Moroccan tomato & chickpea soup with couscous

Recipe: Barney Desmazery
Food styling: Val Barratt
Recipe >>>HERE<<<

Lentil and bacon soup

Recipe: Caroline Hire
Food styling: Val Barrett
Recipe >>> Here <<<

French onion soup

Why has it been so long since I've made this oniony wonder? The inclination to throw everything into the soup pot at this time of year is a strong one; especially when there's a wealth of wintry root veg in season. Lest we forget that often, simplicity is best.

A small knob of butter
5 Large brown onions, thinly sliced
2 Bay leaves
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
A splash of dry sherry
500ml Beef or vegetable stock
2Tsp mustard powder
Salt and pepper
1 ciabatta loaf, sliced
Finely grated gruyere cheese

1 Melt the butter in a pan, before adding the thyme, garlic and bay. Stir gently for a few minutes, then add the onions. Soften gently on a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
2 Stir the mustard powder into the onions, add the sherry and then pour in the stock (I used vegetable stock in this instance - prefer beef though). Simmer on a relatively fast bubble for about 20 minutes.
3 Toast the ciabatta slices, then top with grated Gruyere. When ready to serve, spoon a portion of soup into a bowl, float a ciabatta on top and then grate in a bit more cheese for good measure. Pop under the grill for a few minutes, then serve.

Chunky root vegetable soup with cheesy pesto toasts

Recipe: James Martin

Prop Styling: Arabella McNie

Food Styling: Lizzie Harris

Shot for BBC Good Food magazine, November 2011

Spicy pumpkin soup

A medium sized pumpkin, deseeded, peeled and roughly chopped

1 Tbsp Sesame oil

A thumb-sized piece of root ginger, finely chopped

1 Red chilli, chopped

1 Lemongrass, chopped

1 Large onion

1 1/2 pints Vegetable stock

1 Tbsp mango chutney

Salt and pepper

Heat the sesame oil in a pan before adding the ginger, lemongrass and

chilli. After a few minutes, stir in the onion, softening slightly

before adding the pumpkin. Pour in the stock and simmer gently for 10

minutes or so; after which the pumpkin should squish easily. Transfer

everything into a blender and blitz to a smooth consistency; pour back

into the pan and season. Spoon in the mango chutney and leave to

bubble on a low heat for a few minutes. Serve with chopped chilli,

ginger matchsticks and fresh coriander.