Lamb and Barley Soup

In a big soup pot, gently sweat 2 roughly chopped onions and 5 chopped celery sticks.

Then layer as follows: 1.5kg lamb knuckles, 2 cups of pearl barley, 5 large carrots chopped into chunks, 350g green beans sliced into length of your choice, 3 medium potatoes, roughly cubed, 3 large sweet potatoes, also cubed, and 500g of butternut chunks.

Add 200ml Maggi Arome, 4 tablespoons of vegetable stock powder, and top with water to cover it all.

Bring to boil then reduce heat to a gentle bubble, cover, and simmer undisturbed for about 3 hours. Thereafter, stir through and top with water to keep all ingredients submerged. Continue simmering, covered, until the meat falls off the bone and the soup has reached a consistency of your choice.

Check seasoning and enjoy!

chorizo chowder

this is a recipe from ainsley harriott and a firm winter favourite. use whole chorizo sausages and slice them yourself, since the ready-sliced chorizo you can buy are too thin for this soup. chorizo is a smoked spanish sausage spiced with paprika and garlic.

heat butter in a large pot and gently fry 1 finely chopped onion, 4 crushed cloves of garlic and 500g peeled and cubed potatoes for about 15 minutes. add 1 thinly sliced leek and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. stir through and cook for another few minutes.

add 1 litre of vegetable stock, bring to boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft and beginning to break up. use a potato masher and roughly mash the potatoes.

slice 250g chorizo sausage into 1cm slices and add to the soup. simmer until the soup turns to a rich orange from the sausages.

i serve this with italian bread slices which i butter and grill till brown.

mulligatawny soup

this is adapted from a jamie oliver recipe. btw, if anyone could tell me how to pronounce this, i would be terribly grateful....

heat olive oil in a large pot. add 1 chopped onion, 1 grated carrot, 1 chopped red pepper, a good bunch of crushed garlic, a couple of crushed coriander seeds and a chopped fresh red chilli. gently fry until soft.

add 1 teaspoon curry powder and 2 tablespoons tomato paste. if you have a dried curry herb mixture add some too. i do. leave to fry a couple of minutes.

add 250g beef mince, breaking up with a wooden spoon. pour in 2 tins of chopped tomatoes and 500ml beef stock. stir through, bring to boil, cover and simmer for about an hour.

add 1 cup of rice and cook until rice is done.

voila! very nice with crusty bread.

enough for: 4 generous helpings