Food Lust People Love: soup recipes

Showing posts with label soup recipes. Show all posts

Sunday, February 22, 2026

Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup

This Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup is made with small, sweet Chantenay carrots and lots of fresh ginger, garlic and yogurt, a warming bowl of goodness.

My older sister Tanya was a huge fan of cooked carrots, often cooking up a pot of sliced ones to serve as a side dish or frankly just to eat the whole lot as a meal. I must admit that I also cooked them as a side dish but way, way more rarely. Carrots had to be just about the last item in the vegetable drawer for me to choose them as a cooked side dish.

My younger daughter was even less of a fan than I was. When I would serve cooked carrots, I’d give her a few raw carrot sticks as her side. Hey, she was eating vegetables and since they weren't my favorite either, I completely understood.

But soup? Soup changes everything. Sweet carrots roasted then pureed in delicious savory soup is perfect for rainy cold days, especially with plenty of warming fresh ginger.

Chantenay carrots are a British-grown heirloom varietal known for their diminutive size and extraordinary sweetness. Originally cultivated in the Chantenay region of Northern France as far back as the 1800s - hence the name - they fell out of favor there in the 1960s when food production became increasingly mechanized.

They are enjoying a resurgence of popularity in the UK now though. Whenever I see a bag in my local grocery store, I cannot resist buying some. They are so sweet and so cute!

Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup

If you can’t find Chantenay carrots, substitute seasonal local carrots from wherever you live. If the internet research can be believed, smaller young carrots are sweeter than larger older ones. This recipe is adapted from one on The Mediterranean Dish.

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil

1 lb or 450g Chantenay carrots, scrubbed

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 large garlic cloves

2 in or 4 cm knob fresh ginger

4 cups or 960ml vegetable or chicken stock, divided

1/4 cup or 61g Greek yogurt, plus extra drizzled for serving, optional

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Method

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and line a baking pan with a silicone liner or baking parchment for easy clean up.

Peel and mince the garlic and ginger.

Trim the roots ends off of the little carrots.

Pile them in your lined baking pan and drizzle them with olive oil. Sprinkle on a few good pinches of salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper.

Use your clean hands to toss the carrots around to distribute the salt and pepper and coat them with the oil. Spread them out in a single layer.

Roast the carrots for 20 minutes.

Stir them around and roast for another 10-12 minutes or until they are fork tender and slightly caramelized. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

When the carrots are cool enough to handle, place them in a blender along with the garlic, ginger and some of the broth.

Puree until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the carrot puree to a heavy cooking pot.

Add the remaining stock to the blender and give it a swish so you don't leave any pureed carrots behind. Pour that into the pot. Place the pot on medium heat and bring it slowly to a low boil.

Stir occasionally and cook for about 30 minutes or until it’s reduced slightly and the garlic odor has tempered.

Turn the heat to medium-low and stir in the yogurt and ground cumin.

Cook till it's heated through then remove from the stove.

Transfer to serving bowls and add a few drizzles of yogurt to garnish, if desired.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing dishes cooked with root vegetables. Many thanks to our host Mayuri of Mayuri’s Jikoni. Check out the links below.

Alu Kangmet - Manipuri Potato Mash from Mildly Indian
Arbi Ka Paratha from Mayuri's Jikoni
Beetroot Paneer Rice with Leftover Rice from Cook With Renu
Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup from Food Lust People Love
Ginger Almond & Poppy Seed Vadi from Sneha's Recipe
Maple Miso Root Vegetable Medley from A Messy Kitchen
Parsnip and Leek Soup with Cumin and Mustard Seeds from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Roasted Beet Galette from Amy's Cooking Adventures
Roasties from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie from Making Miracles

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Traditional Cullen Skink

Made with poached smoked haddock, potatoes and onions, this traditional Cullen skink is a creamy, thick, savory soup, the perfect bowl of warming goodness.

Last Autumn, on a chilly rainy day, my husband and I decided to stop in at an island pub for some lunch. Their soup of the day was Cullen skink, a fish soup I had enjoyed many years back on a visit to Scotland. That original bowl was creamy and thick with potato bits and smoky haddock. Truly delicious! One of my fondest memories.

