Cooking in Bulk: Soups and Vegetable Medleys

Cooking in Bulk

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There are some favourite soups and vegetable dishes that just can’t be made in small quantities. Fortunately, these very dishes are ideal for cooking in bulk and freezing.

As you know, most soups can be cooked in bulk and frozen. The following soups are just a few I’ve used myself.

RatatouilleMy favourite soup is one I grew up with, Minestrone. This Italian peasant dish has now become a world-wide favourite and every cook has her own recipe. I’m open to variations, but to my mind, a minestrone must contain at least beans, some form of cabbage, root vegetables and a staple. In this version I use extra potatoes rather than the traditional staples of rice or pasta as potato freezes and re-heats in a soup much better than rice or pasta.

As for the colour-coded vegetable soups, they might be recipes I devised myself just for fun, but they do taste good and are packed with vegetables you might not otherwise try. You’ll find single-serve versions of the remaining soups, but they freeze well and are easier to make in larger quantities.

I love Ratatouille, but since it requires so many different vegetables, it’s impossible to make in small quantities, making it an ideal dish to have in the freezer in summer. In the winter, we might turn to Chickpea and Vegetable Stew, which, since it uses ingredients that are favourites in a wide range of cuisines, we can season for the culture of our choice.

If you don’t have any soup in your freezer on a cold winter’s night, try a single-serve soup from the entry Hot Soups from the Pantry.

 

Recipes:

Minestrone

Orange Vegetable Soup

Red Vegetable Soup

White Vegetable Soup

Green Vegetable Soup

Tomato, Capsicum and Lentil Soup

Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

Ratatouille

Chickpea and Vegetable Stew

 

Minestrone

  • 1 cup diced bacon or cooked pork sausage (optional)
  • 1 cup chopped onion (or 1 large onion, sliced)
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 2 x 400gm cans beans of your choice
  • 2½ cups cabbage, shredded or 2 cups Brussels sprouts trimmed and sliced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 litre vegetable stock (optional)
  • Olive oil
  • Salt (optional), pepper, parsley and basil

 

  1. Liquidise one can of beans with liquid
  2. In a 5 litre saucepan, sauté onions in olive oil
  3. Add diced bacon or sausage and sauté (optional)
  4. Add diced tomatoes with herbs and spices and sauté until reduced
  5. Add liquidised beans followed by remaining beans with liquid and simmer for 10 minutes
  6. Add vegetable stock or a litre of boiling water
  7. Add cabbage, carrot and potatoes
  8. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30–45 minutes until vegetables are tender, topping up with water as required
  9. Allow to cool, ladle into 300ml or 500 ml containers and freeze (makes 10–12/6–8 serves)

Serving suggestion: serve with a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Orange Vegetable Soup

  • 250gm pumpkin, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped
  • 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 (white or brown) onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
  • Mild curry powder, pepper and parsley

 

  1. In a 5 litre saucepan, bring stock to the boil with parsley and spices
  2. Add potato, then onion, then carrots, then sweet potato, then pumpkin at intervals of 2–3 minutes
  3. Add extra boiling water if required to just cover vegetables
  4. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender
  5. Allow to cool a little, mash with a potato masher then use stick blender to liquidise in pan
  6. Allow to cool, ladle into 300ml or 500 ml containers and freeze (makes 10–12/6–8 serves)

Serving Suggestion: serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt

 

Red Vegetable Soup

  • ¼ – ½ red cabbage, shredded
  • 2–3 small beetroots, chopped
  • 2 medium carrots (purple ones if available), chopped
  • 1 red onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
  • Cinnamon and ginger (or paprika)
  • Dried onion and pepper

 

  1. In a 5 litre saucepan, bring stock to the boil with onion and spices
  2. Add potato, then beetroot, then carrots, then onion, then cabbage at intervals of 2–3 minutes
  3. Add extra boiling water if required to just cover vegetables
  4. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender
  5. Allow to cool a little, mash with a potato masher then use stick blender to liquidise in pan
  6. Allow to cool, ladle into 300ml or 500 ml containers and freeze (makes 10–12/6–8 serves)

Tip: beetroot greens can be substituted for spinach leaves (enter ‘spinach leaves’ into Search)

 Serving Suggestion: serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt

 

White Vegetable Soup

  • ½ cauliflower, chopped
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 (white or brown) onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
  • Pepper, parsley and oregano

 

  1. Bring stock to the boil in a 5 litre saucepan
  2. Add potatoes, then onion, then cauliflower, then parsnips at intervals of 2–3 minutes
  3. Add herbs and spices
  4. Add extra boiling water if required to just cover vegetables
  5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender
  6. Allow to cool a little, mash with a potato masher then use stick blender to liquidise in pan
  7. Allow to cool, ladle into 300ml or 500 ml containers and freeze (makes 10–12/6–8 serves)

