Copyright birminghammail
Soup is a simple and comforting dish perfect for both autumn and winter, with a variety of options to suit everyone's dietary needs. Whether you're whipping it up at home or grabbing a tin from the supermarket, there's always a soup that will tantalise your taste buds. While many of us might opt for a quick tin of soup or a basic homemade recipe, professional chefs are known for taking things up a notch. Bearing this in mind, five chefs have shared their favourite soup recipes . Some may require a bit more effort, but others are surprisingly straightforward. If you're aiming to impress your guests and bring a touch of Michelin-starred magic to your dinner table this soup season, then this recipe from multi-Michelin-starred Steve Smith, Head Chef at Latymer, Pennyhill Park, is just the ticket. Sharing his recipe with Express.co.uk, Steve notes that while it's a step up from your average homemade soup, it's not too demanding for any enthusiastic cook, reports the Mirror . Ingredients: Method: Start by melting the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan. Then add the artichokes, shallots and garlic, sautéing until they are caramelised. Pour in the stock and bring it back to the boil. Simmer until the artichokes are cooked through. Add the coffee and leave it to infuse for 10 minutes. Blend everything together and pass through a chinois or sieve if you have one. Stir in the creme fraiche, and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. "Pumpkin is such a brilliant ingredient and we forget how versatile it is," says James, the Chef Director at Rockwater. "I love that earthy sweetness, and pairing it with ginger gives it a proper kick. The orange juice adds freshness, and the thyme ties it all together. It's simple, but full of flavour - the kind of soup you can serve as a starter at a dinner party or just enjoy with a thick slice of buttered sourdough." Ingredients: Method: Melt the butter in a pan. Add the leeks, pumpkin, ginger, thyme, and bay leaves. Sweat until soft. Add orange juice and reduce slightly. Pour in the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Blend, strain, and season to taste. Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds and buttered sourdough. Chef and restaurateur Mark Hix shares his recipe for watercress soup, singing the praises of this leafy green vegetable: "Hampshire and Dorset are centres of watercress production and it's at its best in winter. Yet while we will happily munch our way through a pile of rocket, we neglect our local peppery equivalent. So often watercress ends up as a garnish, left behind on the plate instead of being eaten and enjoyed as a nutritious vegetable. "As with most soups and sauces made with leafy green herbs, overcooking can kill the flavour and colour of watercress. So, cook briefly and chill quickly to preserve the delicate taste of this underused English leaf. Eaten raw it can be so strong it helps to mix it with other leaves or try it with orange. Asian flavours, too, suit it well. Apart from salads, though, it makes a great, tasty and quick soup. "The strong taste and colour of watercress is a reminder of its high iron content. In the past it was also recommended for fighting scurvy, the ailment caused by too little vitamin C." Ingredients: Method: Separate the stalks from the watercress and set the leaves aside. Gently sauté the leek in the vegetable oil in a covered pan until soft, without letting it brown. Add the vegetable stock, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes, then add the watercress stalks and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Take off the heat, add two-thirds of the watercress leaves and blend the soup in a liquidiser, or with a stick blender, until smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Chop the remaining watercress leaves and stir into the soup. If necessary, bring back to the boil briefly. Top with a dollop of goat's curd before serving. Gennaro Contaldo, one half of the Two Greedy Italians with Antonio Carluccio and the chef who taught Jamie Oliver how to make Italian food, told us: "In Italy, especially when I was growing up, no part of the pig was wasted and it was common to use the prosciutto bone in soups and stews for extra flavour. "When I can't get prosciutto bone, I simply use thick chunks of prosciutto, which you can ask for in Italian delis or you could use a piece of gammon. The prosciutto really enhances the finished dish and together with beans or pulses takes me back to family evening meals when I was a child. "I also like to add a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO rind during cooking and at the end stir in grated Parmigiano Reggiano PDO for an even richer flavour. This nutritious soup is a perfect winter warmer and served with some rustic bread is a satisfying meal." Ingredients: Method: Pop the prosciutto pieces, all the vegetables, bay leaves, peppercorns and roughly two litres of water into a large saucepan. Place over a high heat and bring to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to medium, add the Parmigiano Reggiano PDO rind, partially cover with a lid and simmer for one and a half hours. Add the borlotti beans and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and fold in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano PDO. Share between serving bowls and serve straight away with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of grated Parmigiano Reggiano PDO and some toasted rustic bread. Moving on to seafood, acclaimed chef Robert Thompson MBE from the RT Cafe Grill on the Isle of Wight has provided a recipe for a crab and Armagnac bisque, explaining to Express.co.uk: "I absolutely love a rich and full-flavoured shellfish bisque. Ask your fishmonger for shellfish bones, lobster crab, prawn, langoustine etc." Ingredients: Method: Carefully lower the crab into a large saucepan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain the crab and run cold water over it for 5-10 minutes. Crack open the crab's claws and carefully remove all the meat. Cut through the body and use a lobster pick or the tip of a teaspoon to extract meat. Finish by removing the brown meat from the main shell. Pass the brown meat through a coarse sieve and check through the white meat, removing any shell. Roast the crab bones for 30 minutes at 200°C. Cook the mirepoix of vegetables in a little oil until soft, then add the crab bones. Smash the bones as completely as possible to release more flavour. Cover in cold water and bring to boiling before simmering gently for two hours on a low heat. Strain the crab stock and add the cream, tomato purée and the juice and zest of both oranges. Bring back to the boil and reduce for 10 minutes. Begin by melting the butter over a low heat and stir in the flour. Remove from the heat after 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, followed by the Parmesan and brown crab. Return to the heat and allow it to boil for 1 minute. Once cooled, add the egg yolks and seasoning. Toast both sides of the sourdough slices, spread with the crab bechamel sauce and grill until they're nicely coloured. Heat up the crab bisque and serve alongside the crab toasties.
