Courgette Soup with Mint and Lemon – how to make a glut vanish !

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At some stage over what remains of the summer, a friend will drop in with a slightly desperate look in their eye. They will ask you how you are and there will be small talk as you wait for the kettle to boil. The friend will be clutching (but studiously ignoring) a mysterious newspaper-wrapped parcel and you’ll frown and wonder if they bring it everywhere with them.

Halfway through a pot of tea, the friend will suddenly ‘remember’ the mysterious parcel and casually mumble through a mouthful of chocolate biscuit crumbs:  “Oh, by the way, I brought you some courgettes, fresh from my garden.” If you haven’t got a courgette plant churning out the little blighters almost by the minute, accept gratefully and make this light, summery soup. If you have got a courgette plant, you’ll almost certainly produce a newspaper-wrapped parcel of your own as the friend takes their leave…

The friend will be clutching a mysterious newspaper-wrapped parcel...

For 3-4 servings of light summery soup you will need…

25g butter (or 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil)

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest

500g courgettes, sliced

1 litre of well-flavoured chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon of very finely chopped fresh mint

Melt the butter (or heat the olive oil) in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and lemon zest and cook gently without colouring for 8 - 10 minutes or until translucent. Add the sliced courgettes, followed by the stock. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until the courgette is soft.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add in the fresh mint and blend until you’ve turned the vegetables into a smooth liquid – a stick blender is the perfect tool for this. Taste and add salt and pepper only if necessary.

Serve it just as it is, or with a sprinkling of fresh herbs and/or a swirl of cream.

OK, that's 3 courgettes taken care of. Only another 7 to go...

...What’s your favourite recipe – savoury or sweet - for making a crop of courgettes vanish?

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Light Mussel Chowder – thanks Neptune !

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When I was about sixteen, I was in a restaurant with my parents, politely doing battle with a bowl of mussels - and losing. A large party of foreign tourists (Dutch, I think) was just leaving, when one of the men stopped at our table. “Allow me,” he said, taking the fork from my surprised fingers. He replaced it with one of my discarded mussel shells, “This is a gift from Neptune,” he explained, and demonstrated that I should use it, tweezer-like, to tug the mussel from its shell. Much easier! Thank you, rather cheeky but kind stranger. It’s how I’ve tackled this shellfish ever after.

I love the briny flavour of mussels, so redolent of the seaside. They are at their best over the winter months and are usually relatively cheap as shellfish go. They are highly perishable so eat them as soon as you can after purchase, or within 24 hours.

I adore them a la Marinière with frites of course, and lots of French bread to mop up the precious juices. Lately though, this is how I’ve been cooking them:

For 4 servings redolent of the seaside you will need...

100mls dry cider (or dry white wine)

100mls water

1kg mussels, rinsed several times in cold water to remove excess grit and sand 

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of parsley stems, very finely chopped

1 stick of celery, peeled of stringy bits, and finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 fat clove of garlic, very finely chopped

2 medium potatoes, cut into 1cm dice

approximately 250mls chicken stock

a pinch of saffron* soaked in 2 tablespoons of hot water for at least 20 minutes

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon corn flour dissolved in 1 tablespoon of cold water 

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaf 

 

1                    First prepare the mussels: Discard any with broken shells and any open mussels that fail to close when rapped sharply. Mussels use a fibrous tangle of threads (or beard) to anchor themselves. Tug sharply on the beard in the direction of the hinge (the narrow part of the shell) to remove it. For this dish, I don’t bother removing any barnacles that cling to the shells as I’m going to discard them once the mussels are cooked.

2                    Pour the cider (or wine) and water into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat. When the liquid is boiling, tip in the mussels and cover with a lid. Boil rapidly, occasionally shaking the pan back and forth over the heat so that the fragrant steam cooks the mussels evenly. It will take 3 or 4 minutes for the mussels to cook. The shells will open when they are done.

3                    Remove from the heat and tip into a colander over a bowl to catch the juices. Remove the mussels from their shells (using ‘Neptune’s tweezers’) and set aside. Strain the juices into a 1 litre measuring jug to remove any bits of sand or grit (I usually get about 500mls of liquid from this quantity of mussels). Add enough chicken stock to make the liquid up to 750mls.