The bowl at the pub was not that. In short, it was a big disappointment. Very thin broth, hardly any smoked fish flavor and a real shortage of potatoes and actual fish too. If you’ve been reading along here for a while, you know that meant I had to make Cullen skink to remind myself of the better first memory.

Curious about the name? According to the interwebs: “Cullen Skink gets its name from the town of Cullen in Moray, Scotland, where it originated, and the Scots word "skink," which refers to a shin or knuckle of beef, and by extension, a thick soup. Originally a beef broth, it evolved into a smoked haddock soup in the late 19th century when fish became a more accessible, local, and affordable staple than meat for the town’s fishing community.”

Traditional Cullen Skink

Use naturally smoked haddock for this recipe, if possible. Unlike the artificially yellow dyed fish, the naturally smoked haddock has a subtle light beige color, derived solely from the wood smoke. This recipe is adapted from one on the BBC Good Food website, now just called Good Food. Serves 3-4.

Ingredients

7 oz or 200g smoked haddock

1 1/2 cups or 360ml milk

1 medium onion

14 oz or 400g new potatoes

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups or 295ml fish stock

Fine sea salt and white pepper

To garnish: finely chopped parsley or chives

Method

Put the haddock skin side down in a small pan and cover with the milk.

Cook gently for 5 mins, or until just tender. Turn the haddock over and set the pan aside, leaving the haddock and milk to cool for about 10 minutes.

Remove the haddock from the milk with a slotted spoon (reserving the milk), transfer to a plate.

When cool enough to handle safely, flake into large pieces, removing and discarding any bones and skin.

While the haddock cooks and cools, peel and chop the onion finely.

Scrub the new potatoes. Halve or quarter big ones but leave small ones whole.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the chopped onion and sauté for 8-10 mins until translucent but not browned.

Add the potatoes and fish stock and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 10-15 mins or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a knife.

Use a fork or a potato masher to mash half of the potatoes to help thicken the soup.

Whisk the cornstarch into the cooled haddock milk then add it to the pan. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the soup thickens slightly.

Add the flaked haddock to the pan and cook until just heated through.

Season to taste with the salt and white pepper.

Spoon into warmed bowls and sprinkle over the chopped herbs to serve.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 3rd edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter C. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the C recipes below:

Chai Spice Mix from Blogghetti
Chicken Thigh Schnitzel + Chenin Blanc from Culinary Cam
Chocolate Chip Crescent Roll Cookies from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
Chora Nu Shaak, Gujarati Style from Mayuri’s Jikoni
Coconut Rolls from Magical Ingredients
Colorful Peppers Pulao from Sneha’s Recipe
Corn Sauté with Pancetta, Potatoes, and Peppers from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Cranberry Pistachio Pull-apart Rolls from A Messy Kitchen
Dill Pickle & Mustard Seed Cream Cheese Spread from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
Traditional Cullen Skink from Food Lust People Love
White Chicken Chili from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

C. Traditional Cullen Skink - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

Pin this Traditional Cullen Skink!

Sunday, January 25, 2026

Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder

Savory and spicy, this Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder is full of flavor, vegetables, fish and coconut milk, a warming bowl of comfort for a cold day.

I roasted some salmon filets a while back and was looking for something different, a whole new meal in which to use the leftovers. Since it was chilly outside, soup seemed like a great idea. If you don’t have leftover fish, you can use cubed raw salmon which cooks very quickly.

This spicy warming chowder is made with Thai red curry paste which is a blend of dried red chilies, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste, kaffir, lime zest, cilantro root/stem and seeds, cumin and white peppercorns.

It does the heavy lifting, flavor-wise, in this soup but because we like things spicy, I couldn’t resist adding more garlic and red chili peppers. The coconut milk does make it all more mellow though. I could eat this chowder every winter day!

Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder

If you have homemade fish stock, by all means, use it for this savory soup. I always keep fish and shrimp stock cubes in the cupboard so I tend to use those instead. Good subs for the kailan are collard or turnip greens or any other Asian greens like bok choy or even snowpeas. Serves two or three hungry people.

Ingredients

7-8 stalks kailan or other greens

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

4-5 sprigs cilantro

1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely

2 whole celery stalks, chopped finely

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

2 fresh red chili peppers, minced

10-12 baby carrots, cut in half or thirds

1 large russet potato, peeled and cut in cubes

2 cups or 480ml fish or shrimp broth (homemade or from a stock cube)

1 can (14oz or 400ml) coconut milk

2 cooked salmon fillets (about 5 1/2 oz or 156g) or cubed raw salmon

Fine sea salt to taste (This will depend on your personal preference but also how salty your fish stock is.)

