Soup is really the perfect winter food – it’s hot, filling and easy to bulk up a recipe when you have a crowd coming over or scale it back for just the two of you. And it’s easy to get excited about soup when you are surrounded by so many great ingredients for making it (not to mention fresh bread and cheese to eat alongside.) So last week, we scoured the market for the tastiest lentils and dried beans, fresh winter produce, seafood and cured meats, to make four delicious soups in our Make-&- Take: Winter Soups class.

Chef Angie MacRae first prepared a rich and flavourful Spanish Chickpea and Chorizo Soup (recipe below), which we ate with crusty bread from Stonemill Bakehouse and a trio of Spanish treats (Serrano ham, Manchego cheese and tiny but tasty Arbequina olives) from Scheffler’s Deli & Cheese. It was a dark and drizzly afternoon, but sharing this wonderful soup with new friends in the Market Kitchen was a great way to beat those winter blahs.

The group then divided into teams to prepare three other recipes and learn the basics of soup making – such as building flavour with mirepoix (usually a combination of celery, onions and/or leeks, and carrots sautéed with butter and/or olive oil – this is the backbone of a good soup); the importance of simmering to develop complexity; and seasoning at the end of cooking to ensure a rich rounded taste (soup flavours concentrate during cooking, so over seasoning at the beginning can result in a finished soup that is too salty.) Everyone received bottles of the other soups – Greek Red Lentil, Southwestern Minestrone with Corn Macaroni and Curried Seafood Chowder – to take home and enjoy.

If you’re coming down to the market this week, why not pick up the ingredients to make a big batch of your favourite winter soup. Or for something new – give this one a try. Enjoy!

SPANISH CHICKPEA AND CHORIZO SOUP
Makes 6 to 8 servings
*We garnished this soup with some shredded Serrano ham, grated hard-boiled eggs and a drizzle of Spanish olive oil.

INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil
5 ½ ounces chorizo sausage, finely chopped
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 lb fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8 fresh tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
1 can (14 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
5 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:
In a large pot, heat several tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chorizo and cook for a several minutes (until the fat comes out of the chorizo.) Add onion, garlic and celery. Reduce heat and cook slowly for 15 minutes, covered, without colouring the onions.

Remove lid and cook, stirring, to get some colour on the vegetables. Once coloured, add spinach, tomatoes, chickpeas and chicken stock. Return to boil; reduce heat and simmer until for 40 minutes.

Remove about one third of the mixture and puree in a food processor. Return to pot, giving soup a good stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with ham, egg and olive oil, if desired.

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