Darina Allen: Comforting soup recipes to chase away the January blues

Myrtle taught me this brilliant 1,1,3,5 formula that we use in Ballymaloe House and here at the school for many of our soups.

You can almost feel every mouthful doing you a power of good

Who doesn’t love a big bowl of chunky soup with a few lardons of pancetta, chorizo, or sweet streaky bacon.

A welcome supper to chase away the January blues, a satisfying and comforting meal in a dish.