Hairy Bikers Winter Vegetable Soup

125g of chorizo and 100g of Puy lentils are what stop Hairy Bikers winter vegetable soup tasting like a plain bowl of root veg. British Classics builds it on carrot, turnip, potato and parsnip, finished with kale and soured cream. Six bowls take an hour and a half and come to roughly 320 calories each.

They write in British Classics that it is like a cosy overcoat, and that the chorizo really adds some oomph. They recommend the spicy version labelled picante, and they say to use whatever root vegetables and greens the shops have on the day.

Two different paprikas go in, and the split matters. Two heaped teaspoons of sweet carry the colour and the smoke, while one heaped teaspoon of hot brings the heat, so you can shift the balance without losing either.

Hairy Bikers Winter Vegetable Soup

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Simmering Cuisine:British Courses:Soup

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 25 minutesCook time:1 hour 5 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time:1 hour 30 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:320 kcal Best Season:Winter

Description

Chorizo releases its paprika-stained oil into the pot as it simmers, and that is where the colour comes from. Root vegetables, Puy lentils and tinned tomatoes cook with it for forty-five minutes. Shredded kale finishes this Hairy Bikers winter vegetable soup, served with soured cream.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 2 carrots
• 2 turnips
• 1 large potato, preferably Maris Piper
• 1 large parsnip
• 2 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika, plus extra to serve
• 1 heaped tsp hot smoked paprika
• 400g can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 125g chorizo sausage, skinned and cut into 5mm slices
• 100g Puy lentils, rinsed
• 1.75 litres chicken stock
• 100g cavolo nero, kale or spring greens, tough stems removed, shredded
• soured cream or crème fraîche, to serve
• sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Soften the onion: Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic gently for 5 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Meanwhile cut the carrots, turnips, potato and parsnip into rough 1.5cm chunks.
2. Add the root veg: Tip the chopped vegetables into the pan and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until they start to soften.
3. Fry the paprika: Stir in both paprikas and fry for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée, turn the heat up a little and cook for a few minutes more.
4. Simmer: Add the chorizo, lentils and stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer gently for 45 minutes, until the vegetables and lentils are tender.
5. Add the greens: Stir in the cavolo nero, kale or spring greens and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve: Ladle into deep bowls, add a spoonful of soured cream or crème fraîche and dust with a little extra sweet paprika.

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FAQs

Can I leave the chorizo out?

You can, but know what goes with it. The chorizo releases paprika-stained oil into the soup as it simmers, and that oil carries a lot of the colour and depth.

Take it out, use vegetable stock instead of chicken, and the soup is vegetarian. Push the sweet smoked paprika to three teaspoons to close some of the gap, or add a splash of oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Their veggie meatballs lean on smoked paprika for the same reason.

Why Puy lentils rather than red?

Puy lentils hold their shape through 45 minutes of simmering, which is what a chunky soup needs. Red lentils would collapse completely in that time and thicken the whole pot into a purée.

Green or brown lentils substitute fine, though they go a little softer than Puy. Rinse whichever you use before they go in. Their butternut squash soup is the opposite approach, where everything gets blended on purpose.

Which winter vegetables can I swap?

Most of them. The book says to use whatever root vegetables and greens you have on the day, so swede, celeriac and sweet potato all work in place of turnip or parsnip.

Keep the total weight about the same and cut everything to 1.5cm so it cooks evenly. Go easy on potato, though, because too much makes the broth cloudy and starchy instead of clear.

What about the version with dumplings?

That is a separate recipe rather than a variation. Veggie Feasts has a Winter Vegetable Soup with Dumplings built on barley, beetroot and a teaspoon of Marmite, with caraway dumplings on top, serving four.

That one is vegetarian, or vegan if you use vegetarian suet. If dumplings are what you want, their oxtail soup shows how suet dumplings steam on top of a pot, though it takes four hours rather than an hour and a half.

When do the greens go in?

Right at the end, for five minutes only. Kale and cavolo nero need almost no time, and longer turns them grey and slippery.

Strip the tough stems before shredding, because those stay chewy however long they cook. The soup keeps three days in the fridge, though the greens soften every time you reheat it, so hold them back and add them fresh if you are cooking ahead.