TIN TO TRIUMPH // Five Luxury Soups in My Ninja

NIX KITCHEN // THE SOUP EXPERIMENT

TIN TO TRIUMPH // FIVE LUXURY SOUPS IN MY NINJA

There is something reassuring about a tin of Heinz soup. It's familiar, it's comforting and, let's face it, we've all had one sitting in the cupboard for a cold and miserable evening.

But I started wondering just how much better those familiar flavours could be if I made them myself, with proper ingredients, richer stocks, fresh vegetables and absolutely no compromise on flavour.

Enter my Ninja Foodi Blender & Soup Maker HB150UK.

This clever piece of kitchen equipment doesn't simply blend ingredients. It heats them, cooks them and turns them into soup. It's effectively a compact soup kitchen sitting on the worktop.

I've decided to take five familiar Heinz classics and give them the full NIX treatment. Not cheap imitations, but luxurious homemade alternatives that retain everything I like about the originals while taking the flavour to another level.

And because this is NIX, I've got five recipes, precise quantities, proper cooking instructions and a few rather indulgent finishing touches.

01 // LENTIL, TOMATO & SMOKED BACON

This is comfort food with a bit of backbone. Red lentils, proper chicken stock, tomatoes, sweet carrot and smoky bacon. It's hearty enough for lunch and thick enough to feel like a meal rather than a starter.

Ingredients

• 120 g dried red split lentils, thoroughly rinsed
• 75 g fully cooked smoked bacon lardons
• 60 g onion, roughly chopped
• 70 g carrot, diced into 1 cm pieces
• 35 g celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 120 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 550 ml chicken stock
• 15 g tomato purée
• 10 g butter
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• Black pepper and 1 tsp lemon juice

Making it in the Ninja

1. Fry the bacon in a separate pan until cooked through and browned.
2. Add butter, onion, garlic, celery and paprika to the Ninja jug. Select CHOP, then SAUTÉ for 5 minutes.
3. Add the carrot, lentils, bacon, tomatoes, tomato purée, stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and pepper.
4. Ensure all ingredients are below the HOT fill line.
5. Select CHUNKY SOUP and run the approximately 30-minute programme.
6. Check the lentils and carrots are tender. Use COOK HIGH for another 5–10 minutes if needed.
7. Finish with lemon juice. Blend briefly if you'd prefer a thicker, more uniform texture.

NIX FINISH: Crème fraîche, crispy bacon pieces and fresh parsley. Thick, rich and enormously satisfying.

02 // SPICY PARSNIP & APPLE

This is the one I'm particularly excited about. Parsnips have a wonderful natural sweetness, and pairing them with apple, warm curry spices and cream produces a velvety soup with a gentle kick.

Ingredients

• 350 g parsnips, peeled and diced into 2 cm pieces
• 80 g potato, peeled and diced
• 70 g onion, quartered
• 60 g eating apple, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove
• 650 ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 75 ml double cream
• 15 g butter
• 1 tsp mild curry powder
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• Pinch of chilli flakes
• 1 tsp honey
• ¼ tsp salt and black pepper to taste

Making it in the Ninja

1. Place the butter, onion, garlic, curry powder, cumin and chilli flakes into the jug.
2. Select CHOP, then SAUTÉ for 5 minutes.
3. Add parsnips, potato, apple, stock, honey and seasoning.
4. Check the HOT fill line and select SMOOTH SOUP.
5. Allow the approximately 30-minute automatic programme to finish.
6. Check the vegetables are completely tender and the mixture is smooth.
7. Add the double cream without exceeding the HOT fill line and briefly use BLEND LOW to incorporate.

NIX FINISH: A cream swirl, toasted pumpkin seeds and a few drops of chilli oil. This has all the makings of a superb autumn soup.

03 // BROCCOLI & STILTON

Broccoli and Stilton is a proper British classic. The trick is balancing the fresh vegetable flavour against the strong, salty, creamy character of the cheese.

Too much Stilton and the broccoli disappears. Too little and you've just made green vegetable soup. This version aims for that glorious middle ground.

Ingredients

• 350 g broccoli, including tender stalks, chopped
• 90 g potato, peeled and diced small
• 70 g leek, sliced
• 40 g onion, quartered
• 1 small garlic clove
• 550 ml vegetable stock
• 100 ml whole milk
• 80 ml double cream
• 110 g Stilton, crumbled
• 15 g butter
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• Black pepper

Making it in the Ninja

1. Put butter, leek, onion and garlic into the jug.
2. Select CHOP followed by SAUTÉ.
3. Add broccoli, diced potato and vegetable stock.
4. Ensure the HOT fill line isn't exceeded.
5. Select SMOOTH SOUP and allow the programme to finish.
6. Check the potato and broccoli are fully cooked.
7. Add the milk, cream, mustard and Stilton, keeping below the HOT fill line.
8. Use COOK LOW for 3–5 minutes if necessary to melt the cheese, then briefly BLEND LOW.
9. Check seasoning before adding salt because Stilton is already salty.

