Soup recipes make for fantastic lunches and dinners during winter – the best are often the most simplified.
Culinary queen and TV sensation Nigella Lawson has dished out her secret to making a heartwarming soup that requires minimal ingredients and is sure to satisfy your hunger.
Branding her creation “happiness soup”, Nigella exclaimed: “This is a soup of such sunny, mood-enhancing yellowness that it overcomes even the most pervasively innate cynicism. It’s incredibly easy to make. This golden broth, rice-thickened and studded with a confetti dice of yellow courgettes and sprightly with lemon is pure joy. You only have to see it to believe it.”
Taking to the comments section, users shared their thoughts on this recipe after making it themselves. One wrote: “Wow! I make lots of soups and this will definitely be in the top five. Couldn’t stop. I had two bowls. A real keeper.”
Another said: “Astonished by the burst of flavours and the beautiful simplicity of this recipe of Joy. What a delight when the taste of a plate joins so perfectly to the look. Thank you.”
A third said: “This soup was a burst of joy on a damp winter’s day. My girls and I could not have been more chuffed if God above had blessed us with a more heavenly soup. We are forever grateful to Nigella for sharing this delicious concoction.”
Not only is this dish tasty, but cooking this scrumptious soup will take 25 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients
500g yellow courgette
Zest and juice of one lemon
Three tablespoons olive oil
One teaspoon turmeric
One litre of vegetable stock (or chicken stock for non-vegetarians)
100g basmati rice
Maldon salt
Pepper
Method
Start cooking this dish by prepping the star of the show – the courgettes. Giving them a good rinse will do; no need to peel.
Next, slice the courgettes into 5mm wide rings before dicing them into minute pieces. Toss them into a pan with the lemon zest and oil, giving everything a gentle mix.
Simmer the mixture on low heat for roughly five minutes or until they’ve softened a tad, stirring now and then. After your courgettes get tender, mix in the turmeric and blend in your stock and lemon zest before popping the rice in.
Nigella shared that she usually whips up some bouillon concentrate with water by simmering meat. The cook said: “You could use vegetable stock if you prefer, but I love the mellow goldenness you get from chicken.”
Next, let your soup bubble away without a lid for 10 to 20 minutes, or just until those courgettes and rice are “tender”. Season to taste.
Give it a bit of time to cool down before you dish it up, so it’s served warm, not scalding.
Keep this soup under wraps in the fridge for no more than three days. Remember to chill it and stick it in the refrigerator within a couple of hours of cooking.
For longer storage, feel free to freeze it. Just pour it into sealed containers and it’ll keep for up to three months.
Defrost this concoction in the refrigerator overnight, then warm it slowly in a pan over a gentle flame, giving it the occasional stir, until it’s steaming hot. After defrosting, consume within one day and only reheat once.
