There's a pot of something on the hob at Casa Adora more often than not. Soup is the one constant — through Andalucían summers when a chilled gazpacho is the only sensible answer to a 38° afternoon, and through grey November days when only something thick, warming, and deeply satisfying will do.
I've been making soup for as long as I've been cooking. Some of these recipes go back to 2013, when a bowl of red lentil and coconut soup eaten in the sunshine felt like all the lunch anyone could need. Others are more recent — a Córdoba-style salmorejo that finally made it from intention to kitchen, a courgette feta gazpacho inspired by a fellow foodie's social media post, and a fiery chilli noodle broth that has become a firm favourite.
This is my complete collection of soup recipes, organised by type — from light and chilled to rich and hearty, with a few Asian-inspired bowls and some honest storecupboard soups in between. All of them are flexible, all of them are straightforward, and all of them have been eaten with genuine enthusiasm at Casa Adora or on the road in the van.
Dive in and find your next bowl.
CHILLED SOUPS
Perfect for hot Andalucían days — no cooking required, just blend, chill, and serve.
- Authentic Córdoba-Style Salmorejo Recipe — thick, creamy, and deeply traditional
- Courgette Feta Gazpacho — a fresh, summery no-cook soup with salty feta
- Porra Antequerana Recipe — a thicker, richer cousin of gazpacho from Antequera, Málaga
- Lettuce and Pea Soup with Mint — a bright, fresh blended soup with mint and crème fraîche. Serve hot or chilled – equally good either way.
- Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho — pale green, ice-cold and quietly refreshing — a cold Spanish soup for high summer
HEARTY & WARMING SOUP RECIPES
Proper bowls for grey days — thick, filling, and built to satisfy.
- Nearly Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup — the childhood classic, made from scratch
- French Garlic Soup with a Spanish Twist — bold, fragrant, and surprisingly gentle
- Guinea Fowl Soup Using Christmas Day Leftovers — the best possible use of leftover roast
- Mushroom and Pearl Barley Soup — earthy, thick, and deeply satisfying
- Creamy White Bean Parmesan Spicy Sausage Soup — rich, warming, and a little bit indulgent
- Italian Minestrone Soup — a generous, vegetable-packed classic
- Cabbage Soup — More Than Just Plain Soup — white cabbage transformed with apple, wine, and chutney
- Celeriac, Cauliflower and Ginger Soup with Coriander Lemon Drizzle — creamy, earthy, and finished with a bright drizzle
- Red Lentil and Coconut Soup — quick, vegan, and packed with flavour
- Tomato Red Lentil Soup — a comforting two-bowl wonder
- Parsnip Soup Recipe — mellow, warming, and elegant
- Magic Mushroom Soup — deeply earthy and full of umami
- Hungarian Mushroom Soup Recipe — paprika-warmed, sour cream-finished, and deeply comforting
- Creamy Poblano-Style Soup with Spanish Peppers — smoky, creamy, and quietly spiced
- Norwegian Vegetable Soup - No Cream Required - onions, carrots, cabbage, and turmeric-stained cauliflower blitzed smooth. A 1974 memory from Holmenkollen, recreated without the cream.
- Leek and Potato Soup — a simple, blended soup made on a rare cold day in Andalucía, finished with cream or crème fraîche. Serves two.
- Ancient Egyptian Recipes — Lentil and Onion Stew — lentils, onions, garlic, cumin, and coriander. The everyday staple of ancient Egypt and the direct ancestor of koshari.
- Pottage — The Everyday Dish of Medieval England — leeks, pearl barley, kale, and roots, slow-simmered in one pot. The dish that fed medieval England for centuries.
- Scotch Broth Recipe — One Lamb Shank, Properly Made — pearl barley, yellow split peas, shredded lamb and root vegetables simmered low and slow until the broth turns pale and cloudy.
- Partan Bree — A Traditional Scottish Crab Soup — Partan is the Scots word for crab, bree means broth. Made with buey de mar at Casa Adora, and rooted in Agnes Isabella's Montrose kitchen and the inshore fleet she knew by instinct.
- Orcadian Oatmeal Soup — A Traditional Scottish Recipe — ancient, humble, and warming — root vegetables and oatmeal simmered in stock and milk until thick.
ASIAN-INSPIRED SOUPS
Bold flavours, fragrant broths, and a little heat.
- Hot and Sour Beef Soup — a punchy, satisfying bowl with beef mince
- Chinese Beef Mince Noodle Soup — warming, filling, and full of flavour
- Oriental Chicken Soup — What Was Left of the Slow Cooker Chicken — a fragrant leftover chicken noodle soup with fideo, red pepper, mushroom and star anise, built from a Sunday roast
- 6 Easy & Healthy Asian Soups — a guide to six fragrant Asian-inspired bowls
- Green Mulligatawny Soup — a vibrant, spiced take on a classic
- Hot and Sour Soup — a quick prawn broth with lemongrass and chilli
- Fiery Chilli Noodle Broth — bold, spicy, and warming to the core
- Palak Soup / Spinach Soup — vibrant, Indian-inspired, and beautifully green
- Salmon Sinigang — a Filipino sour tamarind soup with salmon
BROTHS & LIGHT SOUPS
Clean, clear, and deeply nourishing.
- Beef Bone Broth — slow-cooked, rich, and restorative
- Quick Beef & Veggie Broth for Football Night — fast, flavourful, and perfect for a weeknight
- Spicy Prawn Soup with Green Beans and Chilli Oil — light but punchy, with a chilli oil finish
- Rustic Leek Soup with Beef Bone Broth and Aceite Verde — silky leeks, six-hour bone broth, and a ribbon of Montetucci aceite verde. Made on a Friday morning in a Spanish village kitchen.
- Braised Cabbage in Ham Stock — My Granny's Recipe — white cabbage, grated onion and carrot, simmered low and slow in a clear ham stock. A Scottish recipe from Agnes Isabella, trained in service, who wasted nothing and skimmed religiously.
- Cock-a-Leekie Recipe — A Traditional Scottish Soup — chicken thighs, leeks, pearl barley and prunes, simmered in chicken stock until the meat falls from the bone. Scotland's oldest soup, served as the Burns Night starter.
- Avgolemono with Pearl Barley, Chicken & Lemon — a silky Greek egg and lemon soup with pearl barley and shredded carcass chicken. Made on a chilly August morning in Andalucía.
New soup recipes are added regularly — bookmark this page and come back when you need your next bowl. And if you make one, I'd love to know how it went.
Wonky photos, proper soup, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef
