Red,red,red soup

Roast tomato soup
Serves four.
Preparation time 20 mins and 1:15 hours roasting and simmering

At this time of year tomatoes aren’t necessarily at their best but ironically you don’t want hot tomato soup in the summer do you! Roasting the ingredients makes life very easy and also adds loads of caramelised sugary flavours as well as concentrating and deepening them. I’ve added a little Heston Blumenthal’s trick I saw on one his programmes which is to add the vines from the tomatoes to the stewing soup as they contain the essence of tomatoes and add extra flavour. You do need to remember to remove them like the bay leaves before liquidising the soup though.

What you’ll need:
3.5 kg mix of tomatoes I used vine and little yellow plum shaped cherries.
2 medium red onions
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp dried Oregano
A few glugs of olive oil
A good squirt of tomato puree
A good squirt of ketchup
Pinch of dried chillies
Splash of Worcester sauce
Caster sugar to taste.
Salt & pepper.

Optional to serve:
I made some cheesy toasties and added a swirl of cream.

What you'll need to do:
1. Pre heat the oven 180 oC.

2. Take the tomatoes and if they have them remove the vines (and retain for later) and cut them in half.
3. Place the tommies in a large roasting dish and peel and quarter the onions and add to the pan.
4. Season the veg, splash with oil and mix them around,
5. Put in the hot oven and leave to roast for 30-40 mins until they have coloured and roasted but not burnt.
6. Next empty the roasting dish into large sauce pan and add the rest of the ingredients (including the retained stalks) except the sugar. If it needs it add water to stop the mixture sticking, just a bit.
7. Stir and put on the heat to simmer covered with a lid until the tomatoes are collapsed and the flavours blended.
8. Now taste the soup if it’s too sour add the sugar (to counter the acid in the tomatoes) and also adjust the seasoning.
9. Remove the tomatoes stalks and bay leaves and blend, you made need to add a little water to help the whizzing.
10. Return to the pan and reheat and adjust the amount of fluid and check the seasoning and serve.
11. Add a swirl of cream it might look a bit 70’s but it tastes good and add some bread or toast perfection.

Twisted Vimto

The best cough medicine in the world (well today at least)

I'm not milking this honest but if you're feeling rough try this subtle twist on the ever popular hot ribena cold remedy.

Serves: One poorly person

Preparation time:

If you are not poorly 5 mins, if you are feeling badly well a bit longer.

What you need:

a cold (well not actually but you know what I mean).

a mug.

boiling water enough for your mug!

slice of lemon.

a good glug of vimto.

a spoon or two of honey.

a shot of whiskey (nothing fancy).

someone to make it for you!

To serve:

a sofa.

something good on the telly.

a duvet optional!

What to do:

1. Boil the kettle

2. Add all the other ingredients to the mug.

3. cough weakly from the sofa in attempt to speed up your DIY Pharmacist.

4. Stir the mug and squeeze the lemon with a teaspoon.

5. Drink when it's cool enough cupping the mug in both hands, it's traditional to say "ahhh" after the first sip and try not to feel quite so sorry for yourself.

Star & Crescent Soup

Celery & Pasta soup.

This recipe apart from allowing me to coin a pleasing name also serves two other purposes: firstly I have a thick cold and so needed something warming and restorative and was feed up with tinned soup. Next I had the problem all cooks have i.e. I made recipe that required one stick of celery. As I refuse to buy those packets of hand washed, pruned and air freighted celery I ended up with a whole head, now I could have munched it for lunch all week. But seeing as I was ailing I thought a simple soup would be good and it would use up my supply of this wonderfully, pungent, flavoursome but underappreciated veg. The soups wonderfully savoury and the pasta gives it some oomph even if you are not coming down with anything!

What you'll need:

Serves 3-4

1 head of celery

I used 4 small banana shallots but an onion is fine

2 litres of stock (I had veggie stock in the freezer and bulked it out with a stock cube and water)

2-3 bay leaves

3-4 pepper corns

A handful (possibly 2 if you've small hands) of Stelline star pasta

Salt to taste.

The juice of a quarter of a lemon.

Serve with bread, chopped celery greens or parsley and in my case a splash of Tabasco (look I've a cold)

Prep time 20-30 mins (max) cooking time 40-60 minutes

What to do:

1. Get the stock boiling in a big pan.
   


2. Chop the shallots finely.
   


3. Chop the celery very thinly into crescents or half moons hence the name!( I used a mandolin for this)
   


4. Put the celery and shallots into the boiling stock and give it stir.
   


5. Add the pepper corns and bay leaves and leave to simmer for 40 mins.
   


6. After 40 minutes check the softness of the veg and if it's soft (if not give it more time but you knew that didn't you) put in the handful of pasta and stir again.
   


