VISI and Taste magazine’s Sumien Brink loves single-vegetable soups that have a strong, bright colour. “Those soups that have everything but the kitchen sink thrown in always end up a murky shade of brown,” she quips.
Sumien shares a base recipe to which you can add different vegetables. Try making two soups, adding a drizzle of cream and serving them in the same bowl. We covet Martin Swart’s ceramic bowl (R145), pictured here.
For the base:
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 medium potato, grated
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Sauté until the onions are translucent.
For butternut soup:
• 4 cups chopped butternut
• 1 heaped teaspoon curry powder
• 5 cups vegetable stock
Add the curry powder to the onion mix and gently cook through until everything is evenly coated (about 1 minute). Add the chopped butternut and mix thoroughly. Cover in warm vegetable stock and let simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the butternut is soft. Allow soup to cool. Blend with a stick blender until smooth.
Reheat and taste for seasoning. Drizzle the soup with good-quality olive oil, and serve with toast and chevrin cheese.
For pea soup:
• 3 cups frozen peas
• handful of fresh mint, chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried mint)
• 5 cups vegetable stock
Add the frozen peas and mint to the onion mixture and stir thoroughly. Cover in the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow soup to cool and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Reheat and taste for seasoning.
Serve in bowls, topped with a sprig of mint and a drizzle of olive oil. Add crispy bacon for a faux pea-and-ham soup.
For tomato soup:
• 4 ripe Rosa tomatoes, skins removed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups vegetable stock
Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste to the onion mixture. While stirring, sauté on a medium heat until the tomatoes start to break down (about 5 minutes). Add the stock and cook for 25 minutes. Allow soup to cool and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Reheat and taste for seasoning.
Serve in bowls with lots of fresh parsley and Parmesan puff-pastry hearts.
