Soups

[henry d]

3-4 portions

 

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium(2 small) onions sliced

2 cloves garlic sliced

2 sticks celery sliced on the angle(poncey but nice)

2 medium carrots diced

6 savoycabbage leaves, rib removed and sliced

1 tin chopped plum toms

1 tin borlotti/canelini beans

750 ml veg stock

small handful of spaghetti/linguine

bay leaf, salt and pepper.

 

Heat the oil in the pot you are making the soup, and when hot add the tom puree and fry for a minute then add the veg except for the cabbage.

Fry gently for 3-5 minutes but do not colour, then add the hot stock and then the tinned tomatoes and beans and the crumpled bay leaf.

Cook until the veg is nearly done and then add the cabbage and if you intend to use it all in a single sitting add the pasta, if you don`t need all of it remove what you don`t want and add a little of the pasta and cook on. Remove the bay leaf and saeson to taste.

If you add the pasta and then don`t eat it all the next time you go to heat it up the pasta will be sloppy and the soup like stew.

[pin]

Spiced Roast butternut squash soup

 

2 Medium to large squash (peel, de-seed and inch dice)

2 medium potatoes (peel, inch dice)

2 carrots (inch dice)

2 medium onions (fine dice)

4 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 pint chicken stock (any stock really)

2 tbl spoon of a good curry paste (make it or patak's madras is good)

400ml of coconut milk

Good head of fresh coriander

Chili (how you like, I like a lot seeds and all)

Limes to squeeze

Crème fraiche to serve

 

Oven at 220, drizzle olive oil over the squash and season, roast for 30 mins. Meanwhile sweat down the onion then garlic, add the potato and carrot, check seasoning. Add the roasted squash and combine with the stock. Cook down for 10-15 minutes, add the chopped coriander, chili if using and blend. Add the coconut milk to taste. Stir in the curry paste to taste and cook down for another 10 minutes or so. Give it another blend.

 

Serve with fresh tiger bread with a sprinkle of coriander, dollop of crème fraiche and a good squeeze of lime.

 

Delish!

[henry d]

Curried Pheasant chowder

 

6-8oz of cooked(leftover) pheasant

2 large spuds

1 large onion or leek if prefered

2 medium carrots

2 sticks of celery

2 crushed garlic cloves

2 tsp coriander seed}

1 tsp cumin seed } or small amount of curry paste if you don`t have dry spices

1/4tsp turmeric }

plain flour

chilli powder to taste

1 bay leaf crushed

250 ml milk or cream if you prefer

500ml veg stock

1oz butter

salt and pepper to taste

 

Chop all the veg into similar sized pieces, toast the corriander and cumin, heat the butter in a large pan and when foaming put in the onion, carrot, celery and garlic.

Once the veg is softening add the corriander cumin and turmeric and fry on for a further 2-3 minutes.

add a small amount of flour and stir until you get a soft paste with the butter(roux for those cheffy types) and cook for a minute, add the milk a small amount at a time and stir vigorously until all the milk is add.

Add the tatties and pheasant and cover with the HOT stock and throw in the bay leaf.

Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes then add the chilli, salt and pepper, then taste after a minute and adjust as necessary.

Serve when the tatties are JUST done with a crusty french stick.

[Jonsey]

French Onion Soup. It’s yummy.

 

This is Delia’s recipe, and I know she’s a Gruffalo but I always find if you have something in mind to cook there’s a recipe for it in one of her books.

 

2lbs Onions sliced

Couple of big pinches of Sugar

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 pints beef stock, it's got to be beef, chicken does not work. if I haven’t got any in the freezer I use Waitrose beef stock concentrate. Stock cubes are too salty so buy a decent concentrate for the larder.

A big slug of dry white wine, probably a couple of glasses.

 

 

In the pan fry the onions garlic and sugar in olive oil on a high heat until they get dark around the edges and are softening up nicely. Then turn the heat right down and leave them to cook for ½ an hour or so without the pan lid. Next turn the heat back up add the white wine and stir to pick up all the caramelised onion goo on the bottom of the pan and then add the beef stock. Bring up to the boil and then turn down to a very gentle simmer and cook for an hour and a half. Season it half way through cooking time and a bit more at the end if need be. I prefer to use white pepper with this soup.

 

I just serve this with some crusty white bread.

 

I tried freezing some once but it doesn’t work too well.

[pin]

Wot no cheesy croutons? Sacrilege!

[sandersj89]

Just this minute finished making a few batches of Courgette and Bacon soup for the freezer:

 

500gr of courgettes (I grow my own so am swamped with them in the summer)

700ml stock, I mainly use home made from duck or pheasant giblets

1 large onion sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

S & P to taste

6 rashers of bacon, cooked but not too crispy.

 

Place the lot in a large pan and bring to the boil

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 mins

Blend with a stick blender and keep on a low heat if needed to increase the thickness.

 

This freezes well and is great served warm or cold.

 

If you want leave out the bacon for a vegetarian version.

 

Jerry

[henry d]

If you want leave out the bacon for a vegetarian version.

 

 

........err, no thanks !

[pin]

If you want leave out the bacon for a vegetarian version.

 

 

........err, no thanks !

 

To make it "very" vegetarian you'd probably want to leave out the Duck and Pheasant giblet stock, too. Picky I know

[sandersj89]

To make it "very" vegetarian you'd probably want to leave out the Duck and Pheasant giblet stock, too. Picky I know

 

 

True......