Help, Soup Mix! 15 December 2005 at 8:18PM in Old Style MoneySaving 114 replies 68.8K views

charliee_3

Hi all, I have some lovely pork stock which is a combination of yesterdays foray into making homemade peppadews, basically a lovely sweet and sour brine.. i added this to the water for my boiled pork shank that i cooked last night (luverly) and the stock that is left over is lush, so i thought id make soup for lunch. yesterday i bought some tesco soup and broth mix, its lentils, split peas, pearl barley marrowfat peas. i looked at the back and it said hob 30 mins so i added them to my stock and THEN i read the packet properly and it says i was supposed to soak them overnight!! It boiling away now but am i now wasting my time and ingredients carrying on with it?

oh no.... have a ruined my yummy soup? will i poison myself? will they cook?

i'm really disappointed with this mix, it looked lovely and i thought it would be great but i never would have bought it if i knew it needed soaking as i'm just not that organised...

Bongedone

I am no expert but I think the salt in your stock will stop the soup mix from going soft properly.

An expert will be along soon though.

EDIT: Pearl barley and lentils dont generally need soaked as I add them straight to stews. Not sure about the other two items.

ubamother

Just cook well until they are nice and soft. I only soak beans, and them only for an hour in boiling water, changed two or three times, then cook well. There are no big beans in the mix so you'll be fine. The peas will probably take the longest. You may get a little more scum on the top - just scoop it out with a big spoon.

mardatha

I've never used broth mix, do you soak it overnight or something?

sexykellylovespink

yes..normally overnight, at least 8 hours. normally has instructions on packet.dont forget it swells as it soaks, it is lovely in soups and stews x

mardatha

Ok ta. I make soups but use barley and lentils separately, never just bunged in the broth mix. I can remember my mothers soup having rock hard peas in it....

MileySmiley_2

I use this to make a soup, ill slice 6 garlic cloves and fry in olive oil along with grated carots and onions, then after soaking half the mix over night and rinsing well I'll put in saucepan with HM chicken stock and then add the fried veggies and cook on a low simmer for about an hour.
Lovely thick soup for 2 adults and 2 kids, I serve with crusty bread and we have cheese and pickles on the side as a kind of 2nd course.
Yummy!

Pink.

Hi mardatha,

I never soak broth mix, just add it to the soup and on a gentle simmer the barley, lentils etc will be cooked in about half an hour and the split peas will take about an hour.

There's an earlier thread that should help so I've added your thread to it to keep the replies together.

Pink

mardatha

I can still remember my mums soup and the bullets that were supposed to be peas... I think I'll soak just to be on the safe side !

curriej99

If you've got a pressure cooker...

half mug of broth mix, soaked in cold water overnight
1 leek
half a white onion
one carrot
1 potato
parsley
seasoning (mainly pepper as salt in stock cube)
2 pints chicken stock (Knorr works well)

chop veg, bung in pressure cooker, bring to boil then cook under pressure for 10 mins. mash with a potato masher.
potato could be boiled separately then added in at end after mashing the rest, to make it nice and chunky.
also, save a bit of parsley to add in after cooking, as it adds colour.
can also put in cooked shredded chicken before boiling. This works well if you want a nice hearty chicken veg soup.
As always with soups, if you leave the finished product overnight it will taste even better. Only problem is you need to soak the broth 2 days before eating the damn soup!