7. You may need to add a bit more stock or water as the pasta boils depending on how thin you like your soup.
   


8. When the pastas is cooked serve! I added a squeeze of lemon, the greens and chilli sauce but see what you think.
   

Oh a regardless of the name you don't have to only eat it at night!

Hot stuff for cold nights

Steak & Kidney hotpot.

Serves 4-6
Time 20-40 prep 2-3hr cooking times.
I wanted something straightforward and simple for Saturday evening and stewing steak looked good in the butchers and they helpfully mixed in some fresh kidneys for me. After that the rest just picked themselves. I'm not sure whether this sort of casserole is great for winter because its' warming etc or because you want to stay in and so can keep half an eye on the dish as it bubbles in the oven.

What you need:
1 kg of stewing steak inch cubed

500 g of kidney (cleaned of the nasty bits)

2 medium leeks cleaned and sliced
2 medium carrots cubes
3 small turnips sliced
Medium onion large dice
400g tin pre-cooked black eyed peas

500g potatoes sliced thin
2-3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons dried oregano
½ litre of Stock made from veg off cuts and stock cube
Splashes of soy sauce & Worcester sauce
Salt and pepper
Flour for dusting.
150 g knobs of butter
Oil
Large casserole with lid (2 litres)
Serve with bread for the gravy and readymade horseradish sauce and or HP sauce and of course if you like pickled red cabbage.

What to do:

Pre heat oven 160 ^o C.

1. Using the casserole if it’s stove proof or large frying pan. Once you’ve prepared the veg, sweat the carrots, leeks and onions in a few spoonfuls of oil. Once they have softened remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
2. Dredge the diced meat in seasoned flour mixing it well so it’s all coated.
3. In batches brown the meat setting aside the batches until you’ve done it all.
4. Then incorporate the veg and meat together mixing it up and adding in the drained peas.
5. Season (lots of pepper), add the oregano, bay leaves and the stock.
6. Splash all over with soy and Lea & Perrins.
7. Put the mixture if needs be in the casserole.
8. Remove any of the burnt flour etc from the pan with spare stock or water and add to the casserole.
9. Put the lid on and place in the oven. (I put a baking try under casseroles to catch the spills)
10. Let it cook for ½hour until it is bubbling hard then turn down the heat to 140 o C so it bubbles more gently.
11. Cook for another 45-1hr. While this going on slice the potatoes and turnips.
12. Remove the hotpot (and stir it up) and put the potatoes and turnip on the top either artfully or in a jumble! And cover for 30-40 minutes this is to steam them and cook them through.
13. For last half hour remove the lid dot with butter and brown and crisp the lid.

Serve with the bread and your chosen sauces or cabbage.

My resistance has crumbled..

Apple & Plum Oaty Crumble:

Serves about 4-6 (depending on greed!)

It's even colder today, it's Christmas card making and festive film watching weather so I plum(b)ed for something to warm us to the core....

Crumbles always give the impression of being as old as the hills, the sort of homely dish that the Yeoman of middle England have been returning horny handed to since not long after the Magna Carta was signed. But it was actually popularized during the war as a way eking out ingredients for pies and also as it doesn't need resting like most pastry it was easier for busy (and in some cases new to cooking) mums and housewives to make. Whatever it's easily one of the best puddings going, I've added some orange juice to counter the sweetness of the dessert apples and added oats to the crust for extra texture and flavour.

What you'll need.

Filling

1kg mixture of Plums & apples( Braeburns & coxes), peeled, cored and roughly chopped

Juice of one medium orange

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Good glug of sloe gin

Caster sugar to taste

Topping

90g plain flour

30g porridge oats (I had the ones with a man in kilt on the packet in the cupboard)

90g chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

6 tablespoons light muscavado sugar

Time: 50-60 mins (most of it is stewing & baking time)

What to do:

1. Put splash of water in a large sauce pan to stop the fruit sticking and add the chopped fruit, sugar and the sloe gin and sprinkle on the cinnamon
2. Heat the mixture with the lid on until the juices start to run and the mixture is almost cooked.
   

Make the Topping:

1. Put the flour and oats in a large mixing bowl.


2. Add the sugar and the cubes of butter .


3. With your coolest hands rub in the flour until you've got breadcrumbs, the odd lump will add to the numblyness.


4. Put the cooked fruit into your pudding dish.


5. Sprinkle on the topping and then when you are ready put in a preheated oven (190C (Gas Mark 5)) for 25-35 mins depending on the dish/ oven and how caramelised you like it.
   
