Three ways with soup: potato and leek, bacon, and harvest vegetable recipes to keep you cosy

Whether you like your soup smooth or textured, it’s nigh on impossible not to find one that you’ll love. Here are three recipes to inspire and whet the appetite.

A nice, hearty and wholesome soup on a cold day never goes amiss, and with so many different flavour combinations and ingredients to choose from, it’s almost impossible to choose our three favourites.

With the featured recipes below, potato and bacon, leek and potato, and harvest vegetable soup, there is bound to be something to keep everyone cosy and nourished this month.

For more inspiration, take a look at previous recipes in this series here.

Potato and bacon soup

(Serves 4) 

Ingredients

• 4 large Scotty Brand potatoes, peeled and diced
• 7 rashers smoked bacon
• 25g butter
• 1 onion
• 1.5 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock
• 142ml single cream

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large pot. Chop 3 rashers of smoked bacon and add to the pot, along with the chopped onion. Fry for a couple of minutes or until the onions start to turn golden.
2. Add the diced potatoes and stir well. Cover and turn down the heat. Cook for around 5 minutes, making sure the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan.
3. Add in the stock, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover again and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Take off the heat for a couple of minutes and then blend with a hand mixer, or in a food processor.
4. Return to the heat and pour in the cream, stir well and season if required.
5. Serve with the remaining rashers of fried, chopped bacon.

Leek and potato soup

(Serves 4) 

Ingredients

• 5 Scotty Brand medium potatoes
• 3 leeks
• 2 reduced-salt vegetable stock cubes
• 1.2l water
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

Method

1. Wash the leeks and potatoes.
2. Peel the potatoes and chop them and the leeks into bite-size pieces.
3. Dissolve the stock cubes in the water.
4. Put the chopped vegetables into a large saucepan with the stock and bring to boil.
5. Reduce the heat, season with pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Harvest vegetable soup

(Serves 4) 

Ingredients

• 2 Scotty Brand medium potatoes
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 leeks
• 1 medium onion
• 2 courgettes
• 2 tbsp frozen peas
• 227g chopped tomatoes
• 1 reduced-salt vegetable stock cube
• Pinch ground black pepper
• 750ml water

Method

1. Wash, peel and chop the potatoes, leeks and carrots. Peel and chop the onion. Wash and slice the courgette.
2. Put the prepared vegetables, except the peas and tomatoes, in the pan.
3. Add the water and the stock cube.
4. Heat the mixture to boiling point and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Put the pan lid on and cook for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add a little more water if needed.
5. Add the frozen peas and the canned tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Use a blender or potato masher to blend the soup to how you like it (optional).
7. Season with black pepper and reheat gently. Serve hot.

Recipes courtesy of Scotty Brand.

More in this series…