A Bowl of Comfort: Favourite Soups for Autumn and Winter

As we sink deeper into the autumn and winter months, the mornings bring a certain chill to the air, and as the evenings draw in, we once again find ourselves reaching for those warm jumpers, scented candles and nourishing meals.

Although we enjoy soup throughout the year in our house - even in the summer months - somehow, as the temperature drops and the daylight hours fade, it gently finds a way back into my cooking routine. Somehow, a nourishing pan of soup, simmering on the hob, sums up everything we crave from the colder months ahead.

The Simple Pleasures of Soup

With a hunk of good, homemade bread alongside, soup is one of life’s simple pleasures. It’s old as time immemorial, yet its hearty nourishment has never faded.

But why do I like making - and indeed, eating - soup so much, especially in autumn and winter?

Making soup requires relatively little effort. Some chopping and stirring to begin with, followed by a gentle simmer. When we use good quality, basic ingredients, and cook them with care and attention, we are richly rewarded. Letting onions sweat gently allows their natural sweetness to develop. Allowing a squash or pumpkin to roast slowly in the oven deepens its flavour.

Soup is also deeply seasonal - its basic concept allows us to create something nourishing from whatever is available at that time. Soup requires only the most basic of ingredients - unless we choose otherwise. One of my favourite soups to make is potato and herb - no more than potatoes, onion, butter, a selection of herbs from the garden and stock (or more often than not, water). 

It’s also very economical. A big pan of soup will last several days or fill the freezer. Batch cooking is apparently all the rage, but it’s nothing new. Soup the following day is no less enjoyable and delicious than on the day it was made.

Favourite Soups for Autumn and Winter

In this Journal entry, I want to share some of my favourite soups to make in autumn and winter. Recipes are only ever a starting point, and we should all feel encouraged to adapt to what we have available. I hope you will enjoy exploring - and, of course,  eating - some of these as much as we do.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

I confess, I’m not a huge pumpkin fan - mainly because most of the pumpkins available in the UK are grown for the decorative market rather than eating - but I love making this soup with any squashes available - it’s very good with butternut and also crown prince squash. The addition of allspice berries (crushing your own berries is really worth it here) and balsamic vinegar really elevates this soup.

You can find the recipe in:
Spelt: Cakes, Cookies, Breads & Meals from the Good Grain by Roger Saul (Nourish, 2015)

Lentil and Lemon Soup

One of the things I really like about this soup is that it’s basically made with the simplest vegetables and store cupboard ingredients - onion, celery, carrot, garlic and lentils. The lemon zest and juice gives a nice bite to this hearty soup and a handful of spinach makes it feel like the healthiest soup around!

You can find the recipe in:
Good Things to Eat by Lucas Hollweg (Harper Collins, 2011)

Spinach Soup

Some might say this isn’t an autumn or winter soup at all, but I can attest to the fact that UK-grown spinach is still arriving in plentiful supply in our organic veg box well into November. If you follow the recipe and add the spinach to wilt for only a minute at the end of the cooking, the bright green colour is amazing! And of course, nutmeg is one of spinach’s best friends - an essential ingredient here (and grate your own if you can).

You can find the recipe in:
The Farm Table by Julius Roberts (Ebury Press, 2023)

Jacket Potato Soup

If you’ve never tried jacket potato soup - and I’m guessing most of you haven’t - it will be a revelation; in fact, it was the first thing I cooked for my now wife, Clementine! Baking the potatoes first gives thi soup a delicious, rich, velvety texture. The skins aren’t wasted either, as they go to make a stock to thin the soup!

You can find the recipe in:
Vanilla Black: Fresh Flavours for Your Vegetarian Kitchen by Andrew Dargue (Saltyard Books, 2015)

Mushroom, Cider & Blue Cheese Soup

You might have noticed from my selections thus far, that it’s just one or two ingredients - often in small amounts - which really bring a soup to life. Nowhere is that more true than in this soup which combines earthy mushrooms with the sweetness of cider and tang of blue cheese. This is, if you like, autumn in a bowl.

You can find the recipe in:
Time: A Year & A Day in the Kitchen by Gill Meller (Ebury Press, 2018)

Roast Parsnip Soup

I love parsnip soup - in fact there’s a very good recipe for parsnip and rosemary soup in Lucas Hollweg’s book I’ve mentioned above - but like squashes, roasting the parsnips first really brings out the flavour. Incidentally, if roast parsnips are your thing, Delia Smith does a very good recipe where she roasts them with a crunchy parmesan coating - doubly delicious!

You can find the recipe in:
New British Classics by Gary Rhodes (BBC, 1999)

An Invitation to Slow Down and Savour

We live in a busy and unrelenting world. In autumn and winter especially, making a delicious bowl of nourishing soup is a wonderful antidote to that.

There’s something particularly appealing about a dish that asks little of us - no elaborate presentation and no special occasion needed. In many ways, a bowl of soup is decidedly ordinary, yet in its nourishing simplicity, it is extraordinary.

It is these everyday rituals - stirring a hearty pot of soup simmering gently on the stove - which help me to remain in tune with the rhythms of the changing seasons.

We cannot change the weather and we cannot make the daylight hours longer, but we can choose to make something warm and nourishing, set the table and allow ourselves a moment to enjoy it.

Do you have a favourite soup that you return to every autumn or winter? I'd love to hear which recipes and cookbooks have earned a permanent place in your kitchen.

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