4                    Rinse the saucepan clean and place it back on the hob over a medium heat. Heat the olive oil then add the parsley stems, celery, and onion and cook without colouring until the onion is soft and translucent (about 5 – 7 minutes).

5                    Add the garlic and cook for a further minute before adding the potato. Pour in the mussel juices, strain the golden liquid from the saffron into the pan, and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 12 minutes or until you can easily crush a potato cube with the back of a fork. Stir in the corn flour and cook for a minute or so until the soup thickens slightly. (If you want a thicker chowder, lightly crush the potato cubes with a potato masher).

6                    Add the mussel meat and chopped parsley leaf to the chowder and allow to heat through for a minute or so. Taste and add a little black pepper. I don’t add salt. The chowder is usually salty enough from the mussels. Serve with this quick and easy fresh soda bread. 

Note: The saffron doesn’t make much difference to the flavour but improves the look of the dish no end, so put it in if you have it.

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Lightly Spiced Carrot Soup – Liquid sunshine!

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The choice at my supermarket the other day was an odd one. I could have a 1kg bag of carrots (already half a kilo more than I actually wanted) ... or I could have a 3kg sack at one-third of the price of the smaller bag?  Why can’t they do that kind of maths with chocolate?

It was a no-brainer but what on earth to do with the 2.5kg of carrots left over.

They’ve been cut into sticks and used to transport Hummus and Melitzanosalata (Roasted Aubergine Dip) to my mouth.

They’ve been made into veggie samosas.

They’ve been shredded into a carrot and orange salad.

They’ve been roasted along with a Piri Piri / Peri Peri / Pili Pili chicken.

They’ve been made into Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

Oddly enough, I’m not sick of carrots yet but boy is my eyesight super sharp this week and I swear my ears are longer and kinda floppy. I’ve used up the last of the carrots in this lightly spiced carrot soup – a bowl of liquid sunshine and a lovely light meal for the dog days of summer.

For 4 – 6 servings of 'sunny as a bowl of sunshine' carrot soup you will need...

1 teaspoon coriander seed

½ teaspoon cumin seed

3 green cardamom pods

2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter

1 stick of celery, peeled of stringy bits and roughly chopped

2 medium onions, roughly chopped

750g carrots, skinned and sliced or diced

1 litre of chicken stock (or vegetable stock to keep it vegetarian)

½ teaspoon fine table salt*

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

Transfer the toasted spices to a bowl (or mortar, as in the photo)

First, toast the coriander seed, cumin seed and cardamom by placing them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, swirling them around the pan to toast them evenly and to keep them from burning. This will only take a couple of minutes so don’t leave them unattended. They are done when the colour deepens slightly and they begin to smell toasty and spicy. Take them off the heat and transfer them to a bowl (or mortar) to prevent them from cooking further. Remove the cardamom seeds from their pods, discarding the pods.

When they have cooled, crush all three spices to a coarse powder using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder if you have one, or you could put them on a chopping board and roll over them with a rolling pin.

Next, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the celery, onions and carrots and stir to coat with the oil. Turn down the heat to the gentlest of sizzles and cover the pan with a lid. Let the vegetables ‘sweat’ gently for about 10 minutes. You are not looking to brown them.

Add the toasted, crushed spices, stock and salt and pepper to the saucepan. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Remove from the heat and puree to a smooth cream (a stick blender is ideal for this job).

Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

The well-mannered, posed picture...

I served it with a swirl of crème fraîche and a handful of fresh coriander leaf but parsley, basil or chives are also good.

Moments later - have I mentioned my coriander addiction...

(tho' basil, chives, parsley or chervil are all equally good with this soup)

* If your stock is already quite salty, hold off on adding any salt until you’ve tasted the pureed soup as it may not need it.

Schlurp! That's all folks!

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Tomato and Carrot Soup – bloomin’ luverly!

