Cauliflower Soup

I had to hang around the flat this morning waiting for the telephone engineer so watching  a bit of Nigella Bites,  she was doing comfort food making risotto which meant I then craved it all day and was planning to try a leek and lemon risotto. Got brown rice , white rice , wild rice  even got some Marmite rice cakes but no risotto rice

So instead soup to make a dent in the cauliflower mountain . A surprisingly sophisticated soup that managed to be satisfying filling without being stodgy it came out beautifully pale and delicately lemon scented the tahini adds toasted notes.

Cauliflower Soup

200g of Cauliflower broken into florets
1 pint of vegetable stock
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tsp  heaped of tahini
1 heaped tbsp flat leaf parsley
1 tsp of lemon zest

1. Gently simmer the cauliflower until soft
2. Puree the cauliflower with the stock and garlic
3. Add the lemon juice , tahini , parsley and warm through
4. Serve.

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Creamy Cruciferous Vegetable Soups

Broccoli Stilton and Walnut Soup.

Creamy cruciferous vegetables , with a nutty bite , you might not want to leave this soup too long or it will go a kind of yellowy colour this dish takes less than 15 minutes to make . You could substitute cream for milk and up the stilton for a richer dish , but its still a bit post Christmas

Broccoli , Stilton and Walnut Soup.

400g of broccoli divided into small florets finely chop any stalks
3/4 pint / 300ml of boling water plus 1 tsp of vegetable bullion/stock powder
2 tbsp of crumbled stilton
2 tbsp of crushed walnuts ,
1/2 pint of milk
Salt and Pepper to season

1. Place the broccoli in a pan , cover with warm water and simmer til soft
2. Place the walnuts in a hot pan and allow to warm through
3. Pour half the water away and add the stock powder to the remaining water
4. Add the stilton, milk and walnuts.
5. Puree and serve

Cauliflower and Toasted Walnut Soup

The Broccoli soup recipe works well substituting cauliflower which has a creamy texture all of its own so you won’t need the stilton , I used walnuts but toasted pine nuts would also work well .

Last year I found that tahini worked really well in a cauliflower soup or for a more smokey taste a little smoked paprika , prepare cook the cauliflower as for the above soup adding a teaspoon of tahini or paprika in place of the walnuts & stilton .

Cauliflower, Tahini & Paprika Soup

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Butternut Squash Soup

Everyone in the UK is sick at the moment with colds and flu , so far I have avoided it but this is a soup to ward off colds or help you recover, combining warm flavours of chilli , orange and ginger richness is added by some cocanut milk

400g of butternut squash cubed
1/4 tsp of dried or fresh red chilli chopped
1tsp of fresh ginger finely chopped
1tsp of cumin seeds
1/4 tsp of cardamoms seeds
1/2 cup of coconut milk
1 orange juiced and zested
500ml of boiling water

1. Gently warm a pan containing the cumin and cardamom this should toast the seeds and allows them to release
2. Add the squash , chilli and ginger to a pan and pour over the boiling water
3. Simmer for approx 20 minutes til the squash is soft
4. Puree and add the coconut milk , orange juice and zest.
5. Warm through and serve, with a extra swirl of coconut milk .

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Happy New Year 2008

1. Wild Garlic and Chicken Soup, 2. Coarse Pork Terrine, 3. Spinach and Wild Garlic Pesto Soup, 4. Rosehip Syrup Cakes, 5. Lime Tart, 6. Salmon with Garlic and Dill Aoili, 7. Fennel ,Pancetta, Walnut and Goats Cheese Salad, 8. Rhubarb Tart with Elderflower Cream, 9. Cauliflower and Toasted Walnut Soup, 10. Wild Garlic Pesto, 11. Watercress , Roasted Butternut Squash , Stilton and Walnut Salad, 12. Rabbit with Spring Vegetables, 13. Smoked Salmon and Beetroot Salad, 14. Smoked Mackerel Pate, 15. Chargrilled Vegetable Kebab, 16. Tomato Tart, 17. Stawberry Frangipane, 18. Pear Tart, 19. Pomegranate Jewel Cake, 20. Cabbage Rolls, 21. Not quite Nicoise Salad, 22. Lamb and Cauliflower Salad, 23. Borscht, 24. Kohlrabi and Mackerel Salad, 25. Seared Salmon & Pea Puree, 26. Its spring chicken, 27. Green Tea and Cardamom Madeleines, 28. Lentil and Parsley Soup with crispy Pancetta, 29. Butternut Squash and Leek Quiche, 30. Banana and Rum Cake

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.
Its a very busy year cooking wise if you want to see all the food from 2007 is available in my set on Flickr

I am immensely proud of my growth this year in photographing the food that I cook , Flickr has been a wonderful source of inspiration and this blog has given me the chance to talk about the food I love .

Thank you to everyone who has viewed my blog in 2007 and I promise it will get even better in 2008 where my New Years Resolutions include trying even more new foods, being more personal , better spelling and grammar ( I am dyslexic , but I do try, ) , more pictures assisted by the brilliant Christmas gift of a Joby Gorillapod a tiny lightweight tripod, which should make it even easier for me to take pictures and may even mean the lovely boyfriend gets hot food.

