wow - that is a meaningful soup topping!

A swirl/splash of yoghurt or crème fraîche, a pile of seriously-crispy croutons, a sprinkling of fresh herbs, a drizzle of flavoured oil or a scattering of nuts and/or seeds are great to add an extra dimension to your soups but soup-lovers seem to be going out on a limb to make their soups really come alive with all manner of toppings! Let’s investigate!

The above pic and recipe with thanks to Coles Australia is a pumpkin soup with a topping that involves smoked ham, quinoa, rolled oats, all manner of seeds, flaked almonds, chives and honey and there is absolutely no doubt that this is a meal in a bowl!! I fancy that this style of topping could marry rather well with a vast range of silky and pureed soups.

Perhaps I haven’t been sufficiently adventurous with my souperydupery soups? Must try harder! But I am rather pleased with the red pepper topping for my Squash & Sage Soup which gives it a delightful kick!

other soup toppings worth consideration

Baked Parmesan Crisps - arrange a few piles of parmesan or other hard cheeses on a baking tray and bake in a medium oven for 5 minutes - watch them closely!

Gremolata - see my recipe for Cataplana

Pesto - homemade or ready-made

Streusel - pan-fry tart berries with chopped mixed nuts, a little sugar and a fair amount of spice - apparently it is great with pureed vegetable soups

Pickles - particularly dill pickles, very finely chopped on a beautifully-smooth tomato soup

Tempura squid, prawns or vegetables - haven’t tried this as yet but I imagine the extra ‘crunch’ atop a soup would be well-delicious!

Nut butters and tahini - these could definitely work with fairly ‘punchy’ soups like Roasted Tomato, Red Pepper and Chorizo or Lamb, Rice and Spinach

Romesco Sauce/Dip - this is so perfect with roasted vegetables so I can’t see a single reason for not dolloping a spoonful over soups! - here is the recipe

I LOVE SARDINES! It’s not just because I discovered in my later years that they are incredibly good for my bones (once I started training to become a nutritional therapist, you understand), I have always loved the salty, fishy taste - I love anchovies too btw!

Mashed up, tinned sardines (in oil, not in brine or in tomato sauce, please) on toast are the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of greener than green soup for a quick lunch. OR - if you have been lucky enough to pass through Portugal and have a few tins of sardine paste lurking your fridge, you are in luck!

The Portuguese are more than a little obsessive about these ‘silver darlings’ but only from late June to September when they are ‘fat’. The rest of the time they will opt for the canned versions when they know that they were harvested and canned during the peak season.

One of my ‘sardine-obsessive’ Portuguese pals tells me that the only way to eat sardines during the season is in a restaurant with a sympathetic chef that grills them on the barbecue, serves only two at a time (and keeps them coming) and as it is a gloriously-messy affair, you should be wearing an old t-shirt and shorts that you can sling in the washing machine after a fabulously-indulgent lunch! Hard to argue with that I reckon!

I offer many ‘greener than green’ soups on my souperydupery website but I am particularly keen on my Pea, Mint & Lettuce Soup alongside sardines on toast - a worthy contender! Loads of fabulous vitamins and minerals in that combo - and let’s not forget the vitamin D for our bones, our heart health, our mental acuity and the rest from the sardines..…

MINESTRONE SOUP

A really good spoonful added to Minestrone, fantastic on sour dough toast with ripe tomatoes, alongside steamed vegetables or perhaps sneaked into a baked potatoes, stirred through pasta at the very last minute or maybe just spooned straight from the jar - it’s has got to be said - pesto is kind of addictive!

But have you made pesto with oil that is rich in essential fatty acids? An oil that enriches our food while delivering the superb qualities of the much-needed EFA’s for our health and wellbeing and has had no damaging heat treatment at all?

I like Udo’s Oil, 3*6*9 Blend but there are others on the shelves - try avoid the ones in plastic bottles (they tend to be cheaper but they are not so pure).

I am struggling to remember where this pesto recipe came from but I think it had something to do with Udo Erasmus (what a great name!) whilst I was studying nutrition and his ground-breaking research into Omega 3’s BUT I do know it is really good, particularly when it is straight out the blender and slung in a devil-may-care fashion on top of my minestrone soup!

Some soups absolutely deserve a home-made crouton! The ones that come in little packs WILL NOT DO - dry, tasteless and simply not worth the spend!

Eureka! I came across Joanna's recipe on the The Pioneer Woman website with splendid step-by-step instructions and they work every time. Plus, I have experimented with all sorts of additional flavourings - herbs and spices, different cheeses, tiny cooked bacon and/or chorizo added - the list is as endless as your imagination!

AND... they have some pretty-darned tasty soups on the website too - have a look!