To serve:

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Lime wedges to squeeze.

Method

Rinse the kailan well then trim the ends off and cut the stalks lengthwise. Cut off the soft leaves and set them aside. They will go into the pot right at the end. Cut the stalks into bite-sized pieces.

Trim the tough stems off of the cilantro and discard them. Mince the tender stems and set the leaves aside for garnish.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add in the curry paste and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.

Add the tender minced cilantro stems, onion, celery, garlic and chili peppers.

Sauté, covered, stirring regularly, until the onion and celery are tender.

Stir in kailan stalks, potatoes, carrots and fish broth.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. At this point, I like to take a few of the potato cubes out, mash them with a fork and put them back in to help thicken the chowder.

Add in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.

Break the salmon into large flakes.

Stir them gently into the chowder along with the kailan leaves.

Simmer the chowder until it's heated through and the leaves are soft. Taste the chowder for salt and add a little extra if necessary.

Serve garnished with the cilantro leaves, with lime wedges to squeeze the juice into each bowl.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are all about SOUP! Many thanks to our host, Mayuri from Mayuri’s Jikoni. Check out all the delicious soupy links below.

Budget Friendly Minestrone Soup from Cook With Renu
Cheddar and Burnt Garlic Cauliflower Soup from Sizzling Tastebuds
Cheese Corn Tomato Coriander Soup from Sneha's Recipe
Creamy Green Chicken Enchilada Soup from Amy's Cooking Adventures
Dry Cream Soup Mix from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
One Pot Ravioli Soup from Mayuri's Jikoni
Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder from Food Lust People Love
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Sausage Soup from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup from Our Good Life
Turkey Wild Rice Soup from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Pin this Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder!

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Easy Pastina Soup

This Easy Pastina Soup is comfort food for when you are under the weather and need something delicious, rich and nourishing, made with chicken stock and vegetables, and, of course, tiny pasta aka pastina.

It's been quite a while so I can’t remember if it was me or someone else in my immediate family that was feeling under the weather, in fact, it might have even been my neighbor. But I was texting with a dear friend and she sent me the recipe she said she always makes when her family is sick.

I had all of the ingredients so I made it right away. It was sooo good that it became one of my favorite go-to soup recipes whenever we are feeling poorly as well. The soup is rich and full of vegetables and flavor, a true delight with the tiny pasta aka pastina.

Easy Pastina Soup

This soup is very forgiving so I haven’t given exact weights for the vegetables. Aside from the garlic, the amounts of the other veggies should be more or less similar but if you have a little more carrot and a little less celery, don’t stress over it. That said, the one onion in my pantry was tiny, so I also used a shallot to make up the difference.

Ingredients

10 1/2 cups or 2 1/2 liters chicken stock

1 yellow onion

3 celery ribs

3 carrots

4 garlic cloves

salt as needed

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup or 200g pastina, drained (any small pasta shape, such as orzo, little stars, or tiny macaroni noodles – macaroni will weigh less, being hollow)

Parmesan or Pecorino Romano to serve

Method

Peel and chop your carrots and onion. Peel and slice your garlic. Chop the celery ribs.

Add the stock to a large pot and heat over high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Bring the contents to a boil.

Once the broth is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and semi cover the pot with a lid.

Cook for 45-60 minutes or until the veggies are all super soft and the quantity of liquid has reduced. Taste for seasoning and adjust with some salt, if needed.

If you have a hand blender, remove the pot from the stove and puree all of the vegetables directly in the pot.

If you don’t, use a slotted spoon to transfer the veggies to a blender, along with a couple of ladles full of broth. Blend until the mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the blended mixture back to the pot of broth and stir.

Give the whole pot a few generous grinds of black pepper.

Meanwhile, in another pot, boil the pastina in salted water. Drain and return to the pot to keep warm.

To serve, add a generous serving spoonful of the cooked pastina to the bottom of a bowl then ladle the soup on top.

Sprinkle with some grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano. (I totally forgot this step for the photos!)

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 16th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter P. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the P recipes below: