Hearty Soups
Cooking Skills: Soups and Stocks 1
Chapter 5 · Hearty Soups
Skill goal
Build thick, filling soups from lentils, peas, beans and meat that make a whole meal in a bowl.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A hearty soup is the opposite of a clear broth: thick, filling and made to be eaten with a spoon and a piece of bread. Its secret is pulses (lentils, split peas, beans), which cook to a soft, thick mass and give body without cream. The method is the same as before: sweat a base, add the main ingredient and stock, simmer until soft, then adjust. Mash or blend a third of it for body and leave the rest chunky.
Pulses love salt and acid at the end: season too early and the skins stay tough, and the soup tastes flat without a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar. The ham hock stock and shredded ham from Cooking Skills: Soups and Stocks 1, chapter 1 are used here, and the stocks from chapters 1 and 2 give the best result. A day in the fridge improves these soups, because the flavours settle.
The method
- Sweat the base slowly for 10 minutes, with garlic and spices added at the end.
- Rinse the pulses, add them with the stock and bring to a simmer, skimming the foam.
- Simmer until completely soft, and don't add salt or acid until they are tender.
- Mash or blend about a third to thicken, and leave the rest whole.
- Finish with acid, fresh herbs and good oil, then taste and adjust the salt.
| Soup | Pulse or main | Time (approximate) | Texture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red lentil soup | Red lentils | 30 minutes | Smooth, thick |
| Split pea and ham | Yellow split peas, ham | 1 hour 15 minutes | Thick, with shreds of ham |
| Cabbage and bean soup | Cannellini beans, cabbage | 50 minutes | Chunky, with bread |
| Cock-a-leekie | Chicken, leeks, rice or barley | 1 hour | Brothy, with tender pieces |
Pulses, thick soup and hot pot
Pulses and beans: dried red kidney beans contain a toxin and must be soaked overnight and boiled hard for at least 10 minutes before simmering; tinned beans are already cooked. Lentils and split peas need no soaking. Rinse them first, check for small stones, and keep a lid on, because they foam and boil over.Thick soups catch and spit: a thick soup sticks to the base of the pan and blobs and spits when it bubbles. Stir often, keep the heat low, use a pan with a heavy base and a long spoon, and keep your face back.
Hot pot and hot steam: a big pan of simmering stock or soup is heavy and scalding. Keep the handle turned in, use a ladle rather than pouring, lift the lid away from your face, and keep children and pets out of the kitchen while you move it.
Allergens in soup and stock: celery is one of the 14 major allergens and is in most stocks and stock cubes. Check cubes for celery, gluten, milk, soya, mustard and sulphites, and tell guests what is in the pot, because soup hides ingredients.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Red lentil soup
The fastest hearty soup, with no soaking and no blender needed. Red lentils collapse into a golden purée in 20 minutes. Cumin and turmeric add warmth, and lemon at the end lifts it. Naturally vegan if you use vegetable stock.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 200 g red lentils, rinsed
- 1 litres vegetable stock, unsalted
- 1 lemon, juice
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander or parsley
- Sweat the onion and carrot in the oil for 8 minutes. Add the garlic and spices for 1 minute.
- Add the lentils and stock, bring to a simmer, skim the foam and cook for 20 minutes until the lentils are soft and collapsing.
- Mash roughly or blend half, then add the lemon juice, salt and herbs.
Pulses, thick soup and allergens
Pulses and beans: dried red kidney beans contain a toxin and must be soaked overnight and boiled hard for at least 10 minutes before simmering; tinned beans are already cooked. Lentils and split peas need no soaking. Rinse them first, check for small stones, and keep a lid on, because they foam and boil over.Thick soups catch and spit: a thick soup sticks to the base of the pan and blobs and spits when it bubbles. Stir often, keep the heat low, use a pan with a heavy base and a long spoon, and keep your face back.
Allergens in soup and stock: celery is one of the 14 major allergens and is in most stocks and stock cubes. Check cubes for celery, gluten, milk, soya, mustard and sulphites, and tell guests what is in the pot, because soup hides ingredients.
Level 2 · Ham
Split pea and ham soup
A British winter classic. Yellow split peas cook to a thick, creamy soup in the ham stock from chapter 1, with the shredded ham stirred in. Use the unsalted stock so the soup is not too salty, and taste before adding any salt.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 250 g yellow split peas, rinsed
- 1.5 litres ham hock stock (chapter 1), unsalted
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 celery stick, diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 150 g shredded ham from the hock
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- Sweat the onion, carrot and celery in the oil for 8 minutes. Add the split peas, bay and stock, bring to a simmer and skim.
- Simmer, partly covered, for 1 hour until the peas collapse, stirring now and then so they don't catch.
- Stir in the ham and parsley, mash some of the peas for body, then taste and season.
Pulses, ham salt, thick soup
Pulses and beans: dried red kidney beans contain a toxin and must be soaked overnight and boiled hard for at least 10 minutes before simmering; tinned beans are already cooked. Lentils and split peas need no soaking. Rinse them first, check for small stones, and keep a lid on, because they foam and boil over.Stock and salt: stock cubes and bought stocks are very salty. Use low-salt cubes, make them up weaker than the pack says, and do not salt a stock at all: it will be reduced or seasoned later, and a salty stock cannot be fixed.
Thick soups catch and spit: a thick soup sticks to the base of the pan and blobs and spits when it bubbles. Stir often, keep the heat low, use a pan with a heavy base and a long spoon, and keep your face back.
Hot pot and hot steam: a big pan of simmering stock or soup is heavy and scalding. Keep the handle turned in, use a ladle rather than pouring, lift the lid away from your face, and keep children and pets out of the kitchen while you move it.
