Winter Cotage

Nigella's hot and sour soup

METHOD
1.
Heat the stock and tom yam paste in a decent sized saucepan with the lime leaves, lemon grass, lime juice, fish sauce, chillies and sugar. Bring to the boil, add the mushrooms and simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the prawns and spring onions and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked but still tender. Sprinkle with a little coriander and put more on the table for people to add themselves as they want.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 litres chicken stock
1 heaped tablespoon tom yam paste
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
1 stick lemongrass, tender inner part only, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lime
4 tablespoons fish sauce
3 small fresh red or green chillies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
150g straw or button mushrooms, halved or quartered according to size
500g peeled raw prawns, thawed if frozen
5 small spring onions, cut into short lengths and then into strips
small bunch coriander, choppedServing Size : Serves 4–6.