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Christmas Leftovers

Very happy walking on Boxing Day with Turkey and Ham Sandwiches (using up the Spiced Ham ) just us and the sheep again ……

But lots of Turkey also means plenty of Turkey Soup , either Laksa which is zingy and spicey or a more Traditional Turkey and Vegetable soup , which make me feel all wholesome

Turkey Laksa

For 200g of leftover turkey

3 nests of Dried Egg Noodles
3 Fresh Red Chilli
3 cloves of garlic
1 thumb of fresh Ginger
Bunch of Fresh Coriander
Bunch of Fresh Mint
3 cups of coconut milk
Fresh Lime

1. Pour boiling water to cover the dried egg noodles
2. Finely chop or food process the red chilli , ginger , the roots of the fresh coriander ( leaving the leaves aside) , mint leaves
3. Add the turkey to the chilli ginger and herb paste, fry off in a little sunflower oil.
4. Pour over the noodles and simmer for a few minutes
5. Add the coconut milk , serve the soup into bowl scatter with coriander leaves and a squirt of lime juice.

Leftover Turkey Soup

Very similar to the Soup for the Wettest Walk in the World but when you have a good thing why mess with it

1. Add to leoftover turkey roughly chopuped vegetables onions , carrots , leeks , potatoes , garlic , place in pan with your choice of herbs , or you could throw in the stuffing . You could also you the leftover vegetables from Christmas Day
2. Season with plenty of salt and pepper
3. Pour over boiling water and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. The soup will be ready but could be even better if you leave it with the lid on for a while to steep.

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Wettest Walk in the World Soup

Back from some very wet but lovely walking in Wales over Christmas the rain comes from all directions , getting soaked to the skin requires some very warming soup on return .

Some quick preperation before heading out means and warming and nourishing soup is ready in seconds of your reutrn
roughly chop a selection of vegetables in this case onions , carrots , leeks potatoes , garlic ( I also added some bacon ) , place in pan with your choice of herbs , here thyme but parsley , sage or rosemary would work well too. Season with plenty of salt and pepper

Add boiling water to cover the vegetables, bring to the boil , Turn of the heat and leave with the lid on for long or short walk.

On your return simply heat the soup through toast some bread if you fancy , all the flavour will have intensified and it can warm the wettest of souls

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Lentil Leek and Potato Warm Salad

I haven’t really been food shopping this week , was away last weekend and waiting for the festive food delivery at the end of the week to cart it all off to rural Wales. Still there were some vegetables left not quite up to a trip through the Brecon Beacons so I give you a winter salad eaten while I watch Heston Blumenthals Perfect Christmas and wondering if I can fit some kind of liquid nitrogen cannister in the car.

Lentil, Leek and Potato Warm Salad

100g of Green Lentils
2 small leeks
4 small potatoes
1 tbsp of chopped pancetta
1 tbsp of crumbly goats cheese

1. Gently simmer the lentils and potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes
2. Roughly chop the leeks and fry with the pancetta
3. Mix together the lentils, potatoes , pancetta , leeks and goats cheese
4. Season with salt and pepper

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Lentil and Parsley Soup with Crispy Pancetta

What I thought was an allergic reaction this morning , has developed into a full blown cold so I have called and moaned at everyone I know , made honey and lemon and now I thought I would share it with the world wide web

For that I need a recipe this is conforting and nutritious consisting of lentils and chopped fresh parsley this soup also has crispy pancetta which distributes itself through the soup for crispy yet chewy saltiness. You might want to reduce the garlic content but I find garlic a a good cure all . Whinge over.

Lentil and Parsley Soup

100g of red lentils
1/2 small onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic , finely chopped
1 pint of boiling vegetable stock
2 tbsp of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
10g of pancetta , roughly chopped

1. Place all the lentils , onion and garlic in a pan pour over the vegetable stock and bring to the boil
2. Simmer for 15 minutes, meanwhile gently fry the pancetta til crispy
3. Add the parsley to the soup and puree
4. Serve by sprinkling the pancetta on the top

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Mushroom Soup for the Soul

Returning home from the weekend the fridge is pretty empty other than a box of mushrooms from the vegebox , I could eulogise forever about how different these babies are to anything you find in a supermarket instead of going slimey to indicate they are reaching the end of their lives delicate gills release gentle black spores this means they are perfect for soup.

Mushroom soup has a rich earthy taste though I have made it with wild mushrooms but so far the fungi season has been a little disappointing this was just for lunch

Mushroom Soup

a box of mushrooms
1/2 pint of vegetable stock
1/2 pint of milk
1 clove of chopped garlic – finely chopped

1. Roughly chop the mushrooms , simmer them with garlic in the stock for 10 minutes on a low heat
2. Puree add the milk and warm through
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Eat with warm bread.

I don’t think its really grey food its more charcoal flecked like George Clooneys beard…. ok I prefer Alan Rickman .. it just made a bad day slightly better .

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Spicy Parsnip and Squash Soup .

While raiding the boyfriends fridge found some leftover roasted parsnips and squash from last weeks roast dinner , I hate waste , its been chucking it down for hours now so some soup seemed the logical option for this weeks Sunday lunch. This would work with any root vegetable and excellent for using up leftover Xmas vegetables

Spicy Parsnip and Squash Soup

1. Chop leftover squash and parsnip
2. Add boiling water to cover the vegetables , ginger cumin , orange zest , juice and cumin
3. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the veges have disintegrated
4. Puree

To serve the boyfriend suggested a genius touch , melting some strong cheese over toasted rolls putting them into the bowl first then covering them with the spicy soup .Lovely melty treat at the bottom of the bowl………………………..

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