To make a good soup, you have to build flavours as you go. Vegetables like onion, garlic, celery and carrots — referred to as ‘aromatics’ — are part of most soup recipes for this very reason, sautéed in oil or butter as a first step of flavour-making.
We all love soups in all forms and flavors and they are so easy to prepare too!
Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
The sweet potatoes give this soup a creamy texture, so there’s no need to add cream or milk.
Ingredients
2 tsp groundnut oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 sticks celery, finely diced
500 g sweet potato, peeled and cut into small dices
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 hot chilli, seeded and chopped (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 litre vegetable stock
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
Chopped coriander leaves, to serve
Slivered almonds, to serve
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium-high flame, add the onion, celery and sweet potato, and cook for 10 minutes until the onion and celery have softened.
- Add the ginger, chilli and garlic, and cook for two minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes. Season.
- Stir in the peanut butter, then blend until smooth.
- Serve garnished with coriander leaves and almonds slivers.
Roasted Tomato Soup
This Roasted Tomato Soup is the perfect combination of sour, sweet, and savory flavors that will satisfy you; this recipe is a keeper.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
100 ml tomato paste
4 large ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped
½ stock cube
200 ml water
A pinch of sugar
Salt, to taste
100 g pasta, cooked
To serve:
Grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped basil
Method
- Heat a saucepan over a low flame and add the oil.
- Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil.
- Add the stock cube, water, sugar and salt to season and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and allow to heat through.
- Remove from the flame and divide between serving bowls.
- Serve hot, garnished with the cheese and basil.
Mint and Zucchini Soup
This delectable soup is like many spoonfuls of wellness! 
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
3 cloves garlic, sliced
6 zucchini, thinly sliced
740 ml vegetable stock
150 ml crème fraîche + extra to serve
1 small bunch mint leaves, chopped (divided usage)
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium flame, and cook the onions with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until softened; do not allow them to colour. Add the garlic, and cook for a few minutes. Add the zucchini, and cook on a low flame for 20 minutes.
- Add the vegetable stock, bring to a boil, and allow to cook for a few minutes.
- Blend the soup until completely smooth. Stir in the crème fraîche and three-fourth of the mint. Blend again, and season to taste
- Divide into serving bowls, and serve, drizzled with crème fraîche and garnished with mint leaves
Walnut & Mushroom Soup
This soup is so rich in flavors that you’d think it would take hours to cook, but, no, it is as easy as it gets, with a handful of ingredients and minimum time. 
Ingredients
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
450 g fresh mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup finely-chopped shallots
430 g vegetable broth
1½ tsp chopped fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
1 cup walnuts
½ cup water
Freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
Method
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium-high flame.
- Add the mushrooms and shallots, and cook for five minutes until softened, stirring several times.
- Add the broth and thyme, and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame, and simmer, covered, for five minutes.
- Place the walnuts and water in a food processor or blender. Whirl until the walnuts are completely blended and smooth and paste-like.
- Stir into the mushroom mixture, and season with the sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. Simmer over a medium-low flame for five minutes until slightly thickened, stirring frequently.
- Serve as is, or puree soup with an immersion blender or in a blender until smooth.
Broccoli and Almond Soup
This soup is loaded with rich flavors and nutrition that your body is going to thank you for!
Ingredients 
250 g broccoli
150 g spinach, blanched and placed in ice water
1 tsp oil
1 tsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
15 g almonds, soaked
500 ml vegetable stock
1 green chilli
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch of nutmeg
Method
- Bring salted water to the boil in a large saucepan. Blanch the broccoli in the boiling water for two minutes.
- Remove the broccoli to a bowl of iced water, and blanch the spinach for two minutes in the same boiling water. Remove and add to iced water.
- Heat the oil and butter in another saucepan. When warm, add the onion, garlic and bay leaf, and cook for two to three minutes until the onion is pink and translucent.
- Remove the mixture from the flame, discard the bay leaf, and blend to a smooth paste along with the blanched broccoli and spinach.
- Return the paste to the saucepan.
- Add the almonds to the grinder, and blend to a smooth paste.
- Add the almond paste to the spinach-broccoli paste along with the vegetable stock, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Simmer, covered for five to seven minutes. Serve hot.
lemonade in this Pink Mimosa recipe creates a bright and bubbly experience that will make any moment pretty-in-pink!
originated around the turn of the 20th century and it’s still popular to this day. Why? It’s so easy to make: no cocktail shakers or fancy ingredients required! It’s an intriguing way to enjoy the flavors in a sip of whiskey. This drink has two variations: one straight classic for whiskey lovers, and one as a more balanced drink.
