Can I make soup without a stock cube?

mrsberries

Making soup at the mo but just realised Ive no stock cubes - grrrr. Ive a huge amount of herbs n spices ....will they suffice instead of the stock??

Thanks

The Sweeper

Depends on what kind of soup you're making to be honest. Unless you are cooking with something that will impart a lot of flavour to the soup, then it could be watery...

Whatcha makin?

mrsberries

tomato n basil. might throw in some red lentils to thicken it up...its delish but dont want to ruin it without stock cube..

Magic Monkey

You could make a quick vegetable stock with onion, leek, carrot and celery, with some parsley, thyme and bay leaf. But since it's tomato and basil soup, water is fine. I don't think not using a stock cube will ruin a soup, in some cases it's the other way around.

mrsberries

Magic Monkey wrote: »

You could make a quick vegetable stock with onion, leek, carrot and celery, with some parsley, thyme and bay leaf. But since it's tomato and basil soup, water is fine. I don't think not using a stock cube will ruin a soup, in some cases it's the other way around.

Thanks a mil

Keith in cork

Magic Monkey wrote: »

You could make a quick vegetable stock with onion, leek, carrot and celery, with some parsley, thyme and bay leaf. But since it's tomato and basil soup, water is fine. I don't think not using a stock cube will ruin a soup, in some cases it's the other way around.

Best advice.^^^^^


I never use a stock cube/bullion/fresh stock for tomatoe soup. Use a few fresh tomatoes as well as canned chopped if using fresh isn't an option.
Roast a red pepper (or more for bigger quantities), classic soup, tastes the business.

TBH stock cubes/bullions are a last resort. if your adding them you've obviously messed something up in the making to need more flavour.
I thicken my soups with the ingredients, for carrot soups, more carrots as opposed to potatoes/roux etc. For mushroom soups, more mushroom than anything. the one time i put a potatoe in mush soup is to meet a persons dietry requirments. The key to a good mushroom soup is popping down your local veg suppllier (to the trade) asking for a punnet of "seconds". 1/4 them, sweat your onion/garlic/parsley stalks. then add the mushroom. leave them on half heat. mushrooms are full of water. this brings it out. use it instead of water and stock cubes etc.

If your not vegetarian (grrrr:P), use bacon water. boil the bacon and eat for dinner. keep the water. sweat some onion,celery,garlic,curley parsley, add the bacon water, simmer for 20mins, take off heat. let stand for 10mins. add a 1kg bag of tesco frozen peas, blitz after a min when they've thawed in the hot base. letting the base cool a bit, holds the green colour of the peas and their goodness. IF there was any bacon left over from dinner, shred it, put it in the soup. pop in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch/snacks/starter...whichever.

If you like potatoe and leek soup, take some smoked bacon, cut into lardons (small strip's), fry these FIRST in the pot you will make your soup. "redden" the pan (make very hot) add a little oil (not much as the bacon lets off water and when it does it won't fry if too much liquid in the pot). remove smoked bacon, make soup as normal (onion,garlic,parsely stalks,celery, sweat) leeks washed and rough chopped ( I use MORE leek tops, gives better colour and flavour, than the "white"/main part of leek), add a spud or two (you'll know by size of pot of soup your making), blitz and add your bacon.

The one thing i've not mentioned above is salt and pepper. this is me being lazy as it should become second nature to you when cooking to season EVERYTHING!!
I learned that the hard way, (oh if he back of my head could talk after being whacked:D).

Happy cooking,
Keith.

Just to add, soups are a great way to get kids used to the taste of veg. Mine wouldn't eat much veg, so i had them help me cut the veg, let them add each one to the pot as we needed to add them, after they were done, they just had to eat their creation. Whenever they moan about eating a carrot or whatever, i remind them of the day they had all the veg in a soup, and drank it, wanting more.
I think its the vay veg is cut that puts them off more, puree's and dices of veg work better for some reason. Makes no odd's to me, i spend 5mins extra preparing, they eat their veg, "undisguised", everyones happy.