Soup au pistou

Sophie Conran: Vivid colours, fresh veggies, beans and macaroni make this just the sort of soup to have warming on the Aga at this time of year

Mushroom and lentil soup
Lindsey Bareham: A heartening autumnal bowlful full of woody flavours and fibre

Five-spice butternut soup
Lucas Hollweg: The simplest of soups, but one that offers duvet-like comfort. I like to think of it as the cream of tomato of the squash world

Cabbages and kings: Britain's 12 best organic producers

Food specialists pick the purest, greenest and tastiest dozen organic food and drink products

• Britain's best sorbet and ice cream

• Root manoeuvre

• Top 10 heritage pubs in London

Raw power

Feeling sluggish, bloated and partied out? The raw food guru Chad Sarna has a detox for you

• Chocolate ganache tart with black-cherry sorbet

• Slow-roasted beetroot with walnut chutney

• Trio of courgette 'pasta' with truffle alfredo, sage pesto and rustic puttanesca

15 super seasonal soup recipes

Ten autumn warming broths from Times' cooks

BACKGROUND

• Quick and simple mint and pea soup

• Chickpea with mint and garlic soup

• Chicken, coconut and ginger soup

• Cawl soup

• Cream of fennel soup

Rustic tortilla soup
Jamie Oliver : This is a fantastic Mexican-inspired soup — the kind of food where you’ve got to go with it and let the flavours just blow you away

Potato and spinach soup with lime
Lindsey Bareham: A deliciously tasty store-cupboard soup with a citrus kick

Cauliflower and parmesan soup
Jill Dupleix: This parmesan-flavoured cauliflower soup is a wonderful dish to have to hand during the busy Christmas season when guests are popping in. If you prefer it with more of a kick, use blue cheese instead of parmesan, or stir in a good pinch of garam masala.

Celeriac soup with cobnuts
Amanda Ursell: A bowl of this warming winter soup is a nutritious start to any meal. Celeriac and potatoes, while not bursting with vitamin C, are useful contributors and one bowl gives more than half our daily needs.

Cream of fennel soup
Lucas Hollweg: This is gentle, comforting and quietly rich. Don’t be put off by the addition of Pernod — the flavour isn’t too dominant

Jerusalem artichoke soup
Tom Collins: This is warming and luxurious. For vegetarians, substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock

Parsnip soup with chestnuts and mixed herb pesto
Gordon Ramsay: This is a stunning soup with a fantastic, velvety texture, perfect for serving as a first course for a dinner party. Cooked and peeled chestnuts are widely available in large supermarkets, either in the speciality aisles or near the stuffing mixes.

Pea and ham soup
Heston Blumenthal: This is currently on the menu at The Hinds Head, my pub next to The Fat Duck. Although it is a warm and deeply satisfying dish, it has a fresh and vibrant character.

Pumpkin soup with chermoula
Thomasina Miers: Tuck in . . . for a low-calorie winter warmer full of supernutrients and spicy flavours

Savoy cabbage and white bean soup
Lucas Hollweg: This is one of those thick, meal-in-a-bowl-type soups that winter is made for. You could use curly kale or cavolo nero instead – leaves only.

Spiced carrot and butternut squash soup
Gordon Ramsay: The carrot and squash start to break down after half an hour’s cooking and, together with the starch from the pasta, will thicken the soup without the need for a blender. This is great for a hungry family.

Beetroot and apple bortsch
Lindsey Bareham: Cooking apple gives this simplified bortsch a very agreeable grainy flavour and the sharpness complements the sweetness of beetroot extremely well. The idea came from the novelist Paul Bailey. It is delicious hot but works cold, too, as a healthy detox soup

Times Recommends

• Top Ten most searched for recipes
• Chalet Chef 2010: the winning menus
• Gin and pomegranate jellies