oups are just about the simplest things to make, because they cook themselves while you get on with something else. They are also the most natural way of using up leftovers or languishing vegetables – with, perhaps, a few extras from the store cupboard. They come in every colour and texture too, from an almost transparent broth to the deepest, chunkiest meal-in-a bowl.

exture is a matter of personal preference. If chunky soups are your thing, chop all the ingredients to your ideal size. For smooth soups, simply let the cooked soup cool and then blitz it. To serve, reheat the soup in a clean pan, but don’t let it boil. If it looks too thick, thin it down with a little water or stock, or swirl in some cream or crème fraîche just before serving. But, if thickness is what you are after, add a diced potato or some starchy canned beans to the soup as it’s cooking.

ften at the very end of the culinary food chain, soups can be made in limitless variations – and they are also a fantastic way of using up leftover leftovers. For example, if you make a leftover Tomato, Chorizo and Chickpea Stew and don’t quite finish it, you’ll find that overnight the flavours sink into each other and deepen. With a ladleful of stock or water, this will make an excellent soup – blitzed or chunky, as you like. This will work with almost any casserole, bake or stew.

t is worth bearing in mind two things when making soups: firstly, that you need to use a large pan: if you want a smooth soup, this will mean that you have room to blitz it all up with a hand-held blender without it erupting like Vesuvius. Secondly, it stands to reason that if you use a pressure cooker your cooking time will be reduced, which is helpful for large amounts. (Follow the instructions that come with the cooker.)

This chapter has recipes for smooth and chunky soups, for meaty and veggie alternatives as well as for broths and fish soups.