Broccoli Cream Cheese Soup

Broccoli is a perfect winter vegetable. It makes for scrumptious soups, such as this one borrowed from Delia Smith (Christmas).

Serves 6 -8 people

225 g broccoli

2 tbspn fine oatmeal

1 medium onion, chopped

2 leeks, rinsed and chopped

40 g butter

570 ml milk

570 ml veg stock

150 g packet low-fat soft cheese

salt and pepper

First trim the broccoli into tiny florets of approx 5mm, fanning them out to remove any dust and grit, then chop the stalky parts quite small as well. In a large saucepan melt the butter, add the chopped leeks, onion and broccoli stalks, stir well, then cover the pan and leave the veg. to sweat for 10 mins.

Next stir in the oatmeal, then add the milk a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. When all the milk is in, add the stock and season, whisk well, then simmer gently for a further 10 mins. After that, turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool a little. While that is happening steam the little florets over simmering water for exactly 4 mins.

Now pour the soup and the soft cheese into a liquidiser and blend until smooth. Then return the soup to the rinsed-out pan, add the broccoli and re-heat gently. Check seasoning before serving.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

 

Warm Cauliflower With Green Olives, Feta and Preserved Lemon

This is a delicious Autumn dish that you might like to try.

Serves 2-4

4 tbspn olive oil

1 cauliflower, broken into florets

1/2 – 1 tspn cumin seeds

1 tbspn preserved lemon dressing or about 1/4 of a preserved lemon chopped finely (or a squeaze of lemon juice)

60 g green olives

small pinch of cayenne pepper

sea salt

30 g feta cheese

Heat a little less than half the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the cauliflower and sauté until evenly browned and softened but still with a little crunch. This will take 8 – 10 mins.

Add the cumin seeds and sauté for a further 30 seconds or so. Transfer to a bowl and mix with the preserved lemon, olives, cayenne pepper and salt.

Pour over the remaining oil and crumble the cheese on top. Serve as quickly as possible.

I have also made it without the olives, using a squeaze of lemon juice instead of the preserved lemon and some crumbled chevre cheese instead of the feta. It was still delicious.

 

 

Soup for the Soul

Here is my basic recipe for soups.

 

There are all sorts of fancy recipes for all sorts of fancy soups, but if ever you are stuck for something nourishing and healthy to eat and you have some veg in store, you can always make yourself a tasty meal.

 

 

 

 

Peel onions and prepare whatever veg you have – peel, wash, clean or whatever and chop. Put some oil in a saucepan and heat gently. Then add the onions and soften a bit, before adding the rest of the veg. Stir them over and leave to sweat a bit – 5 mins. max., with the lid on, then pour on boiling water, or stock. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until all the veg are cooked. Add salt and pepper and if you want, a stock cube. You can either leave the soup chunky or puree it.

Some examples:

Mixed veg soup – onion, carrot, potato, lettuce and celery.

Broccolli soup – onion and broccolli.

Spinach soup – onion and spinach. With this soup, after softening the onions, I would add a spoonful of flour, stir that up a bit and let it cook for a few minutes before adding the stock, bringing it to the boil and then adding the washed spinach.

Courgettes soup – onion, courgettes and potatoes.

Pumpkin soup – onion, pumpkin and potato.

Parsnip soup – onion, parsnip and potato.

 

Have fun.

 

Parmesan Baked Parsnips

This is one of my all time favourites vegetarian dishes.

I did some playing around with a recipe originally from Delia Smith.

The quantities given serve 8 people.

They can be prepared in advance, up to 24 hours, or prepared and frozen and will then cook perfectly if allowed to defrost first. This recipe also works very well with Sweet potatoes.

1.25 kg parsnips

175 g plain flour

50 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

knob of butter

groundnut oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200˚ C.

Combine flour, cheese, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Peel parsnips and quarter lengthways and cut in half. Cut out any woody centres. Put parsnips in saucepan and pour in enough boiling water just to cover them and add salt. Cover and boil for 3 mins. Drain and whilst streaming drop a few at a time into the flour and cheese mixture, shaking the bowl to get them well coated. Transfer to a plate. Do this swiftly as the flour mixture will only coat them whilst they are still steamy. They are now ready to roast or to store or freeze. Any leftover flour mixture can be kept in the fridge or freezer for another time.

Place a large solid roasting tin in the oven to heat with enough oil to cover the base and a knob of butter for flavour. When the oven is ready remove the tin and place it over direct heat, turned fairly low and, using tongs, place the parsnips quickly side by side in the tin. Tilt it and baste them with the hot fat. Then place the tin in the oven and bake for 20 mins, turn them over, drain off any surplus fat and continue to bake for a further 15-20 mins.

