The Thrifty Cookbook: 476 Ways to Eat Well With Leftovers (23 page)

Serve with ½ teaspoon of pesto swirled into each bowl, plus a drizzle of really good olive oil, a generous grating of Parmesan cheese and some crusty bread.

These are hearty soups, so blitz them as much or as little as you like or – as with the Pea and Bacon Soup on
page 64
– not at all. Keep back a few strips of meat to add to a smooth soup at the last minute, or use a potato masher to achieve a semi-puréed texture. The very last scraps of the meat will provide all you really need but whatever texture you are after, always carefully remove every bit of fat and gristle.

These soups will benefit if you use stock made from the bones or carcass of the meat (see
pages 28
-
9
). Bear in mind that leftover meat or fish will not give up much more flavour and overcooking it will make it dry and tough, so this is all much quicker than cooking it from scratch.

For meat soups, I tend to add an equal measure of companionable vegetables – or canned pulses and beans really come into their own as alternative thickeners to potatoes. Bottled Roasted Peppers or Dried Tomatoes (see
page 44
) will add kick. Either cook them with the meat and stock or add them right at the end as a garnish. Use the What Goes With What list on
pages 26
-
7
for inspiration if you are unsure.

I boil a bacon joint fairly regularly and it is worth buying a slightly larger piece of meat just in order to make this soup. It’s an ancient pairing of flavours and, though I prefer green peas, you could more authentically use the same quantity of cooked split peas or even lentils.

Serves 4

a little olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stick, sliced

1 bay leaf

300-400g fresh or frozen petits pois

300-400g (about 4 teacups) leftover ham, cut into pieces

about 1.5 litres meat or vegetable stock (see
pages 27
-
30
)

100-150ml cream

salt and pepper

a handful of chopped fried bacon, to serve

Heat a splash of olive oil in a large pan, add the onion, carrot and celery and cook gently, covered, for 5-7 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add the bay leaf, peas and ham and cover with the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5-7 minutes, until the peas are really tender. Check the seasoning (ham is salty, so be careful before adding more) and add cream to taste. Scatter some chopped fried bacon on top.

For these variations, cook raw vegetables right at the beginning with the onion and add the meat only when they are completely cooked through. If you are using up leftover cooked vegetables, add them to the liquid once it has reached simmering point, along with the leftover meat. Simmer for 5-7 minutes, until all the ingredients are thoroughly heated.

Chicken, leek and mushroom
Replace the onion and bay leaf with some finely sliced leeks and a little chopped garlic, rosemary or thyme. Add some sliced mushrooms. Once these are cooked, add half a cup of milk with the water or stock and, when it is simmering, add strips of leftover chicken and simmer until thoroughly heated through. A squeeze of lemon and some fine strips of lemon zest added at the end will brighten it up, or scatter over some chopped tarragon, parsley or basil.

Chicken or pork (roast, boiled or even sausages)
These go well with lentils or chickpeas (canned ones are fine). Add a good handful of chopped parsley at the end. If you have a few tomatoes lying around, skin, deseed and chop them and add them to the soup with the meat.

Ham or pork (including sausages)
Both taste good with strong green vegetables. Add a couple of crushed garlic cloves to the onion base and use any member of the cabbage family, shredded finely. When cooked, add the meat. Shredded fennel is a summer alternative.

Lamb and pulses
Lamb is delicious with butterbeans, cannellini beans, chickpeas or even frozen broad beans. A teaspoon of harissa from a tube can be stirred into the onion base before adding the meat and beans. Serve with a little chopped fresh coriander or parsley.

Beef with root vegetables
Beef is a natural partner for sweet root vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips, celeriac and carrots. Tomatoes (skinned and chopped) will add a tangy sweetness.

Beef with summer vegetables
Try a base of softened leeks and celery, adding diced raw courgettes and even aubergine, and then the stock. Add strips of leftover beef to warm through. A teaspoon of paprika, ground cumin or ground coriander would be nice added at the start.

Christmas leftover soup
Because there is so much to play with – turkey or duck, the end of a ham, roast parsnips and potatoes, a bit of bacon or sausage, green vegetables and stuffings – you can do away with the onion/carrot/celery base, and use cold water instead of stock. Even the last of the bread sauce or cranberry sauce can go into the pot. Blitz and serve with finely sliced spring onions or chopped coriander leaves.

These are the kind of soups that come together in literally minutes – almost instant soups whose transparency and minimalism leave you feeling healthily satisfied, whether you’ve made a socking great bowlful with noodles or an abstemious little dish lightly scented with fresh herbs. Home-made stock is best, clarified following the instructions on
page 29
.

My husband often makes Kofta (see
page 146
) – slightly spicy little Lebanese lamb balls, which include parsley, a little chopped red pepper and the gentle nuzzle of a pinch of ground cinnamon. They are ideal for this soup, but any leftover meatballs will do (see
pages 144
-
5
). It’s a Sunday-night delight – endlessly adaptable and taking just 10 minutes to prepare.