Lots of the soups you see in Supermarkets are loaded with dairy (cream normally), wheat and often high in salt and sugar, so a big thumbs up to this soup.

Follow link for more: Free From Soups (recipes and product reviews)

Dairy Free Carrot Soup Ingredients

Vegetable Stock (Water, Vegetables (Onion, Carrot, Leek, Celery, Garlic), Sugar, Salt, Cornflour, Sunflower Oil, Spice Oil), Carrot (26%), Coconut Cream (8%) (Coconut, Water), Potato, Butternut Squash, Onion, Sweet Potato, Ginger Purée, Vegetable Oil, Coriander, Cornflour, Fish Sauce (0.5%), Red Chilli (0.4%), Sugar, Salt, Lime Leaves, Lemongrass (0.2%), Garlic Purée, Turmeric.

I got my Glorious dairy free carrot soup from Sainsbury’s but you can also buy from ASDA and Morrisons.

Well New Covent Garden Heart Warming Soup ticks alot of boxes, and it tastes great too, check out this wheat and dairy free tomato soup

Dairy Free Tomato Soup Ingredients

Water, tomatoes (19%), onions, green lentils (6%), tomato paste, carrots, red peppers, courgettes, celery, sugar, vegetable oil, garlic, salt, thyme, rosemary, parsley, white pepper. Vegetables (20%).

The soup is tastes great, tomato(y) as you would expect but the lentils give it a lovely texture and depth of flavor – big tick to New Covent Garden Soup.

As well as tasting great The Heart Warming soup is also promoting the British Heart Foundation.

Now I normal just wing this recipe, but this was today’s version:

Celery Soup Ingredients

Serves: 2 as a main

• 1 celery heart, finely sliced (I included stalks and all)
• 2 inch cube of potato diced (optional – for thickening)
• 1 garlic clove diced
• 1/2 teaspoon of celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of mixed herbs
• 1 tbls of olive oil
• 1/2 Free From Stock Cube (I used Kallo)
• Pepper

Nb. You will also need a kettle of boiling water.

In a saucepan heat the olive oil and add the celery seeds and garlic glove, stir briefly then add the celery and potato. Saute everything in the pan for a few minutes.

Add the mixed herbs and stock cube and season to taste with pepper. Cover everything with boiling water, to just below the ingredients (too much water and the soup will be too watery).

Bring to boil and cook until the vegetables are just soft, mine took 11 mins. Blend, check for seasoning and tasty celery soup done.

Dairy free broccoli soup with goats cheese

Broccoli Soup with Goats Cheese Ingredients:
Serves 4

• 50g/2oz Dairy Free Spread (I use Pure it seems to be being good for cooking)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 900g/2lb broccoli, chopped (seperate the florets and stalks)
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 litre/1 3/4 yeast free vegetable or chicken stock (I use boullion stocks)
• 600ml/1 pint of soya milk (you could also use rice milk)
• 100g/4oz medium soft goats cheese chopped

1. Melt the dairy free spread in a saucepan and add the onions, brocolli stalks and and nutmeg, fry for 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add the brocolli florets, stock and milk then cover and simmer gently under the brocolli stalks are soft.
3. Using hand blender or stand alone blender puree the soup.
4. Add seasoning to the soup to taste.
5. Ladle the soup into the required number of dishes, just before serving crumble some goats chees into each bowl and hey presto your Broccoli Soup with Goats Cheese is ready to serve.

If you wanted to make this soup for freezing don’t add the goats cheese until you reheat the soup and serve.

Just a note for anyone thinking if this recipe is dairy free why does it have goats cheese, goats cheese has a different fat makeup to cows cheese or milk, somepeople that are intolerant to cows dairy find they can have goats dairy products, it is usually lactose that people react to, this is not contained in goats milk.

Enjoy your Broccoli Soup with Goats Cheese!!!

NB. You can Buy from Amazon for under £8!

