Healthy Soups Corner

Fresh Soups are healthy and offer such a variety of choice that they are right for almost any occasion. They can be served t billed or hot, chunky or clear, thick or thin, elegant or hearty. Eaten with fresh bread they make an easy, delicious lunch; add a salad and you have a nourishing supper. By themselves, the lighter ones are an ideal choice as a starter for more elaborate dinners, and some of the soups included at the end of this section are one-pot dishes meals in themselves!

Fresh Vegetables, Herbs and Stock (either meat or vegetable) make the basis of countless different soups. Some vegetables, like Jerusalem artichokes, can be cooked in milk and the flavour is even better. Keep the cooking liquor from vegetables. Boil the carcass of a cooked chicken with onion, some parsley stalks and a carrot to make a lovely broth. Strain and cool. Skim the fat off the top. This chicken stock can be stored in the freezer until needed.

Yogurt is an invaluable piquant addition to many soups and using it as a substitute for cream or soured cream makes soup an additionally healthy choice for the heart-conscious eater.
    

How To Prevent Yogurt from curdling and separating in a hot soup, mix 1-2 teaspoons of corn flour with a little yogurt in a cup and add this first to the hot soup. Then stir in the rest of the yogurt and reheat but do not boil.
     Allow the flavours to blend and intensify by leaving the basic soup to stand for two hours or more before reheating and adding the garnish. Plan your soups around the fresh vegetables and ingredients of the season, when they are at their most tempting. Garnish them with a bright contrasting colour such as fresh, chopped parsley or chives, or a swirl of yogurt.

Healthy Heart Soup Diet

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