Serving Suggestion: serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt

 

Green Vegetable Soup

  • 1½ cups frozen peas
  • 2 heads broccoli
  • 6–8 Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
  • 1–2 leek/s
  • 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
  • Pepper, parsley and chives

 

  1. Cut crowns off broccoli, chop into small florets and set aside
  2. Trim and chop broccoli stalks
  3. Cut white part of leek/s into 1cm slices, including the tender part of the green ends, wash thoroughly and set aside
  4. Cut the green ends of the leek/s along the grain thinly, chop and rinse (optional)
  5. In a 5 litre saucepan, bring stock to the boil with herbs and pepper
  6. Add potatoes, peas, leek greens (optional) and broccoli stalks and simmer for 15 minutes
  7. Add Brussel sprouts, broccoli florets and remainder of leek and simmer for a further 15 minutes or until all vegetables are tender
  8. Add extra boiling water if required to just cover vegetables
  9. Allow to cool a little, mash with a potato masher then use stick blender to liquidise in pan
  10. Allow to cool, ladle into 300ml or 500 ml containers and freeze (makes 8–10/5–6 serves)

Serving Suggestion: serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt

 

Tomato, Capsicum and Lentil Soup

  • 1 x 400gm can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 1 cup chopped onion (or 1 large onion, sliced)
  • 1 large red capsicum, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
  • Garlic, chilli or paprika, pepper and basil
  • Olive or canola oil

 

  1. In a 5 litre saucepan, sauté onion with garlic and spices
  2. Add capsicum and sauté
  3. Add carrot and sauté
  4. Add diced tomatoes with basil and bring to the boil
  5. Add red lentils and stock
  6. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes, topping up with boiling water if required
  7. Allow to cool a little, mash with a potato masher then use stick blender to liquidise in pan
  8. Allow to cool, ladle into 300 ml containers and freeze (makes 5–6 serves)

Serving suggestion: serve with a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 1 cup chopped onion (or 1 large onion, sliced)
  • 1 x 270gm can light coconut milk
  • 2 tsp. chicken stock powder
  • Mild curry powder and chilli (optional)
  • Canola oil

 

  1. In a 5 litre saucepan, sauté onion with mild curry powder and chilli (optional)
  2. Add sweet potato and sauté
  3. Add coconut milk with stock powder and top up with boiling water to cover vegetables
  4. Bring to the boil and add red lentils
  5. Return to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary
  6. Allow to cool a little, mash with a potato masher then use stick blender to liquidise in pan
  7. Allow to cool, ladle into 300 ml containers and freeze (makes 5–6 serves)

Variations:

  • substitute pumpkin or carrot for all or some of the sweet potato
  • for a low-fat option, thoroughly blend ½ cup almond meal with 1 cup water in a bullet blender and substitute for the coconut milk

 Serving Suggestion: serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt

 

Ratatouille

  • 2 x 400gm can diced (or peeled) tomatoes
  • 1 cup chopped onion (or 1 large onion, sliced)
  • 1 red capsicum, sliced
  • 1 eggplant, peeled (optional) and chopped
  • 2–3 zucchini, sliced
  • Garlic and paprika or chilli
  • Basil, oregano, parsley, pepper and salt
  • Olive Oil

 

  1. In a 5 litre saucepan, sauté onion with garlic and paprika
  2. Add capsicum and sauté
  3. Add eggplant and sauté
  4. Add zucchini and sauté
  5. Add diced tomatoes with herbs and spices (and a little water if required)
  6. Simmer until vegetables are tender
  7. Allow to cool, spoon into 300ml containers and freeze (makes approx. 6–8 serves)

Serving suggestion: serve with a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Chickpea and Vegetable Stew

  • 2 x 400gm cans chickpeas, drained
  • 1 cup chopped onion (or 1 large onion, sliced)
  • 1 red capsicum, sliced
  • 3 cups peeled and chopped pumpkin or sweet potato, cauliflower, potato and/or zucchini
  • 2 tsp. chicken stock powder
  • 2 tbsp. (50gm) tomato paste
  • 1–2 tbsp. Moroccan or Mexican seasoning, sweet paprika or mild curry powder etc
  • Olive or canola oil

 

  1. In a 5 litre saucepan, sauté onion with spices
  2. Add capsicum and sauté
  3. Add drained chickpeas and stir until heated through
  4. Add remaining vegetables and sauté
  5. Cover with water and add tomato paste and stock powder
  6. Simmer covered until vegetables are tender
  7. Allow to cool, spoon into 300ml containers and freeze (makes approx. 6–8 serves)

Variation: substitute 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (preferable winter mix) for fresh vegetables

Serving suggestion: serve over ¼ cup instant couscous (Tip: Place couscous in a bowl. Semi-thaw stew in microwave then place over couscous and microwave further until heated through. Couscous will absorb liquid from stew.)

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