6. I won't offend anyone by telling you to eat with whatever you like with your crumble, I'd go for either custard or ice cream or even what we in our house always call Coronation Milk also as we all know it tastes just as good the next day.

NB: I made mine in half litre foil (takeaway) container so i few in freezer. I frozen them before cooking and will defrost them and cook them as above the portion above makes

Promethean Mash

Food of the Gods?

Roast Fennel mash: Serves 2-3

There is a myth that this recipe was stolen from the gods* there is another story that I had some fennel nestling in the cupboard and wondered if it would go with mash. I've been experimenting with "mash mash-ups" (look at me with young people slang!)a but lately, adding things like onion and cauliflower to spuds not only to reduce the amount of carb but also mainly because they taste good. Anyway this is a nice addition to mash which goes well with pork and in this case Roast Poussin and roast veg.

What you'll need:

250 g of fennel 92 bulbs) cut in half and trimmed.

650 g of mashing potatoes

Good knob of butter

100-200 ml warmed milk (it will depend on how runny you like your mash)

Salt and pepper

Couple of tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Tin foil.

Time: 30-40 mins while other things are cooking.

What to do:

1. Put the fennel in to the foil with the oil and seasoning
2. Wrap it up and put in the oven (I put it in with the roast) 190^oC for 30-40 mins or until the fennels soft
3. Then whizz up the fennel into a paste with hand blender, you can try using a fork but it can be stringy (I suppose it depends on how "rustic" you like things.)
4. Mix the fennel into the hot mash (you know how to make mash just don't blend with a mixer it'll go all gloopy)
5. Eat but you knew that already!

*or is it something about Prometheus stealing fire from the gods in a bulb of fennel he got a nasty punishment for his pains you'll just get a nice dinner.

Little Stars......

Let’s ease into this....

Vegetable Soup with Little Stars

To celebrate getting my stove sorted out after too long I made some soup. I was feeling rough this morning so didn’t go down the market but managed to amble out in the low winter sun round to my local grocers and was pleased to find all the things I need for a simple vegetable soup. One pleasant surprise was a bag of little pasta stars or stelline which apart from being perfect for soups are also cute looking alphabeti spaghetti for grown ups!

Vegetable soup is one of those pleasingly simple tasty things, ultimately adjustable to the time of year and what you find at the shop or in your cupboard. I think however it should always include one of the most of the following:

“Alliums” (onion, charlottes, celery, leeks, scallions or garlic)
Root veg (carrots, swede, parsnip, kohl rabi, turnip)
Starch (potatoes, rice, and pasta)
Legumes (peas, beans)
And additionally greens (cabbage, turnip tops, parsley, celery greens)
My version today.
1 leek medium about 20 cm of white!
4 medium carrots
Half a Kohl rabi
1 medium potato
1 medium red onion
Handful of frozen peas
Large handful of green beans sliced
8 mushrooms
Handful of stelline (little stars) pasta
3 sticks of celery plus the chopped leaves if they are worth eating
2 bay leaves
2 Veggie stock cubes
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Salt and pepper
Large pan

Stock: (I did what I normal do which chop and wash the top of the leeks, one of the carrots, 2 bay leafs , 2-4 pepper corns and 2 veggie stock cubes) as to amounts I measured out 4-6 portions of water in my soup bowls 2 litres. I boiled the above for 30 mins until the carrot was soft. I then careful sieved the stock leaving the gritty last few drops in the pan.
Time: around an hour (plus 30-40 minutes for stock)

What to do:
1. Make stock (see above)
2. While the stock is boiling peel and chop the veg into small pieces of similar sizes i.e. so they will fit on a spoon.
3. In a large stock pan heat the oil and add the chopped and washed leeks, onion and celery.
4. Allow the leeks onion and celery to sweat down for 5 mins.
5. Add the stock to the pan once the stock is back to the boil let the veg cook for 5 mins. till it softens.
6. Add a couple of grinds of black pepper
7. Now add the sliced beans and mushrooms and cook for further 5 minutes.
8. Now it’s the turn of the potatoes and kohl rabi which need about 10-15 minutes of cooking . In general make sure everything is cooked through.
9. Add frozen peas and allow soup to come back to the boil.
10. Check on the pasta packet how long the little stars take to boil mine said 6 mins and add the pasta.
11. Once the pasta is cooked check the seasoning it’s best to do it now because the starchy items like the pasta and the potatoes absorb salt so add it now and another grind of pepper and the chopped celery tops.
12. Serve in this case with some Turkish flat bread from the shop.