Rotorua Boiling Mud Soup

The name for this soup, which is basically a roasted vegetable soup, comes from the spurting, blobbing, boiling mud like, mess the soup makes if you reheat it too vigorously once its pureed… And, it turns out, once pureed it takes on a distinct mud colour – but all that colour is just yumminess… 

One of the foodie things I like to do is take flavour combinations I love, and then mix it up, and change how they’re served. For instance – chorizo and white beans – a favourite Tuscan combo. In summer I serve as a salad, using the chorizo to flavour the dressing, and in winter make it into a soup with Chicken broth and adding spinach or Cavolo Nero to bulk it out. And any time of year make it slow cooked as a side dish, or a tasty lunch.

This Soup started, as a lot of my cooking does, by staring into the fridge, checking out the left overs and working out what is for dinner. We had had roast chicken and veges the night before – and there was not enough to go around a second time, so I made them all into soup, and served with crusty warm bread.

More of a method than a recipe really. I stripped the chicken off the carcass, and simmered the bones in the chicken stock, for 15 mins to add that “roasted” flavour, before straining off and adding the cubed leftover roasted veges, which included potato, Kumara, Parsnip and carrot. And served with a few bites of left over chicken.

I also make it from scratch, roasting any root and other veges I have on hand until well browned – that’s where the flavour lies. I like to waste not want not, so I often save the stalks of cauliflower and broccoli to add to soups and stews; and these too can be roasted with the usual suspects of Potatoes, Onions, carrots, parsnips, and whole cloves of garlic. Toss with Olive oil and season well and then roast until golden brown. If using Mushrooms, they take less time to roast, so either add them to the pan for the last 20 mins or roast separately.

Once everything golden and tasty, remove from the oven and cut and add to a pot of stock – chicken or bacon and cook for 10 mins until those crispy edges have softened. Because there will be yummy crusty bits left in the bottom of the roasting dish, I leave to soak with a small amount of water, and then using a wooden spoon, I scrape all the bits off the bottom and pour into the bubbling soup. Once cooked you can either serve as a chunky soup, or I like to whizz it until it is smooth and yummy. Its quite a dark soup, but very warming…

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive oil and maybe a pinch of chilli flakes.

If you want to make it completely vegetarian you can use water instead of stock, and I like to add a good dollop of Miso to add that Umami flavour.

This is a different take on your run of the mill Vegetable soup and is a great way of clearing up the left overs.

Enjoy!