There is much pleasure to be found in a bowl of soup. Cradling our food is a great comfort, especially when it comes in the form of an aromatic liquid such as a steaming broth or thick soup. This is food that instantly soothes and satiates, warms and satisfies. Food that restores.
There is something right about food in a bowl. The hot liquor on your spoon; the warmth of the bowl in your hands; the final scraping of spoon against china — they enable us to feel closer to what we eat. Unlike a plate on a table, we can feel the heat of our food through the porcelain.
The shape of a bowl traps the smell of our food, like a wine glass. As we hold it in our hands and dip in our spoon, fork or chopsticks we experience more of its fragrance: the scent of sweet garlic, warm rice, hot milk, deep broth. Of course we can't cut food in a bowl, and neither should we. The ingredients should be in small enough pieces that no knife is required.
Meals in a bowl are probably at their best when they are simple. I have always loved rice in a bowl. just plain, white rice. Pure and unsullied. You know you could, if needs be, survive on it. You feel you need nothing more.
But there is more. Oh glory, yes. A little stew of chicken with herbs; a deep, salty broth of beef stock and green vegetables; a spicy laksa; a dahl thick with soft pulses and spice; a Vietnamese-style pho with slithery noodles and coriander. The simplicity of a bowl of golden chicken stock.
Our bowl can be as simple or as elaborate as we wish. A crude earthenware container, a delicate porcelain receptacle, a workaday white soup dish, a piece of ironmonger’s enamel, something hand thrown, a family heirloom or something disposable. Whatever we use, it fulfils the same purpose. To hold our food and enable us, should we wish, to cradle it. Comfort food at its most satisfying.
Bring a litre of chicken or vegetable stock or dashi almost to the boil (powdered dashi works well here). Stir in 3 tablespoons of light miso paste, a tablespoon of sesame oil and a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce. Simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, then turn off the heat. To this you can add thinly sliced cabbage or kale, plus paper-fine slices of radish, carrot or fried mushrooms. I like to put coriander in mine, too.
A rich, thick dhal in just over half an hour. Boil 250g yellow split peas in a litre of water for about 35 minutes till almost soft, then drain. In a saucepan, lightly brown a sliced onion in a little oil then add 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds, about 25g ginger, peeled and shredded into fine matchsticks, and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. Stir in a teaspoon of ground turmeric and a pinch of dried chilli flakes, then add a can of chopped tomatoes. Stir in the cooked split peas. Keep cooking for 10-15 minutes, adding vegetable stock or boiling water if necessary, and crushing some of the peas as you stir (or use a vegetable masher). Finish with a teaspoon of garam masala, salt and some fresh coriander. Eat with warm Indian bread or rice. For 4.
Separate the leaves of a large soft lettuce. Melt a thick slice of butter in a deep pan, add a large finely chopped shallot and let it soften. Add the lettuce, roughly torn, then stir in 400g peas. Simmer for 10 minutes, then blitz in a blender or food processor in small batches.
Mix together a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a tablespoon of fish sauce, a teaspoon of sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of honey. Brush this over a piece of sirloin steak and grill or cook in a shallow pan, leaving the outside with a dark crust, the inside generously pink. Bring a litre of beef stock to the boil. Pour boiling water over 100g rice noodles and let them hydrate, then drain and place in serving bowls. Slice the steak thickly and place on top of the noodles, scatter with sliced spring onions, chopped coriander, a handful of watercress with its stalks and a little finely chopped red chilli. Ladle over the broth. Season with lime juice. For 2.
carrots, butter, black beans, coriander leaves, mustard seeds, onion, chilli flakes
Boil 600g carrots in deep, lightly salted water until tender, then drain, reserving the liquid. Blitz the carrots in a food processor with 20g butter and 150ml of the reserved cooking water.
Melt 30g butter in: a shallow pan, add 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds and toast for a minute or two. Drain two 400g cans of black beans, add to the pan, cover and leave to cook for 5 minutes, till warmed through.
Peel and finely slice an onion. Melt another 30g butter in a pan, add the sliced onion and fry till golden brown. Scatter in a large pinch of dried chilli flakes and a further teaspoon of mustard seeds. Sizzle briefly.
Divide the carrot purée between 2 bowls, gently stir in the black beans, scatter over a few coriander leaves, then spoon over the sizzling onion and its butter.
