On one of my first shopping expeditions after arriving in France I spotted a soup maker at a bargain price in a shop called Zodio. It was 32€ so around £28. I was so chuffed with it that I used it straight away and then offered to get another one for my friend. The second one I got was reduced even further in price to 26€, so around £23 and even more of a bargain! No wonder that even in the middle of July there were only three left on the shelf!
It's more or less the same as my Morphy Richards model which I have in my UK kitchen, but without the time display on the control panel. It did however come with a handy jug!
The weather has been fairly English since we arrived in France, often quite cool, so the soup maker has come into its own several times. It's also a handy way to use up the inevitable random selection of unused veg.
One of the things I like about both my soup makers is that the end result is often a bit of a surprise and on this occasion the soup turned out to be a vibrant green colour. I have no idea why as there were no peas or green veg in it at all! It was, as usual, delicious!
Ingredients
4 medium carrots
1 onion
1 small leek
1 chunk celeriac
5 mushrooms
2 medium potatoes
one third of an orange pepper
1 veg stock pot
1 tblsp garlic flavoured oil
1 splash Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
Method
Wash, peel and prepare the veg and cut into medium chunks. Use enough to fill the machine to the lower line.
Add the other ingredients and enough water to fill to the upper line and set to smooth.
I hadn't any bread in the house so served mine with garlic flavoured croutons.
Makes 4 good portions.
I've wondered about a soup maker, but I'm worried it might just turn out to be a gadget used once or twice and not again. I usually make soup in a big pan and zuzz it with my hand held zuzzer at the end. What do you find so useful about it?
ReplyDeleteI was sceptical until a good friend, also previously sceptical, told me how much she used hers! The thing I like is that it's essentially a pan with the blender in it so less washing up. No need to chop things very small and soup is ready in about thirty minutes. We have soup made with leftover veg much more often because it's so quick and easy to use. It's about the size of a large kettle.
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I meant to add that you have the choice of smooth or chunky soup. In fact you can cook the soup on the chunky setting then use the blender only function to make it a little smoother if you prefer. All very easy!
DeleteI usually make it on the smooth setting and if it turns out slightly too thick (because potatoes thicken the soup and the quantity is not always spot on) just add a little hot water.
Thank you for the information...I'll certainly consider it.
ReplyDeleteI notice "1 splash of Worcester sauce". Quite right! Two splashes and you'd have different soup - The L&P Special. Gotta be careful especially when doing Bloody Marys.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued why that ended up looking so green. That's alchemy. Soups from the random bits of veg from the garden or the fridge are exactly my idea of the midweek lunch (or just about any lunch, come to think of it). This would suit me perfectly.
ReplyDeleteSadly, my experience with soup makers is less positive than yours. I did buy a soup maker for my m-in-l because she wanted to make simple veg soups, but, just like the two slow cookers and the microwave that I bought her, she didn't use it at all (too complicated, apparently - it had more than one button) and so I inherited it. It was clearly a bad choice of design, because when I used it, it made a noise like a pneumatic drill and produced so much steam that I was wiping condensation off the walls. It's now been donated to a charity shop in Hersham.
Mine (both of them) do make a bit of a racket during the blending phase but not much steam. Maybe the lid on yours was a poor fit. I wouldn't be without one now.
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