My Comfort food.

When I think of comfort food I think of soup, yes, yes I know all you women out there are now saying not a chance it has to be “CHOCOLATE” but there is something about soup that makes everything feel alright I think it must stem form when I was younger as my mother always gave me soup when I was unwell and after you ate it you for a brief moment felt better, something that I still do today.

Also soup also resonates with me from my Training days at my local Institute where I studied to become a chef, one of the first things we were torte was a basic vegetable soup once you have mastered this we were told “the world was our oyster”

I even find making a soup to be quite therapeutic I think it’s because I know “everything will be ok” after I have eaten it.

Simple soups are what I love soups that do the ingredients justice my absolute favourite is Leek & potato soup. So today when I was making it for my wife and me for lunch it really got me thinking that it’s the ultimate Allotment recipe, what better to show case your plot over the 4 seasons that soup. Can you think of something better? I Challenge you to. Something that is purely made from what you grow, in fact next summer I am going to make a soup on my plot I have a camp heater that I use to make a brew on the plot so all I need is a saucepan.

I thought I would also share a few tips and little helpful points on the favourite are of a good soup.

·         If your soup turns out runny and not as thick as you want it rather than reach for the corn flour why not just add a spoonful of rice and cook that in your soup this will release its starch as it cooks and thicken you’re soup then just blitz it in which your soup you won’t notice it in the end soup.

·         Or you could use something called a “Beurre Manie” this is a “cold Roux” made simply with equal amounts of butter and flour worked together to make a paste then you simply whisk this into your soup and it thickens your soup and gives it a nice shine (believe me a good shine it what all chefs want on a good soup)

·         Another top tip when making a soup NEVER BOIL your ingredients this will not release all those wonderful flavours from your veg simmer is the key.

 So what are you having for lunch tomorrow?......................................