 

Bon appetite.

Chicken Soup (from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes)

Roald Dahl has always been one of my favourite authors, not only for his children’s stories. I once was fortunate enough to sit next to him on a sofa. He was a very tall man. Impressive.

Occasionally, Roald Dahl published recipes in his stories. I have tried some of them. They all seem to work.

Try this one. It serves 6:

large saucepan
2 small or 1 large corn-fed chicken (2’5 kg approx.)
4 small onions
100 g mushrooms
3 large carrots
2 leeks
15 ml tarragon
salt & pepper

Quarter the chicken and roughly chop 2 onions. Place the chicken and onions in a large saucepan and cover with water.

Bring to the boil and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Skim the surface when necessary. Top up and reduce by half again. This takes at least 4 hours. Cool. (Alternatively, mix in a chicken stock cube with hot water).

Strain and reserve the liquid – you should have approx 1’5 l – 1’75 l.

Pick the meat off the bones, chop and set aside. If you have time, continue boiling the bones in fresh water to add more flavour to the stock.

Chop remaining onions and other vegetables, add to the stock with the tarragon and cook until tender.

Season to taste.

Before serving, add the meat and heat through.

Bon appetite.

Lamb, Prune and Almond Tagine

A Tagine is a shallow, glazed earthenware pot with a tall conical lid. But you can use any tight-fitting casserole dish.

900 ml stock

300 g prunes

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp ground turmeric  

2 tbsp cumin seeds 

2 tbsp chili powder

4 cinnamon sticks  

4 bay leaves

2 tsp coriander seeds

5 large cloves garlic

50 g ground almonds

6 tbsp olive oil

1.4 kg lamb leg steaks

12 shallots

75 g clarified butter

1 tbsp honey

2 large onions, chopped finely

toasted almonds

1 carrot, chopped roughly

chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Blend together the coriander, cumin, chilli powder, paprika, turmeric, garlic and 4 tbsp oil. Coat the steaks with the paste and cover and chill for at least 5 hours or overnight.

 

In a large casserole, melt the butter, add the onions and carrot and cook till soft, then remove and fry the lamb on each side.

 

Add a little stock and bring to the boil, scraping up the sediment from the bottom. Return the onion and carrot and add 100 g of prunes. Add remaining stock with the cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds; season. Cover and cook at 170º C for 2 hours until the meat is really tender. 

 

Meanwhile fry the shallots in the rest of the oil and honey until a deep golden brown. Add to the casserole 30 – 40 mins before the end of the cooking time. Take the lamb out of the sauce and put to one side. Bring the sauce to the boil, bubble and reduce to a thick consistency. Return the lamb to the casserole, add the remaining prunes and bubble for 3 – 4 mins. Garnish with almonds and parsley.

 

Clarified butter, otherwise known as ghee, can be cooked at a higher heat than fresh butter as it has no milk solids and won’t burn as easily. 

 

To make: Melt butter in a small pan and heat gently without allowing it to colour. Skim off the foam as it rises to the top, leaving the milk solids to sink to the bottom. Pour the clear butter into a bowl through a sieve lined with kitchen paper. Allow to settle for 10 mins then pour into another bowl, leaving any sediment behind. Cool, then store in a jar in the fridge for up to six months.

 

Delicious. 

Courgette Dolmas

I learnt this recipe from my mother, who learnt it from her mother…

My grandmother was Armenian, but spent a large part of her life in the Middle East, as did my mother.

Dolmas, of various kinds, are made all over the Middle East, Turkey and Greece.

I have no measurements for this recipe. I just learnt it by watching.

Choose some fresh young courgettes (zucchinis), not too big, nor too small, and cut off the ends. Cut them in half and with a small spoon or vegetable peeler scoop out the flesh and put it into a large pot. Take about 2 large spoons of Basmati rice and wash it well and then mix it with about 500 g of minced lean lamb. Add salt and pepper and then stuff as much of this mixture as you can into the hollowed out courgettes and place these in the pot.

Any remaining mixture can be made into small round meat balls and added to the pot, along with a large peeled onion, cut in quarters. Add 2 tomatoes cut in half and some mint leaves and parsley. Pour some water into the pot and a knob of butter or margerine, cover with a lid and cook for about 40 minutes. Check every so often to make sure it isn’t drying out. You can add more seasoning if needed and once cooked, serve it topped with plain yoghurt.

Delicious!