Easy, economical, healthy soup

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Light broccoli soup (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Thick and hearty red lentil soup (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

THIS week we have more soup, and I have to say, whenever I make soup I wonder why I don't make it all the time. It's easy, economical, healthy and there's such a range of flavours. This week we have a hearty beef and lentil soup from Helen Pitura and a creamy broccoli soup from Beausejour's Edna Mroz.

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Thick and hearty red lentil soup

500 ml (2 cups) whole red lentils

75 ml (1/3 cup) pot barley

2.5 L (about 9-10 cups) reduced-sodium beef broth

450 g (1 lb) lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1x798 ml can (1x28 oz can) diced tomatoes, with juices

2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt

1 ml (1/4 tsp) pepper

dash cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

In a large pot, combine lentils, barley and beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pan, brown the ground beef, breaking up with a spoon, until no pink remains. Add drained beef, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings to the stock pot. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes with a spoon, until vegetables are tender and soup has thickened. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Tester's notes: This is a very satisfying soup with robust flavours. Helen writes that you can enjoy it as a main dish, and it would make a great supper with biscuits or maybe corn bread. I used split red lentils because I happened to have some on hand, and they worked out well.

Light broccoli soup

1 bunch broccoli (about 450 g or 1 lb)

1 onion, chopped

500 ml (2 cups) potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) chicken stock or water

2 ml (1/2 tsp) dried thyme

1 ml (1/4 tsp) pepper

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) whole milk

salt to taste

Separate broccoli into florets. Peel any tough skin from the stems and chop coarsely. In a large pot, combine broccoli, onion, potatoes, garlic, stock, thyme and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Puree soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth, return to pot and add milk. Heat through without boiling, and add salt to taste.

Testers notes: This tasty vegetable soup is creamy but not too rich, getting its silkiness from the potatoes rather than a lot of cream. I needed a bit more than 375 ml of stock to cover the vegetables, but that didn't seem to be a problem. I used my immersion stick blender to puree the soup, because the cleanup is easier, but I had to be very careful not to let the hot liquid splatter. You could serve garnished with croutons or a little grated cheese.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 8, 2012 C5