Still we get the same old gruel

[venta]

Another recipe request: anyone got any good ideas for interesting vegetarian soup which will also appeal to committed carnivores? Must be something which can be easily prepared in advance and reheated with minimum fuss, possibly more than once.

Your answer must not include lentils :) (I don't have anything against lentils, just two of us are supposed to be making soup so there is a choice, and the other soup-maker is planning lentil and vegetable).

For bonus points, any tips on making good vegetable stock appreciated. I usually make vegetable soup with meat stock of some kind, and when cooking soup for vegetarians I always find the results are just less tasty than I'd hope. Last time I made leek and potato soup it was really quite woefully bland with vegetable stock. I assume this is a resolvable problem which is just me doing it wrong.

Some of the committed carnivores are also the sort of people who are liable to look askance at anything which might be regarded as "a bit funny". So the ideal recipe will avoid outré ingredients like, say, anything which has not been commonly used in Britain since the 1950s. Identifiable ingredients, that is :) What they don't know won't hurt'em.

Comments

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

This soup can be made veggie by using veggie "bacon" and substituting veg stock for the meat.

Also, mushroom and sherry soup:

450g / 1lb mushrooms (original recipe reckons "button", in fact you can use
pretty much anything you like, including a mixture)
1 onion, chopped (very optional if you're me)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
50g / 2oz butter or margarine
50g / 2oz plain flour (or low-carb flour)
300ml / 1/2pt milk (or soy milk; exact quantity isn't too critical)
600ml / 1pt chicken (or vegetable) stock
2 tbsp sherry (again, exact quantity not critical and I usually add more)
salt and pepper
150ml / 1/4pt single cream
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Thinly slice the mushrooms. In a saucepan, cook the onion and garlic in the butter or margarine until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook gently for a few minutes. Stir in the flour. Gradually blend in the milk and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 min. Stir the soup frequently to ensure a smooth consistency.

Add the sherry and season to taste. Pour into soup bowls. Garnish the soup with a swirl of cream and sprinkle with parsley.

[Notes: (a) exact quantities of liquids are not at all critical and can be adjusted for thickness and number of people you need to serve (though you might want more mushrooms if you're upping them a lot). (b) soup can be left for longer than 15 min -- quite a bit longer. (c) putting about 3/4 of it through the blender before serving gives you a slightly more even texture without quite the level of lumps of mushroom -- which can be handy if you're using mushrooms that taste good but aren't pretty.]