Kale and potato broth with chorizo

I seem to have a habit of adding chorizo to soup these days. I do find it a great way to quickly add some flavour and spice to a recipe. There’s always some in my fridge, for occasions such as these.

Soup like this is always better made with a homemade vegetable or chicken stock, but as I was in a hurry (ie, nothing to eat for lunch!) I used an organic stock cube here, and the chorizo (plus a few dried mushrooms) helped to add more depth.

I was going to call this a hearty kale soup, but then I realised it wasn’t. It’s actually lovely and light, yet filling and warming at the same time. It’s more winter broth, than winter soup. And the main ingredients came from my rather unexpected organic veg delivery this week.

Spicy haddock-quinoa chowder

As sad as I am to say farewell to all those lovely summer salads (they just don’t taste quite the same when the weather turns), I’m equally happy to embrace some autumnal offerings – and in the Life and Chai household, that means soup!

This particular recipe has been a favourite for quite some time. It actually seems to cross the bridge between those last few warmish days of summer and the chillier bite of autumn. Its bright colour means it looks like sunshine in a bowl, while the heat of the chorizo and chilli add a warmth that will be most welcome in the months ahead.