Level 2 · Italian
A cabbage and bean soup (ribollita-style)
An Italian peasant soup that is thick enough to eat with a fork. Tinned cannellini beans stand in for dried, and torn stale bread dissolves into the soup to thicken it. It is even better the next day (the name means 'reboiled').
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 800 ml vegetable stock, unsalted
- 2 tins of cannellini beans (400 g each), drained
- 200 g cavolo nero or savoy cabbage, shredded
- 2 slices of stale bread, torn
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Sweat the onion, carrot and celery in the oil for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes and stock and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the beans and cabbage and simmer for 20 minutes. Mash a ladleful of beans against the side of the pan.
- Stir in the bread, simmer for 5 minutes until thick, add the vinegar, taste and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.
Beans, thick soup and allergens
Pulses and beans: dried red kidney beans contain a toxin and must be soaked overnight and boiled hard for at least 10 minutes before simmering; tinned beans are already cooked. Lentils and split peas need no soaking. Rinse them first, check for small stones, and keep a lid on, because they foam and boil over.Thick soups catch and spit: a thick soup sticks to the base of the pan and blobs and spits when it bubbles. Stir often, keep the heat low, use a pan with a heavy base and a long spoon, and keep your face back.
Allergens in soup and stock: celery is one of the 14 major allergens and is in most stocks and stock cubes. Check cubes for celery, gluten, milk, soya, mustard and sulphites, and tell guests what is in the pot, because soup hides ingredients.
Allergens: contains gluten (bread), celery and sulphites (vinegar).
Level 3 · Scottish
Cock-a-leekie
A traditional Scottish soup of chicken and leeks, thickened with rice or barley. Prunes are the old-fashioned touch and add a gentle sweetness; leave them out if you prefer. Cook the leeks in two stages, so some melt and some stay green.
Ingredients (6 portions)
- 4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed
- 1.5 litres chicken stock (chapter 1), unsalted
- 4 leeks, sliced
- 60 g pearl barley or long-grain rice, rinsed
- 6 prunes, stoned and halved (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- Simmer the chicken, stock, bay leaf and two thirds of the leeks gently for 30 minutes. Lift out the chicken, remove the bones, and shred the meat.
- Add the barley (or rice) and simmer for 25 minutes (15 for rice), then the prunes and the remaining leeks for the last 10 minutes.
- Return the chicken, season carefully and serve with parsley.
Raw chicken, barley and hot pot
Raw chicken and carcasses: keep raw chicken and carcasses on their own board and plate, away from food that won't be cooked. Wash your hands, boards and knives in hot soapy water afterwards, never rinse raw chicken under the tap (it splashes bacteria around) and cook stock bones thoroughly.Barley and gluten: pearl barley contains gluten and swells a lot, so a soup can turn into a stew if left. Add a little water when reheating, and use rice or buckwheat for a gluten-free soup.
Bones in stock: strain stock through a sieve before it goes near children or anyone eating from it, because small bones come loose in long simmering. Cooked chicken bones splinter, so never give them to dogs.
Hot pot and hot steam: a big pan of simmering stock or soup is heavy and scalding. Keep the handle turned in, use a ladle rather than pouring, lift the lid away from your face, and keep children and pets out of the kitchen while you move it.
Experiments
Experiment
Pulses soaked or not
Cooking time.
- Cook split peas that were soaked for 4 hours alongside others that were not.
Look for: The soaked ones cook faster and more evenly; the dry ones take longer but give a slightly more intense flavour.
Experiment
Salt before or after
Texture.
- Salt one pot of lentils at the start and another at the end.
Look for: Early salt barely matters for red lentils but can toughen the skins of dried beans; salting at the end gives you control.
Experiment
Mashed a little or whole
Body.
- Mash a third of a pot of bean soup and leave a second pot whole.
Look for: The mashed pot is thick and creamy; the whole-bean pot is thinner and more brothy.
Experiment
A day older
Flavour.
- Taste the soup fresh and then after a night in the fridge, reheated.
Look for: The next-day soup is thicker and deeper, because the flavours have married. Add water when reheating.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red lentil soup | ||||
| Split pea and ham soup | ||||
| Cabbage and bean soup | ||||
| Cock-a-leekie | ||||
| Pulses soaked or not | ||||
| Salt before or after | ||||
| Mashed a little or whole | ||||
| A day older |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pulses still hard | Old pulses, or salt or acid added too early | Simmer longer; add acid and salt at the end |
| Soup sticks and burns | Heat too high, no stirring | Keep it low, stir often and use a heavy pan |
| Too thick | Pulses absorbed the stock | Add hot stock or water and re-season |
| Bland soup | Weak stock or no acid | Add salt, lemon or vinegar and good oil |
| Foam boils over | Pulses release foam | Skim it and keep a lid half on |
| Tough ham | Cooked too fast | Shred it and warm it only at the end |
Pulses, hot pot and leftovers
Pulses and beans: dried red kidney beans contain a toxin and must be soaked overnight and boiled hard for at least 10 minutes before simmering; tinned beans are already cooked. Lentils and split peas need no soaking. Rinse them first, check for small stones, and keep a lid on, because they foam and boil over.Hot pot and hot steam: a big pan of simmering stock or soup is heavy and scalding. Keep the handle turned in, use a ladle rather than pouring, lift the lid away from your face, and keep children and pets out of the kitchen while you move it.
Reheating soup: reheat soup only once, until it is steaming hot all the way through (bubbling for a couple of minutes), not just warm. Do not reheat soup that has been left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can cook lentils and split peas to a soft thick soup.
- I know to add salt and acid at the end.
- I can thicken a soup by mashing a third of it.
- I can use bread to thicken a soup.
- I can use ham stock without making the soup too salty.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Soups and Stocks 1, chapter 6 is Cold and Summer Soups: chilling, seasoning cold and keeping it fresh.