NIX FINISH: Extra crumbled Stilton, freshly cracked pepper and thick toasted sourdough.

04 // FRENCH ONION & GRUYÈRE

French onion soup proves that something as ordinary as an onion can become extraordinary if you give it enough time.

This is all about slowly caramelised onions, rich beef stock and that magnificent topping of melted Gruyère on toasted bread.

There is one compromise here. Proper caramelisation takes longer than the soup maker's short Sauté programme. So this is one recipe where I'm happy to use a separate saucepan first.

Ingredients

• 500 g brown onions, very thinly sliced
• 25 g butter
• 10 ml olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• 60 ml dry white wine
• 650 ml good beef stock
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 1 small bay leaf
• Black pepper
• 4 thin baguette slices
• 70 g grated Gruyère

Making it

1. Melt the butter and oil in a large saucepan.
2. Add the onions and cook gently for 40–60 minutes, stirring regularly, until deeply golden and caramelised. Add the sugar near the end.
3. Add the garlic for one minute, followed by the wine. Simmer for 3–5 minutes.
4. Transfer to the Ninja jug and add beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, bay leaf and pepper.
5. Ensure the contents remain below the HOT fill line.
6. Select CHUNKY SOUP and run the approximately 30-minute programme.
7. Remove the bay leaf. Don't blend the onions smooth.
8. Separately toast baguette slices with Gruyère until golden and bubbling.
9. Ladle the soup into bowls and float the cheesy toast on top.

NIX FINISH: A small splash of dry sherry stirred into the finished soup, with a generous Gruyère-topped crouton.

05 // OXTAIL & RED WINE

Now we're getting serious.

Oxtail is one of those traditional ingredients that rewards patience. Given enough time, it produces beautiful, deeply flavoured meat and naturally rich cooking liquor.

For this soup, the meat needs to be cooked thoroughly beforehand. The soup maker then handles the vegetables, broth and final assembly.

Ingredients for the soup

• 180 g fully cooked, boneless shredded oxtail
• 80 g carrot, finely diced
• 60 g onion, chopped
• 40 g celery, diced
• 1 garlic clove
• 15 g tomato purée
• 100 ml defatted oxtail cooking liquor
• 550 ml beef stock
• 50 ml red wine, previously simmered
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 10 g butter
• Black pepper

Preparing the meat

1. Start with approximately 700 g bone-in oxtail and 500 ml beef stock.
2. Brown the meat thoroughly in a saucepan, then transfer to a slow cooker with the stock.
3. Cook on LOW for approximately 8–10 hours, until the meat falls easily from the bones.
4. Remove every bone, piece of cartilage and any tough connective tissue.
5. Shred 180 g cooked meat and reserve 100 ml of defatted cooking liquor.

Making the soup in the Ninja

1. Simmer the red wine separately for 3–5 minutes.
2. Place butter, onion and garlic into the Ninja jug. Select CHOP, then SAUTÉ.
3. Add carrots, celery, tomato purée, wine, cooking liquor, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and pepper.
4. Select CHUNKY SOUP for approximately 30 minutes.
5. Check the vegetables are tender.
6. Add the cooked shredded oxtail without exceeding the HOT fill line.
7. Select COOK HIGH for 5–10 minutes to thoroughly reheat the meat until piping hot.
8. Taste and adjust seasoning.

NIX FINISH: A little fresh parsley and perhaps another splash of Worcestershire sauce. Rich, meaty and properly luxurious.

THE NINJA IN ACTION

There's something rather satisfying about a machine that takes raw ingredients and produces a finished soup without constant attention. The HB150UK combines heating and blending in one jug, which makes everyday recipes especially convenient.

Here are two videos for anyone who wants to see more about the machine and soup making.

▶ Play film

▶ Play film

AND THE WINNER IS...

If I had to choose just one for everyday cooking, I suspect the spicy parsnip and apple would take some beating. It uses uncomplicated ingredients, has very little preparation and should come out of the Ninja beautifully smooth.

The lentil and bacon is the economical, hearty option. Broccoli and Stilton is the proper indulgence. French onion rewards technique and patience.

And the oxtail? That's the heavyweight. The one for a weekend when time isn't an issue and you want something quite special.

A FREEZER FULL OF WINTER COMFORT

There's another reason I like this little soup-making project. Homemade soup is ideal for batch cooking, particularly for the colder months and weekends away in Vanilla.

Make a batch, enjoy a bowl, cool the rest promptly and freeze individual portions. A 350 ml container makes an excellent light meal, and it's easy to bring one along for a winter campervan adventure.

Refrigerate leftovers promptly, within two hours, and use within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat until steaming hot throughout.

It won't be long before the evenings are dark, the temperature drops and I'm sitting somewhere in the countryside with the heating on, a bowl of homemade soup and some proper crusty bread.

And that's really the point of this little experiment.

The humble tin of soup has served Britain well for generations. But with a few decent ingredients and a rather clever Ninja, the homemade version can be something genuinely special.

Five classic soups. One Ninja. Absolutely no reason to settle for ordinary.

NIX // KITCHEN