Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth only of Beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Beau–ootiful Soo-oop! Beau–ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo–oop of the e–e–evening,
Beautiful, beauti–FUL SOUP!

said Lewis Carroll

I have a soup which I make every time I feel in need of comfort, or when its wet, or cold, or when I have a hangover, or feel sickley, or have unexpected company, or am one of my diets or for any other reason.
It can be made from what ever I happen to have in store, I have made it without each of the ingredients which I will list if they happened to be not at hand a fair smattering of them will do and various others can be substituted.
It is not original, it is a first cousin of the Italian Minestra di Verdure, the French Potage Paysanne and even of Weight Watchers No-Point Soup.
I made some this morning, a cold wet summer day when i wasn’t feeling great having perhaps had a little more white wine last night than I should.
I felt much the better for it.
Here is this mornings version.

110g (4 oz.) Smoked Streaky Rashers
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 med Onions
3 Carrots
2 beef Tomatoes
1 Pint Good homemade chicken stock
300 ml (10 fl.oz.) tomato passata
1 pt water
12 fresh Basil leaves shredded
Prolonged grating of Black pepper
Sprinkle Maldon Salt.

Chop the bacon finely and fry in a pan in the olive oil until crisp.
Leave the fat in the pan and scoop the bacon into a pot.

Chop the onions and carrots finely and toss on the heat in the fat until they start to colour.
Put these into the pot with the bacon.

Into this pot now add the chopped tomatoes, the stock, the passata,the water, the basil and the pepper and salt and bring it up to the boil and simmer for about 15 mts until a piece of carrot scooped out is tender.
Taste again, it may need a sprinkle more salt.

Serve with plenty of fresh bread.

Things I have put in to it from time to time:

Chopped Celeriac or celery
Chopped cooked ham
Vegetarian stock cube in place of the chicken stock (be careful with the salt)
Diced Smoked haddock for the last few minutes of simmering.

I have used garlic, and shallot and scallion in place of the onion.
Sweet potato in place of the carrot (it cooks faster)
And all fresh or all canned tomatoes in place of each other-I have even used tomato puree and extra stock when out of both.

To make it heartier I have served it with grated cheese sprinkled in at the last moment, cheddar, gruyere and parmesan all work.

Add crisp croutons for crunch or stir in some aioli for pizzazz.

It is the worlds most forgiving soup and never comes out quite the same but what the hell.
It always comforts.