Soups: 1 - Tapa dura

Soups are one of the most diverse and endlessly adaptable dishes you can cook. In her characteristic no-fuss style, Tonia George shows how easy it is to make great soups for every occasion, from cold summer soups to thick winter warmers. And there are recipes for essential stocks at the beginning of each chapter, too. Meat soups offer all kinds of ideas for hearty, everyday recipes like Split Pea and Sausage. Expand your soup repertoire with fish and seafood. Warming Smoked Haddock and Bean shows just how versatile soup can be, while Prawn Tom Yam is pure and cleansing. The vegetables chapter is devoted to pepping up the classics and coming up with new flavour sensations. Mushroom Soup will never be the same again with Tonia's Madeira and hazelnut embellishments. Sometimes, soup alone just isn't enough, so there are accompaniments such as Taleggio and Sage Focaccia Rolls to serve with your bowl of soup.

Tonia George is Food Editor of Waitrose Food Illustrated. She has worked as a food stylist and recipe writer for 7 years, devising new recipes for titles such as Living etc, Olive and Waitrose Food Illustrated. Her talent lies in simplifying cooking and encouraging people to enjoy good, honest food.