Supper

Asparagus, Pea and Herb Risotto

Risotto is a really adaptable dish that you can make with whatever you have to hand.   In my case this meant asparagus, a few frozen peas  and left over chicken from this weeks roast.  What really makes a risotto though is the stock you use to flavour the rice and the herbs at the end to bring out the flavours.  You can, of course, use butter and parmesan at the end to add richness, but I chose not to wanting this risotto to be clean tasting and for the parsley and tarragon that I added at the end to shine and enhance the asparagus.  In fact this whole dish is layered through with herbs and that is what I wanted to highlight.  I like the texture of my risotto to be soup-y but if you prefer a more solid texture then just add less liquid. Continue reading →

Spiced Parsnip Soup

On a raw February day when the wind is like an absolute knife cutting through you with bitter cold, lunch cries out for soup.  Have it in a mug and warm your hands as well or, show it off in a beautiful bowl!  The blue bowl here just set off the golden turmeric colour of this parsnip soup perfectly though its delicious taste would be the same whatever you served it in!  Parsnips somehow manage to be sweet yet earthy and this soup with its spicing makes them (and me!) sing.

This is a simple soup to make and uses a mild curry powder though you could always blend your own if you wanted to experiment.  A good basic blend is to use equal quantities of ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek with as much or as little chill powder as you like.   Have fun experimenting by varying the proportions or adding a favourite spice – I promise that the parsnip can take it. Continue reading →

Beef, Red Wine and Mushroom Casserole

I don’t know about you but these grey February days which are often wet and blustery to boot, make me want to huddle down.   I long for warming comfort food that makes little demand on my time and is waiting for me, filling the kitchen with delicious smells when I come back in from the cold.  Whether you call this recipe a casserole or a stew I will leave up to you.  My Mum always called it a casserole and I still make it in her old Le Creuset casserole that’s decades old!

But don’t let the intricacies of the name cause you any pause because it can also can be used as the base for so many different dishes when cooked.  To get you started try spooning some of it into a deep pie dish and, when the filling is cold top it with puff pastry or mashed potato and pop it back in the oven for a pie.   If you take the lid off the casserole for the last hour it will reduce slowly and then you can use it as you would a ragu (I like to shred the meat a little at this point) to accompany tagliatelle.  My favourite way is to add large 2cm cubes of celariac and/or potato for the last hour and serve it in a bowl with a hunk of bread on the side. Continue reading →

Chunky Moroccan Vegetable Soup

  1. I seem to have developed a bit of a yearning for clean flavours in 2020.  In particular I’ve gone from despising preserved lemons to having a bit of a “moment” with them!  Maybe unusually this soup makes use of them to great effect combining them with tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, chilli and a little cinnamon.  It brings the sunshine of North Africa to what is turning out to be rather a wet and grey January in the UK.

Morrocan Market

The other good news for those who are trying to see off the extra pounds that Christmas invariably means is this soup is actually quite low in calories as well as being a real comfort food.  Add a little less liquid and you could eat it as a stew so it’s quite versatile too.  Make a batch and use extras to have as lunch during the week and bring warmth to January. Continue reading →

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup with Roasted Chickpeas

It seems like everyone is going down with colds just recently so I wanted to share with you a soup that is great for helping you/them get better!   An alternative to the classic chicken broth that traditionally is the cure-all for so many people.

I have to admit that I make this Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup because it is delicious but sometimes when I am feeling a bit sniffly I like knowing that It contains lots of herbs and spices that are held to help fight off symptoms of a cold or the flu.  I can of course, make no substantiated claims to this soup being a magic cure for colds and flu, but it always helps me feel as though I am doing something positive which is no bad thing and at least there is no eye of newt or tongue of toad needed in this caldron/saucepan to make this potion/soup!   It does, however, contain:

  • ginger as an highly effective against nausea, a powerful anti-inflammatory, great for treating indigestion and for fighting infection.
  • garlic which is renowned for its cold and flu fighting properties. It has anti bacterial  properties
  • chilli is very high in vitamin C. Capsaicin is the wonder property here and is reported to have anti oxidant and anti inflammatory properties
  • cumin Is held to increase antioxidant intake and promote digestion
  • ground coriander reportedly has anti inflammatory and anti bacterial properties as well as aiding digestion
  • turmeric’s active ingredients is curcumin which is said to be anti-inflammatory and to increase anti-oxidant capacity. Black pepper increases the absorption of curcumin by something like 2000% – so always have pepper with turmeric.

Continue reading →

Sweet Potato Satay Soup

I love a good soup.   This Sweet Potato Satay one is pretty special.  Ok I know it’s not a flavour combo you’d probably expect in a soup but it works.    It’s warm and spicy with the flavours of chilli, garlic and ginger and sweet and earthy with red lentils, carrots and the sweet potatoes themselves.  It’s full of good things that fight both a cold and the cold itself,  and yet it’s satay flavours lend themselves to being eaten in warmer weather when you need a pick up.  It’s “accidentally” vegan, gluten free and if you have a nut allergy works as a spiced sweet potato soup if you don’t add the peanut element.  It’s an all round winner!

Of course the use of the peanut satay flavours in this soup doesn’t make this an authentic Indonesian dish   We are entering the same battlefield as M&S are at the moment with their biryani wrap in terms of authenticity.  To call a soup satay (which historically was essentially a meat kebab) is technically incorrect,  but my use of satay here does give you an extremely good idea of this soups flavour profile which I can’t think of any other way of doing so succinctly.