The Covent Garden Recipes that I have made in the last few weeks include southwestern garbanzo beans, sweet potato, sprout and orange salad and lemon chickpeas with spinach. I have to admit to tweaking the recipes slightly to suit my fussy foodie friends and to fit with what was in my cupboard but I have been delighted with every dish so far. My copy came from a book stall and I think they have since updated the front cover (I hope the wonderful Covent Garden Recipes haven’t changed too much though).

Red Pepper Soup Ingredients:

• 3 large sweet peppers
• 3 medium white onions, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 750ml vegetable stock
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Red pesto (no nasties variety – optional)

and here is how it’s done…

Roast 3 large sweet peppers (preferably the long, thinner variety), leave to cool and peel off the skin and deseed.

Chop 3 onions and add to the pan with some olive oil, fry gently until onions soften. Then add chopped sweet potato and peppers and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add 750ml veg stock, 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon paprika to the pan and season.  I also added in a teaspoon of fussy foodie friendly red pesto.

Cook for 25 mins and when ready blitz.

Lovely Red Pepper Soup done - absolutely delicious with just a slight hint of a kick!

Spicy Squash Soup

Spicy Squash Soup Ingredients:

• Medium onion – finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• Cumin Seeds – 1tsp
• Coriander Seeds – 1tsp
• Sesame Seeds – 2tbsp
• Fresh ginger – 1cm (1/2″)
• Green Chilli - seeded and chopped
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• Butternut Squash – 340g (12oz)
• Sweet Potato (optional replace with more butternut squash) – 340g (12oz)
• Runny Honey (optional) – 1tsp
• Vegetable stock – 2pints (1.2ltrs)
• 400g (14oz) Tinned Chickpeas (drained)

Definitely lots of chopping involved in this recipe but it’s worth it for a really different, spicy and tasty soup. A great way to liven up a squash soup, one I think will become a classic in our home. Anyway less of the chat, here is how the Spicy Squash Soup is done:

Sweat the onions and garlic in a pan very slowly for 10 mins in a small amount of olive oil, be careful not to brown them. Meanwhile in a small pan toast the cumin, coriander and sesame seeds until lightly browned. Then bash together in a pestle and mortar until lightly ground.

Once the onions are ready add the toasted seeds, lime zest, chilli, ginger and honey (if using) and stir for 30 seconds.

Add the sweet potato and squash, lime juice and the stock. Cover and simmer for 10 mins, until veggies are almost tender.

Taste and season if required. Add the chickpeas and simmer for 10 mins until chickpeas are soft.

Blitz in a food processor adding more stock or hot water if necessary to get required thickness. Grab a bowl and serve – delicious Spicy Squash Soup ready to rock and roll.

Covent Garden Spicy Squash Soup challenge verdict:

On top of the Spicy Squash Soup recipe there are lots of great soups in the New Covent Garden Soup Company’s Soup and Beyond recipe book so I will be sure to check some more of these out.

Another fussy foodie use of root veg, is to make a seasonal root vegetable soup. It’s a great way to get some of your 5 a day and simple to make.

I’m off on a journey up the motorway today so have quickly made a soup to take with me – here’s how I did it:

(this recipe makes approx. 2 portions)

• 2 carrots
• Half a large parsnip
• Half a swede
• Half an onion
• 1 small turnip
• 1 tsp of Marigold boullion powder (Organic, Reduced Salt)
• Pinch of pepper
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• Hot water

Dice the veg into bite size chunks.

Heat the oil in the pan and gently fry the onions til soft.

Add the veg to the pan and mix with the onions, gently frying for a couple of minutes (keep stirring to prevent sticking).

Pour in enough hot water to cover the veg by about half an inch.

Add the pepper and boullion powder and bring to the boil.  Turn down the heat then leave to simmer for approx. 10 – 15 mins or until the veg is cooked.

When cooked, pour the veg & stock into a blender and blend until smooth. If the soup is too thick, gradually add more hot water whilst blending, until it reaches your desired consistency.

And thats it! Simple seasonal root vegetable soup – done! I just can’t wait to get on my way and have our service station stop so I can tuck in.