By Skye Onely, third year English student

As we hurtle into the darkest days of term, with uncertainty over how we are going to meet our mounting deadlines and a general air of confusion over whether it is socially acceptable to start blasting out Bublé’s Christmas album and guzzling mulled wine, one thing is certain: it is truly the advent of soup season.

Lately, people having been talking an awful lot about something called “hygge” and the new category “bowl-food” has, with a show of bravado and to considerable furore, snatched away the attention that “plate-food” has quietly enjoyed since time began. Whilst these fads are somewhat overblown, they are nonetheless grounded in the pure joy of a steaming bowl of soup which can be hugged close on a winter’s evening, as you sit in your institutional halls or cosy (draughty) student house and imagine a fire roaring in the imaginary grate and snow flecks drifting gracefully outside your window.

Soup is also an ideal student food as it is forgivingly easy: it is perfect for batch cooking, it can be made at your own pace, it won’t hurt it to stop-start the cooking process, and you really don’t need to worry about measurements or specific ingredients. A pot of soup bubbling away on the stove will also make a whole house smell fantastic, whilst tending to it will make you feel like you’re a glorious hybrid of potions-whizz, in manner of the Half Blood Prince, and a Nigellaesque paragon of domestic bliss, which I think we can all agree is a fabulous combination.

Below are my three favourite soup recipes for the winter.

1. Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (V, VE, GF)

This is my all-time favourite, a gorgeously silky blend of melt-in-the-mouth caramelised squash, nutty garlic and warming ginger. I love it with cheese scones, hot out of the oven and falling apart in your hands.

What you will need:

Butternut Squash
Onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 carrots, chopped
Stock cube
Inch fresh ginger, grated
1.5 pints water
Stock
Salt and pepper
Optional- extra garlic

Method:

Cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds and remove, drizzle with olive oil and put two peeled cloves of garlic in the dip of each half. Roast on a medium heat for 40 minutes or until the squash is soft and caramelised on the edges. Whilst the squash is still hot, scrape the flesh off of the skin and discard the skin.
In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in olive oil. When it is translucent, add the ginger and sauté for one minute. Add the squash, carrots and stock and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Leave to cool slightly and then blitz with a stick blender (which you can buy in Wilko for £6!) and season to taste. You can add more water or even cream if you want to lengthen the soup.

If like me you can never have enough garlic, simply take a bulb, turn on its side and cut one end off so the cloves are exposed, then roast it unpeeled alongside the squash, making sure you check on and remove it after 15 minutes or so to make sure it doesn’t char. When it has cooled, you can squeeze out the gorgeously sweet roasted garlic and add it to pretty much any cooking to make it taste that bit more amazing.

You can turn these into an easy snack: simply coat in oil, salt and smoked paprika and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes or until they start to pop!

2. Spiced Parsnip Soup (V, VE, GF)

This aromatic soup combines the gentle sweetness of parsnip with subtle coconut and curry flavours, and the turmeric gives it a lovely golden colour. I buy chillies, ginger and fresh coriander when I remember to or if I see them on offer and store them in the freezer until I need them. Wash, drain, and chop coriander and freeze in a tub to use whenever; ginger can be peeled, chopped into c. 2cm chunks and frozen in a tub, while chillies can go straight in the freezer as they come.

What you will need:

2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
4-5 parsnips, chopped
Onion
1 carrot, celery or leek if you have them
3 cloves garlic
2cm fresh ginger
1 deseeded chilli, chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
2 cardamom pods
400ml can coconut milk
600ml veg stock

Method:

Heat the butter and oil in a large pan and sauté the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger until soft.
Stir in the spices and cook for one minute. Add the carrot, celery and leek if using and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the parsnip chunks and half of the coriander. Mix thoroughly then add the coconut milk and stock.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Cool slightly, then blitz, season to taste and serve with the rest of the coriander.

3. Borscht (V, VE, GF)

My favourite thing about this Eastern-European beetroot soup is its fantastically dramatic deep pink colour. What’s more, knowing that the intense beetroot colour is not only natural but also indicative of the rich blend of vitamins and minerals in the vegetable— which is an excellent source of iron, vitamins B and C and much more— makes tucking into this velvety soup even more satisfying.

What you will need:

One onion, chopped
1 lb raw beetroot, peeled and chopped
1 large cooking apple, chopped
Half a red pepper, chopped
115g mushrooms (optional), chopped
Knob of butter
2 tbsp oil
2 litres stock
1 tsp cumin seeds
Pinch dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Soured cream or Greek yoghurt to serve (optional)

Method:

Place all the chopped veg (beetroot, apple, pepper, mushrooms), butter, oil and 3 tbsp stock in a large pan. Cover and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes, then add cumin seeds and cook for a minute, then add the remaining stock, thyme, bay leaf and lemon juice. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Cool slightly and remove the bay leaf, then blitz, season to taste and serve with swirls of soured cream/yoghurt and sprigs of dill if you have them.

Featured image: Unsplash/Nathalie Jolie

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