There is a particular kind of British evening that calls for soup: dark by half past four, rain against the kitchen window, coats dripping on the hook by the door. On nights like that, nothing settles a house quite like a pan of something simmering gently on the hob. The steam fogs the windows, the smell travels up the stairs, and supper is sorted without much fuss. These five soups are built around what is cheap and good between October and March — root vegetables, alliums, pulses and a decent stock — and each one freezes beautifully, so a big pan is never a waste.

The Store Cupboard That Builds a Soup

Before you start, it helps to have the basics in. Almost every soup below begins the same way, and once you have the rhythm of it you can improvise freely.

• The base: onions, carrots and celery, softened slowly in butter or a little oil with the lid on. Ten minutes of gentle sweating, not browning, is where the flavour comes from.
• The liquid: a good stock cube or stock pot is perfectly acceptable on a weeknight. Better still, keep a bag of vegetable trimmings in the freezer and simmer them up when you have an hour spare.
• The thickeners: red lentils, pearl barley and split peas cost pennies and turn a thin broth into a meal. A floury potato does the same job.
• The finishing touches: black pepper ground at the last minute, a squeeze of lemon, a swirl of cream or yogurt, chopped parsley or chives, and something to dunk.

Leek and Potato: The Quiet Favourite

If you make only one, make this. Slice three well-washed leeks and one onion, sweat them in 40g of butter for ten minutes until soft and glossy, then add 700g of peeled, diced Maris Piper potatoes, a litre of stock and a bay leaf. Simmer for twenty minutes until the potato collapses when pressed with a spoon. Blend it smooth, or leave it rustic with a potato masher if you prefer texture. Stir in a splash of double cream or a knob of butter, season generously, and scatter over chives. It thickens as it stands, so loosen with hot stock before serving.

Roast Parsnip and Apple

Roasting the parsnips first is the trick here — it brings out a sweetness that boiling never quite manages. Chop 600g of parsnips and two peeled Bramley apples into rough chunks, toss with oil, a teaspoon of ground cumin and plenty of salt, and roast at 200°C (180°C fan) for thirty-five minutes until the edges catch and caramelise. Tip into a pan with a softened onion and a litre of stock, simmer for ten minutes, then blend. A splash of cider or apple juice at the end sharpens it nicely. Serve with toasted walnuts scattered over and a slice of buttered soda bread.

Split Pea and Ham Hock

This is a Sunday soup, the sort that fills the kitchen with a salty, savoury smell for two hours and costs very little. Rinse 500g of yellow split peas and put them in a large pan with a smoked ham hock, two chopped onions, two carrots, two celery sticks, a bay leaf and two litres of water. Bring to the boil, skim the surface, then simmer gently for an hour and a half to two hours, until the meat is falling off the bone and the peas have collapsed. Lift out the hock, shred the meat, discard the fat and bone, and return the meat to the pan. It should be thick enough to hold a spoon upright; loosen with hot water if needed. No salt until you taste it — the hock brings plenty.

Curried Butternut Squash and Red Lentil

Warm rather than hot, this one suits everyone at the table, including children. Soften a chopped onion, two cloves of garlic and a thumb of grated ginger in oil, then stir in two teaspoons of mild curry powder and a teaspoon of turmeric and cook for a minute until fragrant. Add a peeled, diced butternut squash, 150g of rinsed red lentils, a 400ml tin of coconut milk and a litre of stock. Simmer for twenty-five minutes, until the lentils have broken down, then blend about half of it so the soup keeps some body. Finish with lime juice and coriander. The lentils make it filling enough to count as dinner with nothing but bread alongside.

Scotch Broth

A proper Scottish broth is a meal in a bowl, and it is the best use going for a leftover lamb joint. If you are starting from scratch, brown 1kg of lamb or mutton pieces on the bone in a heavy pan, then add 100g of pearl barley, two litres of stock or water, a bay leaf and a few sprigs of thyme. Simmer, covered, for an hour and a half, skimming now and then. Dice a swede, two carrots, two leeks, two celery sticks and an onion and add them to the pan, then cook for another thirty minutes until the barley is tender and the vegetables are soft. A handful of porridge oats stirred in at the end gives it a lovely slight thickness. Season, rest for ten minutes, and serve in deep bowls.

Serving, Storing and Reheating

Soup deserves better than a lonely bowl. Warm the bowls first, put a basket of bread on the table, and set out a wedge of sharp cheese, oatcakes or a pot of butter. A little bowl of toasted seeds or crisp fried onions on the side lets everyone finish their own bowl to their taste.

To store, cool the soup quickly — sit the pan in a sink of cold water and stir — then portion into containers, leaving a couple of centimetres of headspace for expansion. Most of these keep for three days in the fridge and three months in the freezer. Reheat gently on the hob rather than in a rush, stirring often, and add a little water or stock if it has thickened too far. Creamy soups should never be boiled hard once the dairy is in. Make twice as much as you need; on the next cold evening, supper is already waiting.