup, perhaps because it's not considered good value, or because the alternatives are so much more interesting. I must admit that's what I think when I'm eating out. It doesn't help that soup is so often made without the love and attention it needs.

When I'm cooking soup I love to taste it through all its stages, especially a broth of slow-cooking cuts of meat gradually giving out their flavour, or a fish soup as it releases the fragrance of the sea. Witnessing the transformation of ingredients from the first few seconds when the onions soften, to the final feeling of triumph and satisfaction when it's in the bowl giving off steam like an autumn mist and you can dunk crusty bread into it - that's what makes winter soups so wonderfully heart-warming, for the cook as well as for everyone else.

Hungarian cabbage and meatball soup

Serves 4

Paprika is used a lot in Hungarian cooking. It's made, not of chillies as some may think, but ground aromatic, sweet red peppers. There are various strengths of paprika on the market, including the Spanish pimenton. This also comes in different strengths and you can use that instead of paprika, but it's best to choose the sweet one.

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2tsp caraway seeds
1tsp thyme leaves
2tsp paprika, preferably sweet
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp plain flour
1.5 litres beef stock
200g tin of chopped tomatoes
Half a head of Savoy cabbage, cut into rough 3cm chunks
150ml soured cream to serve
1tbsp vegetable or corn oil

for the meatballs

250g minced fatty pork, like belly
70g fresh white breadcrumbs
1tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1tsp paprika

Gently cook the onion, garlic, caraway, thyme and paprika in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes, stirring every so often. Add the flour and stir well, then gradually stir in the stock and the chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil, season and simmer gently for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the meatballs by mixing all the ingredients together and seasoning. Mould them into 12 balls then fry them in the vegetable oil over a high heat, turning them, until they are golden brown all over, then drain on kitchen paper.

Add the meatballs to the soup with the cabbage and simmer for another 15 minutes or so until the cabbage is cooked. Serve with sour cream on the side or spooned on top.

Brown Windsor soup

Serves 4-6

Occasionally heard of, but never seen, this traditional soup is distinctly out of favour these days. I defy you to find it on a menu anywhere. In fact, it's seen as a bit of a joke - a reminder of drab and dreary food in hotel dining rooms. But like so many old-fashioned dishes that have suffered a dip in popularity, it doesn't deserve its bad reputation and in capable hands it can be delicious. It's a nourishing, thick and beefy affair boosted with a drop of sherry. You could easily cheat and blend any leftover braised meat, such as oxtail, with stock and a little cream sherry - don't go using up your best amontillado; this is just the thing for using up that bottle of cream sherry you won at the tombola. In fact, the soup probably also came about as a way of using up old stew, which is how it got its dubious reputation. You can't get away with liquidising the leftover Sunday roast and gravy - you do need that rich, braised meat flavour.

Vegetable oil for frying
300g braising steak, cut into small pieces
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small leek, well rinsed, trimmed and roughly chopped
Good knob of butter
2tbsps flour
1tsp tomato purée
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Few sprigs of thyme
1 small bay leaf
3 litres beef stock (a good cube will do)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2tbsps cream sherry

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and fry the meat and vegetables over a high heat until nicely browned, stirring occasionally.

Add the butter and flour, stir well and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the tomato purée, garlic, thyme and bay leaf, and gradually add the beef stock, stirring well to avoid lumps. Bring to the boil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and simmer for 2 hours, until the meat is tender.

Save a few pieces of meat and blend the rest of the soup in a liquidiser or with a stick blender. Strain through a sieve (not fine meshed) or colander. The soup should be rich in flavour and a nice brown colour; if not, return it to the heat and simmer it a little longer to concentrate the flavour. Add the tender cubes of meat, check the seasoning, and pour in the sherry just before serving.

Potato, leek and parsley soup

Serves 4

Sometimes the simplest ingredients make the tastiest soups. This is a bit like a hot, unblended vichyssoise, but served nice and chunky like this it's a perfect winter warmer. All it takes is the kinds of ingredients you probably already have hanging around in the kitchen. At its most basic it's an economical and filling bowlful too, but you can take it a bit further without splashing out and add a few pieces of bacon, or move it on a bit by adding a couple of handfuls of mussels to the hot broth - they'll open in the heat and don't need any more cooking.In the past I've served it with some hot or smoke-roasted salmon - the type called bradan rost - pieces. Use large new potatoes or mids or larger potatoes, but not the very floury ones.

2 leeks, trimmed, cut into rough 2cm squares and washed
A good knob of butter
500g waxy potatoes, like charlotte, peeled and cut into rough chunks
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
3tbsp roughly chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan and gently cook the leeks without colouring for 2-3 minutes, with a lid on. Give them a stir every so often to prevent them browning.

Add the potatoes and stock, season and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are just cooked, not falling apart, but still retaining some firmness. Add the parsley and simmer for another 2-3 minutes and serve.

Morning market noodles

Serves 4

In the Mekong region of South-east Asia around the river that flows through China, along the border of Burma and Laos and into Thailand, the early morning markets stalls are literally steaming, with women cooking up soups and noodles for shoppers and workers. Morning market noodles can consist of pretty much whatever is available in the market, but start with a base of fragrant broth to which is added anything that takes the cook's fancy. If you've got a table heater at home you can construct your own noodle soup at the dinner table, having the broth and a selection of greens, chicken, spring onions and so on to add to it.

for the broth

8 chicken thighs, skinned
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and quartered
10 black peppercorns or Sichuan peppercorns
A small piece of root ginger, scraped and roughly chopped
2 lime leaves

for the soup

Thai fish sauce or salt to season
500g thin dried rice noodles or rice vermicelli, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes or 1kg fresh rice noodles
100g bean sprouts
250g small Chinese greens like pak choi or choi sum, trimmed and cut into 5-6cm pieces
1 bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced on the angle
2tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves
50g unsalted peanuts, lightly roasted in the oven and chopped

to serve (optional condiments)

Black rice vinegar
Soy sauce
Roasted sesame oil
Chilli sauce
Fish sauce
Lime wedges

To make the broth put the chicken thighs in a large saucepan with the rest of the ingredients for the broth and cover with about 3 litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the chicken thighs and transfer them to a plate to cool. Strain the stock through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean pan.

Simmer the stock until it is reduced by about one third and you are happy with the flavour. Season with a couple of tablespoons of Thai fish sauce or a little salt if you prefer.

Remove the bones from the chicken, shred the meat into chunky-sized pieces and add to the broth.

Add the noodles, bean sprouts, Chinese greens, spring onions and coriander to the broth and simmer for 3-4 minutes with a lid on.

Serve in individual bowls or one large one, scattered with the peanuts. Leave the lime wedges and a selection of condiments on the table for guests to help themselves.