For 2. Aromatic, satisfying, sweet and faintly hot.
yellow split peas, aubergine, onion, cardamom pods, turmeric, cumin seeds, canned tomatoes, coriander leaves
Soak 100g yellow split peas for an hour, or longer if you have it. Peel and roughly chop an onion, then let it soften in a deep pan over a moderate heat in a little oil. Crack open 10 green cardamom pods, extract their tiny black seeds and lightly grind them in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Stir a teaspoon of cumin seeds into the onion, then add the cardamom seeds. When all is golden and fragrant, add 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric. Stir in a 400g can of chopped tomatoes and continue to simmer.
In a separate pan, boil the yellow split peas in deep unsalted water for about 30 minutes, till soft. Drain and stir into the onion and tomato mixture. Simmer, stirring regularly, till soft, scarlet and slushy then season with salt and pepper. Halve and thinly slice an aubergine, then cook in a shallow pan in several tablespoons of olive oil till soft and golden. Drain and stir into the split peas, adding a handful of coriander leaves. Serve with steamed white rice.
For 2. Rich and earthy. Glowing colours.
spring vegetables, white peppercorns, coriander seeds, turmeric, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander, vegetable stock, coconut milk, fish sauce, lime, soy sauce
Put a teaspoon of white peppercorns and a teaspoon of coriander seeds in a dry non-stick frying pan and toast lightly for 2 or 3 minutes, then tip into the bowl of a food processor. Add half a teaspoon of sea salt, a teaspoon of ground turmeric, 2 lemongrass stalks, chopped, 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, a 3cm lump of ginger, peeled, 3 hot green chillies, 3 tablespoons of groundnut oil and a handful of coriander stems and roots. Blitz to a coarse paste. You can keep this paste for a few days in the fridge, its surface covered with oil to prevent it drying out.
In a deep pan, fry 3 lightly heaped tablespoons of the curry paste in a tablespoon of oil for 30 seconds till fragrant, stirring as you go. Stir in 200ml vegetable stock and 250ml coconut milk, a tablespoon of fish sauce, and 2 tablespoons of lime juice.
Add 450g (combined weight) asparagus tips, broad beans and peas and continue simmering for 5-6 minutes, then shred a couple of handfuls of greens into thick ribbons and add them to the pan.
Finish the soup with a pinch of sugar, fish sauce, a little soy sauce, more lime juice — whatever floats your boat.
For 4. Deep flavours that dazzle. Rich but fresh.
Make a crisp, light salad using chicory and inner lettuce leaves tossed with generous handfuls of roughly chopped mint, parsley and basil. Dress with a finely chopped shallot, lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Tear rough chunks of ham from the bone and toss with the dressed leaves. Serve with halved hard-boiled eggs, still quite soft in the middle.
ham hock, peas, garlic, parsley, chives, basil
Put a 500-600g harn hock in a deep pan with just enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, skim off the froth that rises to the surface, then turn the heat down so the liquid simmers. Cover with a lid and leave, with the occasional turn, for 45-50 minutes or so, till the ham is cooked through to the bone.
Remove the ham from the cooking liquor, add 200g fresh or frozen peas and a large clove of garlic, and cook for 5 minutes or so, till the peas are tender. Add a handful of parsley, a handful of chives and a handful of basil leaves to the peas, cook a minute or so longer, then blitz in a blender to give a thick, green sauce. Add pepper if necessary.
Tear the ham from its bone in large pieces. Roughly chop a few more of the herbs, then roll the pieces of ham in them. Spoon the sauce into bowls and add the pieces of ham.
For 2. The nannying quality of peas and ham, the vitality of fresh herbs.
Put the spice paste opposite into a deep pan, sizzle briefly, then stir in 250ml coconut milk and a litre of chicken stock and bring to the boil. Soak 200g rice noodles in boiling water, drain and divide between 4 bowls. Add a handful of Chinese broccoli or pak choi to the stock. Once it softens, add a handful of beansprouts and a sliced spring onion, then divide between the bowls, ladling it over the noodles. For 4.
Whisk together 3 tablespoons of white miso paste and 750ml vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and stir in 2 teaspoons each of soy sauce and hot chilli sauce. Shred a couple of crisp white lettuce leaves and their stems and put them in 2 deep soup bowls. Add a finely sliced spring onion and a large handful of cooked prawns to each bowl, then a handful of coriander leaves. Ladle the hot soup over the lettuce and prawns.
prawns, lemongrass, coconut milk, coriander, turmeric, garlic, bird's eye chillies, galangal or ginger, pak choi, mirin, fish sauce, lime, mint
Put 6 coriander stalks and roots, 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric, 2 large garlic cloves, 2 lemongrass stalks, 2 bird's eye chillies,
2 tablespoons of groundnut oil and a thumb-sized knob of peeled galangal or ginger in a food processor and reduce to a rough, loose paste. (This will make twice as much as you need.)
