Autumn warmers: Paula McIntyre’s recipes for seasonal soup and apple cake

Even though there have been many days during this “summer” when you needed something warming and comforting, we are now officially in soup weather season. In its essence, soup is a relatively easy thing to make. Louis P. De Gouy was the chef in New York’s iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel in the 1940s. He summed up how wonderfully versatile soup is: “Soup is cuisine’s kindest course. It breathes reassurance; it steams consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability, as the five o’clock cup of tea or the cocktail hour.”

Sweetcorn and bacon chowder with cheesy cornbread Even though there have been many days during this “summer” when you needed something warming and comforting, we are now officially in soup weather season. In its essence, soup is a relatively easy thing to make. Louis P.

De Gouy was the chef in New York’s iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel in the 1940s. He summed up how wonderfully versatile soup is: “Soup is cuisine’s kindest course. It breathes reassurance; it steams consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability, as the five o’clock cup of tea or the cocktail hour.

” In classic French cooking, you start with a mirepoix, a mixture of aromatic vegetables like leek, onion, garlic and celery. For a silky finish it’s good to gently sweat your vegetables in butter and then add the stock. Classically, soups would have been thickened with a roux, a blend of melted butter and flour but they can end up with a claggy consistency.

If you add a spud to your stock it will thicken the soup naturally. And whatever vegetables you add will naturally help too..