Winter warmers
We are starting with basic soups which are handy to have in the store cupboard or fridge.
Soups are easy to make so keep an eye on my blog rozcrowley.com for ideas and join me on Twitter for comments at rozcrowley1.
For a hearty, warming soup use root vegetables. It’s hard to beat a good curried parsnip on a cold day, and many soups can be used not just as a soup, but as a base for leftovers or a sauce for pasta or rice. They can even be poured over baked or mashed potatoes.
Add a few good sausages or slices of black pudding to stretch them even further.
This week we looked at four chicken and four vegetable soups mainly from supermarkets and for the most part we were pleasantly surprised.
* Glorious Meal soup — Sunny Thai chicken, 600g €2.79
A deliciously lively lemongrass taste dominates this fresh soup which also has chickpeas, courgette, aubergine, celery, organic tomatoes and red peppers, sweet potatoes, carrots, plenty of onions and leeks. Chicken at 5% is a decent amount in this mixture. There is quite a lot of coconut too to add to the Thai flavours, along with lime leaves and ginger. Tasters liked this as a substantial, flavoursome soup, which could do for a supper. In a perfect world it would be made in Ireland, but is from Britain but still got top marks from tasters. Available in Dunnes Stores.
Score: 9.25
* Cully & Sully Chicken & Vegetable soup, 400g €2
Quite a substantial soup with 4% chicken which has more flavour and better texture than other samples with more meat. Nicely creamy and buttery with natural tastes. Liked by all tasters. Fair price for this quality.
Score: 9
* Supervalu chicken & vegetable soup, 400g €1.99
Creaminess is the predominant experience here with a feel of real cream and butter. The 5% shredded chicken tastes of chicken. There is also leek, carrot, celery and potato. Noted on the label are sulphites which can cause a reaction in consumers who are sensitive to them. There is also added modified potato starch, dextrose and an anti-caking agent E551 which tasters prefer not to have in their food.
Score 7.5
* Baxter's Cream of Chicken, 400g €1.39
We looked at this canned soup to see how it stood up against fresh soups and if the flavours suffered from the convenience of long-life cans. Smooth and creamy, there are tasty pieces of chicken here and nice hints of white pepper. At 1.2g per 200g portion, salt content is high. A satisfying old fashioned cream soup, while not as vibrant as some fresh soups, handy to have in the store cupboard.
Score: 7
* Just Food organic tomato and roast vegetable, 400g €2
All tasters liked this soup immediately, agreeing on the lively tomato flavours being well balanced with parmigiano reggiano, olive oil, fresh basil and walnuts. The vibrant red to orange colour from 35% tomatoes and 8% red peppers did not disappoint in the taste, and the natural texture of smooth courgette and aubergine is a good advertisement for the organic ingredients. This makes a good base for main courses — add fish or meat for a quick supper. Good value.
Score: 9.5
* Nash 19 Seasonal soup, 600g €3.95
A nicely natural, pulpy texture was offset by a feeling that with such a rich chicken stock, the vegetables were a bit overpowered. A little cabbage flavour came through and tasters liked roast fennel, tomato and bean textures. The second favourite of tasters of the vegetable soups.
Score: 8
* Marks & Spencer Super Green soup, 600g €3.70
Lots of cabbage flavour here with a light texture, not artificially thickened. It’s green as it says on the label with 8% spinach and 5% spring cabbage. A light mint flavour seemed a bit out of season for winter, but tasters liked it for a change.
Score: 7
* Avonmore Farmer’s Choice Mixed vegetable fresh soup, 400g €1.99
Chewy peas were the first thing tasters complained about in this soup and they didn’t like the thick texture either. No sense of fresh vegetables and, at 1.2g per 200g portion, salt content is high. Poor value for the price.
Score: 4