Put half the paste in a pan, fry for a couple of minutes, stirring regularly, then add a 400ml can of coconut milk, a head of pak choi, cut into large bite-sized pieces, and 8-10 shelled large, raw prawns. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, till the prawns turn opaque. Finish with 2 teaspoons of mirin, a tablespoon of fish sauce and the juice of a lime, or to taste. Stir in the leaves from the coriander and top with a few mint leaves.
For 2. Vivid flavours, a little heat. Uplifting and energising.
small pork ribs, rhubarb, chicken stock, star anise, peppercorns, bay leaves, spring onions
In a large, deep pan, brown 500g small pork ribs on both sides in a little oil. When they are nicely coloured, pour a litre of chicken stock over them, add 2 star anise, 8 peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves and bring to the boil. Lower the heat so the liquor continues cooking at a low simmer and leave for a good 50 minutes to an hour, keeping an eye on the liquid so it doesn’t boil away; you want to end up with a rich, quite concentrated broth. Check the seasoning. Remove the ribs from the liquid, pull the meat from the bones and cut it into chunks (sometimes I leave them whole). Roughly chop 2 spring onions and drop them, together with the meat, into the hot broth. Pour into bowls. Thinly slice a small stick of rhubarb (you may not need all of it) into long matchsticks and add a few pieces to each bowl of broth. Serve immediately, just as the rhubarb starts to soften.
For 4. Savoury depth, sharp fruit.
Slice 2 large spring onions and cut lengthways through the bulbs (chop the green shoot). Brown them in a little oil in a wide pan. Add 12 small shallots, peeled but left whole, brown them gently, then remove the spring onions and shallots from the pan. Add 6 seasoned chicken wings and brown on all sides. Add a litre of chicken stock, return the spring onions and shallots to the pan and simmer for 5~10 minutes. Add 100g green noodles and simmer for a few minutes. Season thoughtfully with salt and pepper. Makes 2 deep bowls.
Mix together a teaspoon of fish sauce, a teaspoon of mirin and a tablespoon of hoisin sauce. Brush this over 2 chicken breasts, then cook under an overhead grill till the chicken is cooked through to the centre. Steam or boil 6 stalks of thin-stemmed broccoli, then refresh under cold running water to keep them green. Heat 750m! good chicken stock in a saucepan, then whisk in a tablespoon of white miso paste and a small lump of ginger, peeled and shredded. Slice each chicken breast into 6 and place in 2 large, shallow bowls. Add a little chopped mint and coriander and the cooked broccoli, then ladle the hot miso chicken broth over the top.
chicken thighs, asparagus, noodles, mushrooms, garlic, chicken stock
Brown 4 chicken thighs in a little oil in a deep pan. Slice 150g mushrooms, such as large field, portobello or porcini, and peel and slice 2 garlic cloves. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and continue browning, adding more oil if necessary. Pour in a litre of chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes. Lift out the thighs and take the meat off the bones, returning it to the simmering stock. Shave 4 asparagus spears into ribbons with a vegetable peeler, then add them to the soup with 200g noodles. Cook for a minute or two, then divide between deep bowls.
For 2-3. Big, generous bowls of noodles. Rich chicken broth. The sweetness of asparagus.
A few thoughts
1 often make a chicken broth with the bones from the Sunday roast. The trick is to remember to add all the jelly and bits of savoury goodness that lie under the roasted bird. A 20-minute simmer with a small, halved onion, a few black peppercorns, a tomato and a few parsley stalks will produce a golden-brown broth with deep flavour. The other thing worth considering is the ready-made stocks in the chiller cabinet at the supermarket or butcher's shop. Expensive but often very good indeed.
Carrot mash makes a sweet and light accompaniment to any lamb dish but especially lamb cutlets that have been grilled with rosemary, steaks fried with thyme and garlic, and any lamb stew where there are savoury juices to work into the carrot mash with your fork.
carrots, bulgur wheat, vegetable stock, mustard, coriander, butter
Roughly chop 500g winter carrots and cook them in a litre of vegetable stock till tender. Blitz them, together with the stock, in a blender or food processor, then return to the pan over a moderate heat. Add 200g bulgur wheat and simmer, stirring, for 20-15 minutes, until the wheat is tender. Season with salt, pepper and a heaped tablespoon of grain mustard, then finish with a handful of coriander leaves and about 40g butter.
