Soup Kitchen: Where to Find Margaret River’s Best Soup

Plus the Willow Grill Pea & Ham Soup Recipe

Autumn is here! As the cooler weather approaches, we love bunkering down in the kitchen, cooking and baking. Or if cabin fever sets in, heading out for a nice hot bowl of soup. Comforting and nutritious, and totally delicious.

Keep reading for my Pea & Ham recipe, plus where to find Margaret River’s best soup.

I’m sharing an old favourite – my Pea and Ham Soup recipe, one that often makes an appearance on the menu here at Willow Grill. Soups are super (souper – hah!) easy to make and can be portioned and frozen – for a rainy day.

I’ve got two tips for soup. Firstly, I never add cream to my soups – they actually keep better in the fridge without cream. Secondly, soups don’t need to be blended down. Keep them a bit chunky and they feel like a meal. Soups with lentils or split peas such as this one will naturally thicken as the peas break down.

Pea and Ham Soup – Ingredients

1 ham hock
300g split peas
2 onions
2 celery sticks
2 carrots
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley

Method

Boil ham hock for 1 hour
Add the split peas and simmer for another 60 minutes. Do not stir the pot!!
Add vegetables at the 60 min mark of cooking the split peas
Pull out the ham hock and chop it up – not too small; and return it to the pot
Check for seasoning – generous with pepper
Add a bit of parsley

This is a great broth full of body and really satisfying,

Margaret River’s best soup

It’s autumn in Margaret River, and if the weather is overcast or rainy, here’s what I love to do.

Head out for a walk through Boranup Forest, along a stretch of the Cape to Cape track or just have a coffee at the White Elephant Beach Cafe on a wintry day, then head to one of these excellent cafes where you can warm up with a big bowl of soup. Delish!

Cafe Boranup

This place is a little haven tucked away in the forest. We always stop in for a cuppa and a burger/fish n chips/bowl of soup after visiting Lake Cave or Boranup Forest. Look out for blue wrens and black cockatoos and other beautiful wildlife.

You always get a warm welcome from the friendly and accommodating staff. The prices are very reasonable and the food is excellent.

Riversmith

My girls and I lurrrrve Riversmith’s breakfasts – the sweetcorn fritters, banana bread…. but occasionally I pop in around lunch time and get a delicious bowl of soup. Great big windows looking out onto the main stretch make great people watching, and it feels so cosy watching the rain.

The last soup I had here was a tomato-minestrone style concoction with toasted Margaret River Woodfired Bread. Sensational.

Ma La Dumplings

Not a cafe, but a food van often based at the Margaret River Farmers Market on a Saturday morning. They excel at dumplings – beautiful parcels packed with Asian flavour – but the beef broth is sensational too. Just the business on a drizzly Saturday morning – BYO brolly, gumboots and reusable bags so you can shop to your hearts content!

Noshery 6285

It’s at the top of the main strip of Margaret River town. They make a scrumptious pumpkin, carrot and potato soup with really complex flavours – good stuff.

Olio Bello

A little way out of town, closer to Cowaramup Bay, is the luscious Olio Bello. They press their own extra virgin olive oil – a beautiful product – and have a busy little cafe popular with locals. They don’t always have a soup on the menu. Nevermind – grab a big bowl of home made pasta instead. It’s divine.

Loved this guide? Check out some of our other food recommendations;

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