Today we experienced the best of the welsh weather; rain, mist, wind and snow! To counter the cold I made this warming soup, after finding some roast ham (left over from Christmas) in the freezer and surveying the straggle of half used swede, carrots and the last few tiny potatoes (that are always left until the end because no one can be bothered to peel them!) I also added a handful of lentils as I like the creamy texture that the lentils bring which seems to envelop the ham and vegetables and bring the whole soup together. As the wood burner was burning away I cooked it on that and I left the soup to do its thing, while adding more ingredients throughout the different stages of cooking. I also made a super-quick soda bread to go with it to make the meal even more wholesome than it already was!
This soup is border lining into the area of a stew but for me it still classifies as a soup (I'm not sure why, maybe because I started out in the 'soup' mind-set... and for my dad who has been suffering from toothache recently, I removed the ham and blitzed up the rest, and then re-added the ham which resulted in a thick, silky soup which was equally as delicious!
Ingredients
Half a Swede
2 small Onions
2 Carrots
6 small Potatoes
handful of Lentils
400 grams of Roast Ham & fat (to fry with)
handful of Peas
5 sprigs of kale
3 sprigs of chard
handful of land cress
Method
The soup was really easy to make:
1. Chop up all the vegetables and fry them (with fat from the ham) until darkly coloured (for extra flavour), then add the red lentils and top it up with hot water and salt & pepper.
2. When the veg is nearly tender add the chopped ham and garden peas to the pot.
3. At this point make the soda bread (details here). I think dates go so well with the flavour of soda bread and the Stilton complements the sweetness brilliantly.
4. Just before the soup is ready to serve, add the kale and sprinkle a little water cress to add a fresh peppery taste to the dish.
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