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Great Homemade Soups
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BOOK REVIEW
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To
order a copy of Great Homemade Soups by Paul Gayler <click
here>
Great
Homemade Soups by Paul Gayler
 Memories
of hotel dining rooms (they were not called restaurants
then), when I was a child, remind me that the soup course
was a very important part of dining back then but today you
rarely see soup on the menu in so many places which is a great
shame. Has the great British public fallen out of love with
soup? Not so judging by the massed ranks of tins and packets
(and tubes) of the stuff you will find on the supermarket
shelves. But how many of us actually make our own soup?
When I think back I often think I was raised on soup. Of
course I wasn't but we did seem to eat a lot of soup during
the winter months . . . and it was always the same soup! We
still liked the soup but a bit of variety would have been
nice. With no helpful cooking shows on the TV to aid our mothers
nor any of the glossy cookery books of today it was no wonder
the repertoire of the home cook was limited, not to mention
the availability of ingredients or the lack of them.
I am as guilty as my Mother for always making the same soup,
although in my defence at least I do make home-made soup.
It was with great pleasure that I discovered Great Homemade
Soups by Paul Gayler.
Great Homemade Soups takes the making of your own soup to
a whole new dimension. There are soups for all occasions and
soups for all seasons. There are soups to impress and there
are soups to bring comfort, whatever you are looking for there
will be something here you will just love.
In the great British tradition of publishing cookery books
this is a beautifully produced book with the quality of photography
we have grown to expect as the norm in such books. Just looking
at the photographs makes you want to have a go at making so
many of the different soups. If they look that good imagine
how good they must taste!
In his introduction Paul Gayler says “ . . . soups are
making a real comeback. I urge you to join the trend, get
out your pots and pans and discover the great soups of the
world”. Just take a peak inside the covers of this book
and you will not need any further urging. It has brought a
whole new range of dishe to my repertoire of starters and
light meals.
Don't miss out, this is one souper book you have to add to
your cooking library! (Sorry but I couldn't resist the
bad pun.)
Paul Gayler
Paul Gayler is well known as Executive Chef at London’s
prestigious hotel, The Lanesborough. He has made many appearances
on British TV and now has over twenty cookery books to his
name, selling over 500,000 copies worldwide in ten languages.
Paul has won The Guild of Food Writers’ Cookery Book
of the Year, has been nominated for a prestigious André
Simon Award and, in 2012, was awarded an MBE as well as the
top “Catey” from Caterer and Hotelkeeper –
the equivalent of an Oscar in the hotel business – for
his “outstanding contribution to the hotel industry”.
Paul also acts as a consultant, advising on product development
to a number of food companies.
- Get
Ready to Make Some Delicious Soup! - Dad of Divas (Amazon
review)
This was an amazing collection of soups in just one place.
The author has done a great job at collecting and sharing
a wide array of soups from every part of the world that
will warm you inside and out. The soups in general were
easy enough to make. I will say that because some of the
soups were from other countries, I could tell that I would
have to search a bit more for the items needed for the soups,
but they were still accessible. All-in-all this is a comprehensive
cookbook with amazing images throughout that will leave
your mouth watering (and that is not even saying anything
for the soups you can make either). Kudos to the author
- he has put together a cookbook that you will want to keep
coming back to over and over again!
- Souper
-Jane Brackfield (Amazon review)
Paul Gayler is a chef I admire and have other books by him.
This does not disappoint he again mixes flavours and textures
to produce a varied and delicious selection of recipes.
If you are buying someone a liquidiser, food processor or
vitamix as a present this will compliment it perfectly.
I would give this as a gift to girlfriends or to men I know
enjoy cooking.
- A
great many of the soups here could happily grace the menus
of some of the UK's finest restaurants . . . this really
is a collection of some of the finest soups around -
Caterer & Hotelkeeper
Great Homemade Soups SAMPLE RECIPES
courgette and basil soup with prosciutto tartines
 This
elegant soup is derived from a very humble vegetable – the
courgette – and is infused with basil, one of my favourite
herbs. The soup is finished with a little cream and unsalted
butter to enrich it, while the simple-to-make tartines lift
it to another level. I sometimes forgo the tartines and instead
flavour the soup with some curry powder and a teaspoon of
freshly grated ginger, added at the same time as the courgettes
and lettuce. Both recipes are equally delicious.
Ingredients
25g unsalted butter
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
50g floury potatoes, peeled and finely cubed
4 large courgettes, thinly sliced
1 small round butter lettuce, leaves removed and well washed
1 litre hot white chicken stock (see p.17)
12 basil leaves, shredded, plus extra to garnish or 10g
(¼oz) baby basil, chopped, plus extra, unchopped,
to garnish
100ml double cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tartines:
2 slices of white bread, crusts removed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
100g (3½oz) sliced prosciutto (Parma ham)
How to make
- Firstly
make the tartines. Toast the bread on both sides then brush
one side with a little oil. Top each slice with a layer
of overlapping prosciutto, then cut into 1cm (½in)
wide fingers. Set aside.
