RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Chorizo and Chestnut Soup with Irish Soda Bread

A delicious, rich soup served with a really easy to make loaf of soda bread.

Serves 4

For the soup:

200g chorizo, chopped into small-ish chunks (save 50g for garnish) 
350g chestnuts, cut into even-sided pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
2 medium potatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp thyme (dried or fresh)
2 small dried chillies
1 tin canned tomatoes, drained of their juices
1 litre chicken stock
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

1.  In a deep pan or casserole dish, fry three quarters of the chorizo along with the onion, celery, carrot and potato, for around 20 minutes until quite softened.
2.  In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic cloves with a teaspoon of salt and the cumin, thyme and chillies. Add to the pan and cook for a further couple of minutes.
3.  Add the drained tomatoes and the chestnuts, stir well, and add the chicken stock along with the bay leaves. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and leave to simmer for about 40 minutes.
4.  Take the soup off the heat and remove the bay leaves. With a blender, puree the soup until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve. Check for seasoning and reheat.
5.  Meanwhile, fry the remaining chorizo until crispy and serve sprinkled on top of the soup.

For the Soda Bread:
(Taken from 'The Christian Aid Book of Bread')

This is honestly a really easy loaf of bread to make, you dont need any experience in bread making and it only takes a few minutes because it doesn't need kneading or time to rise.


225g plain white flour
225g wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp caster sugar
30g butter or lard
175ml water mixed with
175ml natural yogurt

1.  Preheat the oven to 190*c/375*f/gas mark 5. Cut a piece of baking parchment to fit a baking tray, and grease with a little oil. 

2. Sift all the dry ingredients together into a large bowl, and add the butter or lard. Rub the mixture between your fingertips to create a breadcrumb effect and add the yogurt and water once there are no big chunks of fat left.
3.  Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined then shape the dough in the bowl into a round. Place onto the prepared baking tray and flatten slightly so the round is about 2 and a half inches thick, then mark the top with a large, deep cross. Dust with a little flour and bake in the oven for around 35-40 minutes, until risen and nicely browned.

This is delicious served warm with butter and is a tasty accompaniment to this soup and many others, as well as with cheese, sliced thin with scrambled eggs or with some pate.