Simon Stallard - The Hidden Hut - Irresistible Recipes from Cornwall’s Best-kept Secret

Humble and soul-warming, soup is a delicious treat at home, too. Just like at the hut, you can transform simple homemade soups into a more substantial offering with a selection of toppings — crispy onions, fried herbs, croutons, grated cheese, toasted seeds and nuts — whatever takes your fancy. Bread is important, too. If you can, go for an uncut fresh loaf or bake your own. If not, just toast what you’ve got topped with grilled cheese!

© Sally Mitchell

PUMPKIN GINGER SOUP WITH CHESTNUTS AND CRISPY FRIED SAGE

A warming autumnal soup — ideal for blustery days. It is great with a side of melted cheese on toast.

Serves 4–6

1kg peeled and deseeded pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into wedges

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 tbsp honey

1 large white onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

30g piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

850ml vegetable stock

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp ground cinnamon

sunflower oil, for shallow-frying

a few sage leaves

30ml double cream

100g peeled cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan oven) gas mark 7. Put the pumpkin in a roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil and the honey. Season with salt and pepper, and mix everything together well. Roast in the oven for 30–40 minutes until tender and caramelised.

While the pumpkin is roasting, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and sweat off the onion, garlic and ginger, until the onion is tender. Add the cooked pumpkin to the pan, along with the stock, nutmeg and cinnamon, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer everything together for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1cm of sunflower oil in a small frying pan over a high heat. Flash-fry the sage for 30 seconds or until crispy, then drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.

Take the soup pan off the heat and stir in the cream. Blend the soup using a blender or food processor, then adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve the soup topped with the chestnuts and crispy sage leaves.

ROASTED SQUASH AND CAULIFLOWER DHAL

In the autumn, when the coastal path is swarming with hikers, veggie dhal absolutely flies out of our kitchen. If you swap the yogurt for a non-dairy alternative, you have yourself a tasty and substantial vegan lunch.

Serves 4

1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into large chunks

1 cauliflower, cut into large florets

2 tbsp sunflower oil

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp mustard seeds

2 onions, diced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

50g piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated

2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp curry powder

2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

1 vegetable stock cube

400ml coconut milk

350g red lentils

1 tbsp caster sugar

juice of 2 lemons

1 tbsp garam masala

100g spinach

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

100g natural yogurt

4 spring onions, sliced

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

toasted flatbreads, to serve

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan oven) gas mark 7. Put the squash and cauliflower in a roasting tin and add the sunflower oil, then season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Put to one side.

Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the mustard seeds, onions, garlic, ginger and chillies for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric and curry powder, and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook for 30 seconds, then crumble in the stock cube and add 1 litre water and the coconut milk. Bring to the boil. Add the lentils and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes.

Add the sugar to the pan, followed by the lemon juice, garam masala, spinach, coriander and half the yogurt, then cook for a further 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tip the roasted cauliflower and squash into the pan, stir then sprinkle over the spring onions and serve with the remaining yogurt and toasted flatbreads.

CHICKEN AND WILD GARLIC SOUP

Wild garlic is abundant in local woodlands. They are small ground-covering plants with broad leaves and a little cluster of white flowers during the spring, and they are often found alongside bluebells. If you come across any wild garlic when you are out and about, this recipe is a lovely way to make the best of it. This is an enriching dish full of the flavours of spring.

Homemade stock really is better made with the whole bird, so buy a whole chicken and joint it. Use the carcass and legs for this recipe and freeze the breasts (or use them in the Charred Chicken and Squash Salad here). To make the soup more substantial, cook 200g dried rice noodles and put them in the bowl before adding the soup, if you like.

Serves 4–6

3 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for roasting

1 large chicken, jointed (you can ask your butcher to do this) and breasts reserved for another recipe

3 celery sticks, roughly diced

1 onion, roughly diced

1 leek, roughly chopped

1 large garlic bulb, cloves peeled

100g wild garlic leaves, roughly sliced (keep the flowers if you have them)

4 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal

a small handful of mint leaves, ripped

a small handful of coriander leaves, ripped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan oven) gas mark 7. Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan over a high heat and add the chicken legs, skin side down, along with the wings and the carcass (you may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan). Fry over a very high heat, to brown all over. Transfer to a roasting tin and coat in a little more oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 15–18 minutes until a deep golden brown.

Add the vegetables to the same pan (there should still be some oil in there) and put it back over a medium heat. Sweat the veg for 2 minutes or until starting to soften but not colour.

Once roasted, return the chicken to the pan and pour over 2 litres cold water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1½ hours. Strain the soup and return the broth to the pan. Take the chicken from the sieve, remove the skin and shred the meat from the bones, discarding the bones and skin. Leave the meat to one side.

Divide the wild garlic among serving bowls and top with the spring onions. Divide the shredded chicken between the bowls and add the herbs.

Taste the broth and check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Ladle it over the chicken and greens in the bowl, and sprinkle over the garlic flowers, if you have them.

SWEET POTATO CHILLI BOWL

Perfect sustenance after a wintry coastal walk, the sweet potatoes and red lentils in this dish are lifted by the fresh herbs and chillies. It’s a super-tasty veg soup.

Serves 4–6

700g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 2.5cm chunks

2 red onions, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

100g red lentils

900ml vegetable stock

2 red chillies, deseeded and diced