Your social media feed might be filled with friends, acquaintances and enemies living it up in warmer, sunnier climes in the northern hemisphere. How to quell your envy? If you’re like me, the kitchen is your place of solace and redemption; and when the south-east areas of Australia have recently experienced the coldest temperatures in years, a bowl of soup is all it takes to revive the soul.
Here, some of the Guardian’s greatest winter-friendly soups from around the world, recreated in the comfort of your home.
When you can’t go to Portugal, bring Portugal to you. While variations of caldo verde abound, you’ll likely find a host of humble of ingredients – potato, onion, leafy greens, smoky sausage – in a hearty, comforting bowl.
Felicity Cloake’s recipe builds layers of texture – finely shredded greens (such as kale or cavolo nero), blended potatoes for body, and cubed spuds to finish. The real magic, however, comes from the Portuguese chouriço (if you cannot find this, substitute with Spanish chorizo); the charred sausage infuses the soup with a smokey warmth.
If, like my husband, you hate the monotony of eating thin, pureed soups, this chunky, stick-to-your-ribs, Tuscan peasant dish leans almost into stew territory thanks to the addition of beans, bread and a rainbow of vegetables.
This is an excellent recipe to use up those mangy carrots languishing in the vegetable crisper. Along with celery and onion (the trio becomes soffritto, the base of many classic Italian dishes) you add cannellini beans, tinned tomatoes and whatever stale bread you have lying around.
If you have a parmesan cheese rinds squirelled away in your fridge (you do do this, don’t you?), throw that in too for an umami boost.
Another soup-stew for your consideration. I have vegan family members who eat this almost weekly and swear by the moreish, spicy peanut-tomato combination. With a generous dose of garlic and ginger, and almost half a jar of peanut butter, this recipe is a revelation for the uninitiated and will likely kickstart a seasonal addiction to the nutty spread.
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For those who prefer spiky and sour flavours, Yotam Ottolenghi’s take on adas bil hamoud – a soup eaten across the Arab world – will jolt you out of your winter blues. It’s a vegan-friendly wonder of earthy lentils, sweet onions and nourishing silverbeet, and the addition of three lemons – juice and zest – that really brings things home.
Still on the sour-soup train comes this south Asian yoghurt and chickpea-flour soup from UK chef Urvesh Parvais. The lactic tang combined with turmeric, cumin, curry leaves and ginger is a symphony on the palate. Serve with Parvais’ kitchdi, a gently spiced rice dish, for the full package.
Is it French onion soup? Is it Japanese ramen? Meera Sodha’s soup creation borrows from both culinary worlds with delicious results. You’ll need to start the soy eggs the day before but they will keep in the fridge for up to a week, ready for when the ramen cravings strike.
Avgolemono (which translates from Greek to “egg-lemon”) is at its heart a chicken soup folded through with a lemon and egg sauce to achieve its delicate mouthfeel. Be careful when you temper the sauce. Slowly combine the warm stock with the egg mixture until smooth and homogenous – too hot and too fast and it will curdle, resulting in an egg-drop soup. But do it right and it becomes a velvety elixir which will surely cure all that ails you.
You read that right – this recipe for Spanish white soup calls for not one, but two whole bulbs (not cloves!) of garlic. Do not be alarmed. As José Pizzaro points out, roasted garlic is a “completely different creature” from its fresh counterpart. Roasting the garlic diffuses its abrasiveness to reveal a mellow, creamy flavour that works beautifully with the white beans and roasted almonds. If you can find jerusalem artichokes they are earthly delights in the migas; otherwise mushrooms will work just as well.
There’s a lot to love about this silky Thai chicken soup: the symmetry of creamy coconut and vibrant citrus and lemongrass, the daring handful of bird’s eye chillies, the freshness of coriander – roots, leaves and all. Plus if you’ve never ventured beyond flat and button mushrooms, reach for oyster mushrooms. These fragile, ethereal lobes have a subtle seafood flavour which does wonders here.