- For
the soup, heat half the butter in a heavy-based pan, then
add the onion, garlic and potatoes. Cook over a gentle heat
for 4 – 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened.
Add the courgettes and lettuce and cook for 2 – 3 minutes
more.
- Add
the hot stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat
and simmer gently for no more than 5 minutes to preserve
the fresh flavour. Add the basil leaves or baby basil and
stir.
- Transfer
to a blender or use a hand-held stick blender to blitz to
a smooth purée. If you want a smoother soup, strain
it through a fine sieve.
- Return
the soup to a clean pan and bring it back to the boil. Add
the cream, whisk in the remaining butter and season to taste.
- Divide
between 4 hot individual soup bowls, sprinkle with the extra
basil leaves or with baby basil and serve with the tartines.
Serves 4
oxtail soup with guinness
 This
soup needs to be made over two days for the tastiest results.
The bouquet garni plays an important role. You can easily
make one by tying together a small bunch of thyme, a bayleaf
and a few parsley stalks with a piece of kitchen string.
Ingredients
1.5kg oxtail, excess fat removed and cut into pieces
50g plain flour
50g unsalted butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tbsp tomato purée
1 onion, studded with 2 cloves
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 celery stick, coarsely chopped
2 litres beef stock (see p.22)
275ml Guinness or other dark beer
1 tbsp demerara sugar
1 bouquet garni (see introduction)
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make
- The
day before, dredge the oxtail pieces in a little of the
flour. Heat 25g of the butter with the oil in a heavy-based
pan over a medium heat. Add the oxtail pieces to the pan
and fry for 8 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally,
or until golden all over.
- Add
the tomato purée, onion, carrots and celery. Cook
for 5 minutes. Pour the stock, Guinness or other dark beer
over, add the sugar, then bring to the boil. Reduce the
heat, then add the bouquet garni and simmer, uncovered,
for 3 – 4 hours, or until the meat is almost falling
off the bones.
- Remove
the meat with a slotted spoon, leave to cool, then cut it
into small cubes. When cool, transfer to the fridge to chill
overnight.
- Meanwhile,
strain the stock into a bowl, discarding the vegetables
and the bouquet garni. When cool, transfer to the fridge
to chill overnight.
- Next
day, remove every vestige of fat from the top of the stock.
- Heat
the remaining butter in a pan over a medium heat. Reduce
the heat to low, add the remaining flour and stir with a
wooden spoon to make a roux.
- Cook,
stirring continuously for 2 minutes, or until the flour
is cooked.
- Meanwhile,
reheat the stock in a clean pan. Add the hot stock to the
roux, a little at a time, stirring continuously with a wooden
spoon until the mixture comes to the boil and becomes smooth.
- Reduce
the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, then stir in the redcurrant
jelly. If the soup is too thick, add a little more stock
or water.
- Season
to taste, add the reserved cooked oxtail, then continue
to cook for a few minutes more to heat the oxtail through.
Divide the soup between individual soup bowls and serve
immediately.
Serves 4
chilled tuscan tomato soup
 Toasting
the garlic and bread in olive oil adds a hint of a warm, nutty
flavour to this classic soup, known in Italy as pappa al pomodoro.
It is simple to prepare, requiring minimal cooking while achieving
an impressive result. Ensure that your tomatoes are ripe and
sweet. With this in mind, I suggest you wait for summer to
make this soup, as that is when tomatoes are sweet, juicy
and at their best.
Ingredients
600g very ripe, sweet and juicy tomatoes
120ml extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 slices of crusty white bread, crusts removed and cut into
small cubes
2 shallots, finely chopped
150ml tomato juice
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
juice and grated zest of ½ lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
3 tbsp pesto (see p.163)
sesame grissini
How to make
- The
day before, blanch the tomatoes in boiling water, then remove
with a slotted spoon to a bowl of iced water. Drain, then
peel off the skins. Chop the flesh into small pieces, put
in a bowl and set aside.
- Heat
3 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When
the oil is fairly hot, add the garlic and cubes of bread
and fry until they are both lightly golden, taking care
not to burn them.
- Add
the fried bread and garlic to the tomatoes, then add the
remaining oil and all the remaining ingredients except the
salt and pepper. Mix together well. Leave to marinate overnight,
covered, in the fridge.
- The
next day, transfer to a blender and pulse-blitz using the
on/off button until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped. Season
to taste.
- Divide
the soup between 4 individual soup bowls and drizzle with
the pesto.
- Serve
immediately with the grissini.
To
order a copy of Great Homemade Soups by Paul Gayler
<click
here>
Published
31 January 2014
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