Stock, saute, simmer and sizzle: The four essential steps for making perfect soup

You can’t do much about winter, but you can make soup. Win! The basic steps towards soup security are simple: start with stock, then saute, simmer, and finally, add some sizzle.

Stock: Making your own stock is relatively easy, whether you simmer chicken and vegetables for a shimmering chicken noodle soup, or ham bones for a hearty pea and ham soup. To make vegetable stock, cover a few chopped onions, carrots and dried mushrooms with cold water, simmer for an hour, then strain. For instant stock, Marigold Organic Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder tastes fresh and carroty.

Saute: For a classic, comfort-food vegetable soup, create a base of flavour with aromatics such as leeks, celery and carrots, then add whatever you have – parsnip, potato, pumpkin. Softer vegetables such as zucchini and leafy greens should be added later.

Chop or slice each vegetable into same-sized pieces so that they cook in the same time, taking their shape into account. For example, slice the leeks and celery and chop the root vegetables.

Heat one tablespoon each of butter and oil, and cook the veg until softened but not coloured, tossing well.

You’ll need about 1.5 litres of stock for 750 grams of vegetables. As for bay leaves, I have no idea what they actually do, but couldn’t possibly cook soup without two or three of them.

Simmer: Here’s a trick I learned years ago from the great French chef Paul Bocuse. When you add your stock to the vegetables in the pan, make sure it’s boiling hot. That one simple move captures their essence and flavour like nothing else.

Add sea salt and pepper, partly cover and simmer with just a gentle bubble for 30 minutes, until everything is tender but not mushy.

Add some sizzle: Add instant freshness and greenery with a handful of finely sliced kale, silver beet leaves or spinach, and let them wilt into the soup for a minute or two. Build in more heft with a can of cannellini beans or lentils. Sizzle up chorizo, Italian pork sausage or bacon to scatter on top. And always, always, taste for sea salt and pepper.

Finish your soup with a swirl of extra virgin olive oil or pesto (if it’s Italian), a little butter or cream (if it’s French) or chilli sauce and lime juice (if it’s Asian). Buttery, grilled English muffins topped with melting cheese, or folds of pan-scorched roti will turn any soup into a meal.

Tip: Soup freezes well, so always make enough to feed yourself several times over. If you’re just starting out on this cooking caper, invest in a good, heavy stockpot of 8 to 10 litres, and you’ll have soup for life.