Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Soup

I think everyone knows by now that I love soup, and this is definitely one of my new winter favourites.  I am normally not a huge fan of pumpkin, but when Kate presented my with a beautiful butternut fresh from her garden I could hardly say no! 

Leek & Potato Soup

Well the winter days are slowly coming to and end, which sadly means I am running out of soup weather! I thought I would squeeze in a couple more before summer rolls around... This potato and leek recipe is one of my absolute favourites, and it's so simple!

6 - 8 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 onion, diced
3 leeks, washed and sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 litre chicken stock
1 cup cream
1 tbsp butter
Sea salt and cracked pepper

Melt the butter in a large heavy based saucepan, and saute the onion, garlic and leeks until softened. Add the potatoes, keeping them fairly even in the pot, then pour over the chicken stock, which should only just cover the potatoes.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are very tender. Season well with salt and pepper then mash the potatoes until you achieve a nice thick consistency. Pour in the cream and stir to combine, then it's ready to serve.

Asian Style Chicken Noodle Soup

Bearing in mind that Asian cookery is not my area of expertise, I have to say I was pretty happy with the way this soup turned out! Very fresh and light with lots of wonderful flavours going on. And best of all it's incredibly healthy! I make this soup at least once a week now.



1L salt reduced chicken stock
1 cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce3 cloves garlic, roughly sliced
2 inch piece ginger, roughly sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 1 inch pieces
Cracked black pepper1 skinless chicken breast (approx 200g)
1 bunch choy sum, cut into 2-3 inch lengths
1 handful snowpeas, halved
150g udon noodles
1 long red chilli, finely sliced for garnish

Pour the stock, water and soy sauce into a saucepan and add the garlic, ginger and lemongrass pieces. Season with pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the chicken breast and allow poach gently for 20 minutes, or until the breast is cooked through.

Meanwhile, place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside until noodles are tender and ready for use.

Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from the stock, allow to cool slightly then shred. Strain the stock to remove the garlic, ginger and lemongrass pieces.

To assemble the soup pile noodles in a large bowl, top with the fresh choy sum, snow peas and shredded chicken, then ladle over the hot stock. Garnish with fresh chilli and coriander.

Serves 2.