Depending on the time of year, I like to adjust this soup’s thickness/viscosity.   In the winter I like it thick and almost dhal like.  In the summer, by letting the blended soup down by adding water, I like it looser and more of a traditional soup consistency.  This is all a matter of personal preference of course so do whatever feels right for you. Continue reading →

Chicken, Olive and Tomato Traybake with Herb Dressing

Who doesn’t love a Traybake?  Particularly one which has chunky, crispy garlic croutons, intense and lush tomatoes and pops of salty black olives – and I have even mentioned the juicy but crisp skinned chicken and is dotted with a basil and parsley oil.  All the flavours of the Mediterranean but in a Traybake.  Easy enough for a weeknight but special enough for a kitchen supper with friends

Tomatoes

My tomatoes in the greenhouse are on their last hurrah and so I’ve used some of the last of them in this dish before I turn the remainder into chutney but shop bought will do as well as the roasting intensifies the flavour.

I love how this recipe uses bread – be it the remains of a sourdough loaf or ciabatta as it is a great way of using up bread that’s just past it’s best.  You must used a “textured” loaf for this as sliced supermarket bread hasn’t got the body to stay intact when rolled in the tomato and chicken juices.   The crunchy, toasty-ness that it brings to the dish is the savoury equivalent of dunking a biscuit in a cup of tea.  Quite wonderful and quite addictive. Continue reading →

A Bun in the Oven – Rabbit with Plums and Port

Michaelmas Daisies, Michaelmas Goose.  Michaelmas Fairs.   Today, 29th September is St Michaels Day or Michaelmas!  Traditionally in the rural calendar this was an important “Quarter Day”.  The day which signified the beginning of Autumn,  when the harvests were supposed to have been all brought in, rents paid and land bought and sold.   Things are a bit different nowadays of course.  Autumn is starting to make its presence felt with fiery reds beginning to light up the countryside and the nights drawing in.   In my garden the michaelmas daisies are in full bloom and pears, apples, quinces, blackberries and plums are all at their best.

Hyssop

As a result of all this bounty, the rabbits and pigeons have  grown plump eating the windfalls and hedgerow berries as well as anything left unprotected in the vegetable garden – with cabbages and lettuces being particular favourites! It’s a perfect time to take advantage of this plumpness and get your own back by eating them.  Sorry if I sound a bit like Mr McGregor here always chasing after Peter Rabbit to put in a pie and obsessed with protecting my plants! Continue reading →

Aubergine Parmigiana

It’s been a wonderful year for tomatoes and aubergines and I have had a bumper crop!  But, to be honest I’d make this dish at anytime of year as the flavours are somehow rich, lively and vibrant yet comforting.   Just what you want in any season.  Layers of soft aubergine, bright tomatoes, zingy fresh basil and unctuous, stringy mozzarella  topped with a crunchy breadcrumb and parmesan topping.  Yum yum pigs bum!  Except there is no meat in this – pig or otherwise!

The first time I made this for Chloe (my goddaughter) was before she was vegan.  She loved it so much that I now regularly make it for her using vegan mozzarella and parmesan both of which are really excellent in this dish.  The brand I use is Violife.  When I make if for myself I use dairy cheese.  If I am making for both Chloe and me then a cocktail stick pushed in to the assembled dish stops any confusion and – in our house – leads to a chorus of “spot the vegan” sung to the cartoon tune of “stop the pigeon”.   I make it in individual dishes but there is nothing to stop you making this in one large dish for a family sharing meal though you’ll need to adjust the cooking time by adding an extra 15 mins.  I usually accompany the dish with either a dressed salad or green beans as a side. Continue reading →

Mushroom Soup

There is a distinct nip in the air in the mornings now and I am beginning to turn away from salads in favour of something more homely and comforting.  A bowl or a mug of soup is the equivalent of a food hug and I am happy to huddle down in the kitchen with some, yet, if the weather sunny it’s something I often take outside to eat in the garden. It makes a great packed lunch put into a flask especially if you take a bread roll to eat alongside (or dunk in) !   I particularly like taking this soup with me when I take the dogs for a walk.   It fits right in with foraging for sloes and picking wild damsons or blackberries for a crumble or pie.   I love  Plum, Hazelnut and Sloe Gin Crumble  so I am always on the look out for damsons.  Mind you a great apple pie is hard to beat and there are lots of apples about at the moment as well as wild blackberries.

When I was young, soup tended to come in tins.   We weren’t allowed anything to do with the Campbells in our house (something to do with the Campbells betraying the rest of the clans to the English at a highland gathering they were hosting) so it was either Heinz or Baxters.   Tomato was my favourite (Heinz) and Oxtail or Mushroom were my brothers.   I have very fond memories of those days but homemade mushroom soup is an absolute revelation compared to the canned stuff.   I will never be able to open a can of it again.

Mushroom soup maybe doesn’t look the prettiest soup in the world but boy does it taste wonderful.  There are a lot of mushrooms about in the countryside right now.  As I much as I’d like to be able to channel my inner Antonio Carluccio I’m not an expert when it comes to identifying mushrooms so I often end up making this with bought mushrooms rather than foraged ones. *  My favourite one for this are chestnut or field mushrooms though you could always garnish this with some fancy varieties such as girolle or morel if you wanted to look fancy! Continue reading →

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