Unless indicated otherwise, all soups can be frozen.
If you are on the Best Bet diet, all vegetable stock for soups should be made with yeast-free granules or stock cubes.
If you are following the Wahls diet, replace olive oil with coconut oil and vegetable stock with home-made Bone Broth (see page 135 for recipe).
Middle Eastern Lentil Soup
HED LFD OMSD VEG VG (Serves 2)
1 small leek, chopped
1 dsp olive oil
2 level tsp ground cumin
1 garlic clove, crushed, or 1 tsp garlic purée
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
2 celery sticks, sliced
600 ml (1 pt) vegetable stock
60 g (2 oz) red lentils
1 dsp tomato purée
salt and black pepper
Soften leek in oil in a large pan over a low heat for a few minutes.
Add cumin and garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add vegetables, stock, lentils and tomato purée. Bring to boil. Cover pan, turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Purée in food processor. Reheat in saucepan, adding a little hot water if mixture is too thick. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Sweet Potato and Coriander Soup
HED LFD BBD OMSD WD VEG VG (Serves 2)
1 medium leek, sliced
1 dsp olive oil
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1 sweet potato, about 150 mm (6 in) long, peeled and sliced
¼ tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground cumin
600 ml (1 pt) vegetable stock
½ pack fresh coriander, leaves roughly chopped
salt and black pepper
Soften leek in oil in a saucepan over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add carrot, sweet potato and spices and stir for 1 minute. Add stock and bring mixture to boil. Turn down heat, cover pan and simmer for 15 minutes. Put soup in processor with fresh coriander. Purée, season with salt and black pepper and reheat.
Herbs
Using herbs in cooking not only adds subtle flavours to the food you eat but benefits your health, too.
Parsley is particularly good for you as it is packed with vitamin C. It also contains vitamins A and B and large amounts of iron, plus calcium and magnesium, and it helps your body to digest food.
Thyme and rosemary have health-giving properties as they are full of antioxidants, and rosemary tea can help improve memory and concentration and lift depression.
HED LFD OMSD BBD WD VEG VG (Serves 2)
2 celery sticks, sliced
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into chunks
600 ml (1 pt) vegetable stock
handful fresh parsley, chopped
salt and black pepper
Soften celery and garlic in oil in a saucepan on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, apart from the parsley. Bring pan to boil, turn down heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add parsley and season with salt and black pepper. For a smooth soup, purée in food processor before serving.
Cock-a-leekie Soup
HED LFD BBD WD (Serves 2)
Add a large handful of cooked chicken to Leek and Potato Soup (see above) for last 5 minutes of cooking.
HED LFD BBD OMSD VEG VG (Serves 2)
1 large leek, sliced
1 dsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 medium courgette, sliced
2 tsp ground coriander
600 ml (1 pt) vegetable stock
1 medium head broccoli, divided into florets
1 dsp cornflour mixed with 1 dsp water
salt and black pepper
In a large pan, soften leek in oil over a low heat for a few minutes. Add garlic, courgette and coriander and mix well. Add stock, broccoli and cornflour and bring to the boil. Turn down heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Purée in a food processor, season well with salt and black pepper and reheat.
Fish Soup
HED LFD BBD OMSD WD (Serves 1)
1 celery stick, sliced
½ red pepper, deseeded and sliced
½ small courgette, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 dsp olive oil
1 dsp flour
300 ml (½ pt) fish stock
1 fillet white fish (about 115 g or 4 oz), cut into bite-sized pieces
⅓ cup sweetcorn
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
a few cooked prawns
Soften celery, pepper, courgette and garlic in oil over a low heat for 5 minutes. Mix in flour, then add stock, fish and sweetcorn. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in parsley and prawns and heat through. Season with salt if required. Do not freeze the soup if you used frozen fish and prawns to make it.
HED LFD OMSD VEG VG (Serves 4 )
This classic Italian soup is ideal for a family meal. Keep a check on the pasta so it doesn’t become mushy.
1 leek, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed, or 2 tsp garlic purée
1 tbsp olive oil
2 dsp rice flour
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
725 ml (1¼ pt) vegetable stock
400-g (14-oz) tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
400-g (14-oz) tin kidney beans, drained and well rinsed
½ cup frozen green beans
½ cup pasta tubes
2 large green cabbage leaves, shredded
salt and black pepper
Soften leek, celery and garlic in oil over a low heat for a few minutes. Mix in rice flour. Add carrots, stock, tomatoes and herbs. Bring to boil and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
Add kidney beans, green beans, pasta and cabbage. Bring back to boil, turn down heat and simmer, covered, for another 10 minutes until the pasta is just cooked. Season well with salt and black pepper before serving.
HED LFD OMSD VEG VG (Serves 4)
1 large (400-g) can chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp tahini paste
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
salt and black pepper
1 tsp paprika
Ensure you’ve removed all the pips from the lemon juice, then blend everything together in a food processor. If mixture is too thick, add another tablespoon of water and blend again. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.
Salmon Pâté
HED LFD (Serves 1)
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil
210-g (7-oz) tin salmon chunks
2 level tbsp natural yogurt
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp paprika
salt and black pepper
Put spring onions and oil in a glass bowl and microwave on medium high for 30 seconds. Drain salmon and put in processor with spring onions and oil. Add yogurt, parsley and paprika and season with salt and black pepper. Blend until smooth.
HED LFD OMSD BBD (Serves 1)
1 tin sardines, drained
1 dsp olive oil
1 dsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic purée
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
black pepper
Put ingredients in food processor and whizz until smooth.
Guacamole
HED LFD OMSD BBD WD VEG VG (Serves 2)
2 avocados, peeled, stoned and chopped
juice of 1 lime
½ tsp salt
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
4 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
pinch cayenne pepper
2 dsp extra virgin olive oil
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or, for a smoother result, whizz in a food processor.