For 4. Somewhere between soup and pilau. Soothing, frugal food for a rainy night.
Put the soup on to warm. Melt 35g butter in a pan. Add 200g arborio rice, then slowly stir in the hot soup, bit by bit, as if you were adding stock to a risotto, simmering and stirring for 20 minutes or so. Add extra vegetable stock if it appears to be getting too thick, but keep stirring regularly till the rice is al dente. Remove the flesh from the 2 reserved cooked thighs, and add to the risotto. Stir in 3 heaped tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley.
Jerusalem artichokes, chicken, onions, butter
Lightly brown 6 bone-in chicken thighs in a little olive or groundnut oil and remove. Peel and roughly chop 700g Jerusalem artichokes and 2 onions. Put them both in the chicken pan with a little oil. Fry for 7-10 minutes till lightly golden, then return the chicken to the pan, add enough water to cover, and bring to a boil and simmer for jo minutes.
Remove the chicken, reserve 2 thighs for the risotto tomorrow, then slice the meat from the bones of the remaining thighs. Blitz the soup liquid in a food processor or blender. Check the seasoning, then add 25g butter, stir and pour into bowls. Add the chicken to the bowls.
For 2. Soothing soup for today, risotto for tomorrow.
chicken thighs, rice noodles, dark soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, mirin, ginger, lime juice, star anise, chicken stock, chilli, greens
Mix a tablespoon of dark soy sauce with a tablespoon of honey, a tablespoon each of fish sauce and mirin and a chopped red chilli. Pour into a small roasting tin, add 4 chicken thighs and turn them over in the mixture till lightly coated. Roast in an oven set at 200°C/Gas 6 for about 25-30 minutes, occasionally turning the thighs over in the honey and mirin. They should be very dark and sticky.
In a saucepan, heat 8ooml chicken stock with 6 ‘coins’ of fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons of lime juice and 3 star anise. As it approaches the boil, add a small handful of shredded greens or chard, leaving them to cook for a minute or two only.
Put 100g wide rice noodles in a heatproof bowl and pour over a kettle of freshly boiled water. Leave them to soak for a couple of minutes until they are soft and silky.
Drain the noodles and divide between 2 deep bowls, slice the chicken from its bones and add to the noodles together with the greens, then ladle over the stock.
For 2. Healing broth. Sweet roasted chicken.
Thickly slice 100g chorizo and cut the slices into thick strips. Cook them in a deep pan over a moderate heat till the oil starts to run and the pieces are sizzling gently. Add a crushed garlic clove and a finely chopped small onion and fry till soft. Stir in a teaspoon or so of chopped rosemary. Tip in 200ml tomato passata and 3soml vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Add 400g hake, haddock or cod, cut into large pieces, and cook for 4 or 5 minutes, till the fish is opaque. Add a handful of chopped parsley, correct the seasoning and serve.
Sizzle 2 tablespoons of green curry paste in a little oil, then pour in 8ooml vegetable stock. Add 4 scrunched lime leaves, or 2 well-bashed stalks of lemongrass, and a couple of coins of sliced fresh ginger. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add 2 diced tomatoes, 300g prepared crayfish tails and a shot of lime juice. As the shellfish warms through, add a handful of torn coriander leaves and a splash of fish sauce.
mussels, pollock fillet, mustard seeds, chilli powder, turmeric, shallots, cherry tomatoes, coriander
Clean 1kg mussels, discarding any with cracked or broken shells and any open ones that refuse to close when tapped on the side of the kitchen sink. Tug off any wiry beards. Put the mussels in a large, deep pan with sooml water and bring to the boil. When the shells open, remove the mussels, reserving the liquid, and take them out of their shells. Discard any that don’t open. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve.
Peel 2 large banana shallots and separate the layers, then cook them in a little oil in a shallow pan until softened. Add a tablespoon of mustard seeds, half a teaspoon of chilli powder and 2 teaspoons of turmeric and cook for 3-4 minutes. Halve 12 cherry tomatoes and add to the shallots and spices, letting them soften over a moderate heat for 5 minutes or sc. Pour in the reserved mussel stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cut 250g pollock fillet into 4 pieces, add to the pan and cook briefly until the fish is opaque. Add the mussels and a handful of chopped coriander.
