It’s the time of year for a warming soup and here television cook Patrick Anthony prepares three of his favourites. Photograph: Simon Lunt

Quite uniquely, soup is the one category of food which history believes to be as old as the creation of the cooking vessels to contain it and which today still enjoys an enthusiastic and grateful audience.

Its name comes from the French soupe which describes a liquid nourishment combining vegetables and sometimes meat, with the optional addition of pulses and grains.

However, soup has shown itself to be the most versatile of foodstuffs as these days there is no shortage of variation on the theme which includes among others, consommé, broth, cream, chowder, bisque and gumbo created from all kinds of ingredients.

The King’s Lynn based Campbell’s soup company reports annual sales of 114 million cans in a range of 300 varieties but whilst acknowledging the almost instant convenience of canned products, award-winning soup book author Hannah Wright has no hesitation in declaring that “both for our pleasure and for our health we need to eat more home-made soups”.
I agree.

Employing health and well-being as an encouragement to custom, in around 1765 a Parisian soup-seller named Boulanger set up shop with a sign proclaiming that his soups, which he described as restaurants (meaning a food which restores), were “fit for the gods”and its from this enterprising announcement that we get the word “restaurant”.

However, despite its acclaimed restorative qualities there can be danger lurking in the soup bowl, for example, it is reported that this year alone, half a dozen Japanese have choked to death whilst gulping down their traditional New Year rice cake soup and an ancient Chinese recipe for tiger soup cautiously begins, “first catch the tiger”.

The remarkable Roux brothers of multi-Michelin star fame have declared “if you are serious about cooking, good stock is essential.”

Good stock, where required, must indeed be regarded as the “heart” of a good soup but I am fully sensible to the fact that the majority of home cooks today have neither the time nor inclination to create a stock from scratch. Canned beef or chicken consommé are a great help where appropriate and as far as powdered stocks are concerned, I have great faith in the Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder which is vegan-friendly and also available in a reduced salt version.

In any event, when using stock powders or cubes always make the stock weaker than instructed and taste the finished soup before adding additional salt. For those who would like to try home stock making then I warmly recommend A Celebration of Soup by Lindsey Bareham published in paperback by Penguin Books.

I do hope you will be tempted to try at least one of the soups here, it is after all, the most nutritious and easily prepared and eaten form of food; and you might care to ponder on one of life’s great mysteries; “at what time does a 24/7 café start serving the soup of the day?”

CREAM OF POTATO ONION AND LEEK
My personal favourite which never fails to comfort and nourish
Serves 4.

1 large onion peeled and chopped
2 leeks, white part, washed and chopped
225g potato peeled and chopped
2 pints of water
salt and pepper
4 TBS single cream
1 TBS finely chopped parsley or snipped
chives

Simmer the vegetables
Place the onion, leek and potato in a large saucepan followed by the water and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then simmer until the vegetables are soft. Make a puree.
Blitz in the blender or food processor with the usual precautions for hot liquids and return the resulting puree to the rinsed out saucepan.

Complete the cooking
Adjust the seasoning to taste, reheat and serve with the cream drizzled over each portion and topped with parsley or chives.

CABBAGE AND STILTON SOUP
Serves 4

1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 carrot peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
30g butter
½ a cabbage, stalk removed and leaves finely shredded
1 TBS plain flour
2 pints light vegetable stock
4 TBS double cream
75g stilton crumbled
salt and pepper

Serve with toasted baguette or garlic bread

Cook the vegetables
Over a moderate heat, in a large saucepan, gently cook the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in the butter for about 10 minutes.
Add the cabbage and continue gently cooking, covered, for another 10 minutes.
Sprinkle over the flour and stir well in.
Add the hot stock and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the cream and Stilton
Stir in the cream and stilton, season to taste and serve piping hot with toasted French bread slices or garlic bread

COULSON’S WATERCRESS AND PEAR SOUP

2 shallots, peeled and chopped
2 bunches of watercress, washed and finely
chopped
80g butter
50g plain flour
2 pints light chicken or vegetable stock
4 pears
300ml double cream
salt and pepper
a little extra butter for garnish preparation

Fry the shallots
In a suitable saucepan, gently fry the shallot and watercress until soft. Stir in the flour and add the hot stock gradually blending well in with a wooden spoon.

Add the pears
Peel two of the pears chop into pieces and add to the soup. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for just five minutes only.

Switch to the blender
Blitz in the liquidizer and return to the rinsed out saucepan.

Pour in the cream
Stir in the double cream and bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, peel and chop the two remaining pears into small dice and fry lightly in a little butter.

Pears for the garnish
Serve garnished with the diced pears.