There is much to do at the plot as we prepare for the imminent growing season. This week, we have been building raised-beds, barrowing soil and woodchip and composting the remnants of last season. Tired and hungry conversations have inevitably turned to food and we have discovered our collective love of a hearty winter soup after a day of wet and muddy work.
Street vendors in 16th century France would sell soup to the Parisian workers as an antidote to physical exhaustion. This highly concentrated, inexpensive soup was called ‘Restaurant’, derived from the verb ‘restorer’ (“to restore”, “to revive”) and in 1765, one entrepreneur opened up a soup shop and the modern word for eating establishments was born.
This month we are celebrating the soup-er easy, soup-er nutritious and soup-er low cost winter warmer. Below you will find Lucilla’s go-to-recipe for Carrot, Honey & Ginger Soup by cookery teacher, Georgina Nunn.
The rest of the team will be sharing their recipes on our social media channels. While most of our recipes have been passed on by family or friends (or expert cooks), it’s doubtful they can be traced back to the dawn of civilisation. Archaeological evidence dates the earliest consumption of soup back to Mesopotamia 6000 BC. The soup of choice? Hippopotamus!
Despite our passion for spending time in mud we promise no hippos in our soups and we do hope our recipes will restore & revive you after a day at work or a muddy winter walk. We would love to hear your best broth recipes so please comment on our socials or send us an email.
The Veg Shed Team
CARROT, HONEY & GINGER SOUP
Serves 4 - 6
Small knob of butter
750g / 1 1⁄2Ilb carrots, only peel if needs be
1 large onion,
chopped 1 garlic clove,
chopped 10cm / 4” fresh ginger,
chopped or grated 2 celery sticks,
chopped 1l / 1 3⁄4pt chicken or vegetable stock (hot)
1 tbsp runny honey
125ml / 1 1⁄4 pt double cream
Squeeze of lime juice
ut a good splash of olive oil and the butter into a heavy pan.
Add in the carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, celery and a good pinch of salt.
Cover and let the vegetables sweat in the butter and oil.
Leave for about 20 minutes, then pour over the hot stock, add the honey and bring to simmer for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are very soft.
Blitz the soup with a handheld stick blender or use the liquidiser. Although it is a pain in the neck, use a ladle (works better than a wooden spoon) to push the soup through the sieve don’t skip this as the ginger is very fibrous.
Pour back into the pan and add most of the cream and reheat. • Add the lime if you think it needs it.
Pour into warmed bowls and add a splash of cream into each one along with some finely chopped parsley.
Recipe by cookery teacher, Georgina Nunn
Find and share more winter soups recipes on our Facebook page or on Insta
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