Enough for 2 generous bowls. Sweet, earthy, spicy.
Thinly slice 3 leeks, fry in butter till softened, then add 150g smoked bacon, chopped, making sure the leeks do not colour. Cook 1kg small clams with a glass of white vermouth or wine in a large pot with a tight- fitting lid for a few minutes, till the clams open. Pull the clams out of their shells; it doesn't take long when you get into the swing of it. Add 4ooml of the clam cooking liquor to the leeks and bacon with 200ml double cream, some black pepper and a little chopped parsley. Remove half of the mixture and blitz in a blender or food processor, then stir it back into the soup. Add the clams and serve with roughly torn crusty bread. For 4.
Fry 2 chopped spring onions in a little butter in a deep pan. Tip in a large can of sweetcorn, 250ml double cream and a handful of chopped parsley. Slide in a couple of pieces of skinned and boned smoked haddock (about 400g total weight). Simmer for about
8 minutes or until the fish will flake easily. For 2.
haddock, milk, onion, carrot, swede, potato, mustard seeds, turmeric, bay, parsley, plain flour, black peppercorns
Cut 2 haddock fillets in half and place them in a deep pan with 500ml milk, 2 bay leaves and 6 black peppercorns. Bring the milk to the boil and leave to infuse with the heat off and a lid on.
Roughly chop an onion and fry it over a low heat in a little butter. Finely dice a carrot, a medium-sized swede and a waxy, yellow- fleshed potato and add to the onion. Fry for 5-10 minutes, till lightly browned. Stir in a teaspoon of mustard seeds and a teaspoon of turmeric and cook for 5 minutes.
Remove the haddock from the milk, reserving the milk. Scatter 2 tablespoons of plain flour over the vegetables and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour the infused milk into the pan and cook, stirring continuously, until you have a thick sauce. Place the haddock briefly in the pan to warm through, then add a small handful of chopped parsley before serving.
For 2. Satisfying. A cold-weather dish.
white miso, rump steak, cavolo nero or kale, spring onions, bouillon powder
Pull the leaves from the stalks of 100g cavolo nero or kale. Shred them, then chop the stalks finely. Pour a little oil into a shallow pan, add the chopped stems and cook briefly, then add a 240g piece of rump steak. Fry briefly and when it browns, turn over and add
3 chopped spring onions. Brown the steak on the other side, then remove from the pan and cover it, then pour 8ooml boiling water into the pan and stir. Add a tablespoon of bouillon powder and
2 tablespoons of white (shiro) miso paste, then the cavolo nero leaves. Simmer until the greens wilt. Ladle into bowls, slice the steak into thin strips and drop into the broth.
For 2. Light and sustaining.
A few thoughts
beetroot, tomatoes, pearled spelt, garlic, coriander or parsley
Drizzle 4 small beetroot with a little oil, wrap them in foil and place in a roasting tin. Bake at 200°C/Gas 6 for 20 minutes. Open the foil, add 5 garlic cloves, left whole, and 4 largeish tomatoes and cook for another 30 minutes, until the beetroot and garlic are tender. Peel the garlic, then peel and halve the beetroot.
Boil 200g pearled spelt in 400ml salted water for 20 minutes, then drain. Melt a large knob of butter in a frying pan, add the cooked spelt and leave to toast lightly for a minute or two. Add the roast beetroot, garlic, tomatoes and some black pepper, stirring them in gently till the tomatoes burst. Stir in a handful of torn coriander or parsley.
For 2. Frugal, sweet and sharp, with the comfort of warm spelt.
peas, watercress, prawns, baguette, vegetable stock, shallots, soft butter, mace
Peel 2 medium shallots and chop them quite finely, then let them cook in a little oil over a moderate heat, till they are soft and translucent. Tip in 500g (podded weight) fresh peas then 1 litre vegetable stock. Stir and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
Put most of the peas and the liquid into a food processor or blender and blitz till smooth. Add a bunch of watercress and continue processing till smooth, then return to the rest of the soup. Making it this way will give you a lightly-textured soup, more interesting than a totally smooth one. Check the seasoning.
For the prawn soldiers, roughly chop 150g shelled prawns. Cube 50g butter and mash the chopped prawns into it. Season with black pepper and a pinch of ground mace.
Thinly slice a small baguette. Spread the prawn butter on to the bread and bake for 10 minutes at 200°C/Gas 6, or cook under an overhead grill if you prefer. Serve with the hot soup.
For 4. Sweet pea soup, crisp prawn toasts.