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As a small child, himself knew his great grandmother, a Victorian lady who apparently had a habit of going around with her skirt tucked into her bloomers. Her great grandson remembers that she adored tomato soup, which she would sop up with chunks of bread. I never met her, but I have a vision of a Queen Victoria-like figure schlurping up her soup, then wiping her tomato-stained gob with a lace-cuffed sleeve – a sort of Eliza Doolittle character.

I asked if the Victorian’s soup was likely to have been homemade. Himself is inclined to believe that it was tinned.

Tastes like this!

Today’s recipe is homemade… from a tin - or rather a carton. That might seem a contradiction in terms however, unless you have a fantastic supply of sun-ripened San Marzano tomatoes, you’re much more likely to get the best flavour for soups and sauces from pasata (sieved tomato pulp) or tinned tomatoes. Look for brands with a conscience and go for products with nothing added. There should only be one ingredient on the label. Tomatoes!

For 6 – 8 portions of bloomin’ luverly tomato soup you will need…

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 carrots, finely sliced

1 onion, finely chopped

2 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (approximately 250g prepared weight)

1 fat clove of garlic, chopped

750ml pasata (or 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes)

750mls chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon of fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon of dried thyme)

½ teaspoon sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the carrot and onion. Give them a quick stir to coat them with the hot oil then turn down the heat, cover and allow to cook gently without colouring for about 8 minutes. Next, add the diced potato and chopped garlic, stir and once again, cover and this time allow them to cook for about 4 minutes.

Next add the pasata, stock, thyme and sugar. Turn up the heat until the liquid comes to simmering. Lower the heat, cover and allow to simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Blend the contents of the saucepan to a smooth cream – a stick blender is perfect. Taste and add salt and pepper to suit your palate.

Serve with crusty bread.

I scattered the top of the soup with a little proscuitto and some finely chopped fresh celery leaves. 

Other toppings I like for this soup are shredded fresh basil; Parmesan croutons with fried bacon bits; or a simple swirl of crème fraiche, though I'm not beyond following the Victorian's example!

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Carrot, Coconut & Cardamom Soup... conspiring to comfort !

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I am studiously avoiding the bathroom scales because I know that after a Christmas of feasting it will more than likely say: “Gerroff, ya great lump!”

I got brilliant advice from a friend on how to lose weight instantly: “Turn the scales back 5kg on the 1st of January!” Unfortunately my bathroom scales are digital and they refuse to tell even the whitest of white lies. L If I’m to swap the slightly cuddlier post-Christmas me for a healthier lower-fat me ‘lite’, then it will be down to diet and exercise.

Luckily, with the turn of the year (and following multiple overdoses of chocolate truffles, mince pies, Christmas cake ...) I am craving healthy stuff – winter salads, green vegetables al dente, and soup, lots of lovely warming soup.

Today it is bitterly cold so I’m thinking... the sweetness of carrots, I’m thinking ... the warmth of cardamom ... the fresh zing of orange zest. So far, so good (tasty and reasonably healthy). However... I can’t quite leave behind the craving for richness against the harshness of winter, so I’m thinking a great big comforting swirl of nutty, creamy coconut milk.

The response from my coconut-detesting taste-tester?  “Oh ! That’s good !”

Healthy stuff...

 

For 6 - 8 portions of sunny soup that will surprise even a coconut-hater you will need...

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive (or 15g butter)

3 pods of cardamom, seeds only, crushed

½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest (orange part only)

500g carrots, (prepared weight), peeled and sliced

1 onion, finely chopped

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

750ml good quality chicken stock

1 x 400ml tin of unsweetened coconut milk

Salt and white pepper to taste 

Finely chopped coriander leaf or parsley to serve, and some crusty white bread or a delicious nutty wholemeal bread won't hurt

 

Method

Place the olive oil (or butter) into a medium saucepan over a medium heat and add the crushed cardamom seed. Fry gently for about a minute before adding the orange zest, carrots, onion and garlic. Stir to coat in the oil (or butter), then turn down the heat to low.

Cover and cook gently without colouring for about 15 minutes, stiring every few minutes (if the vegetables appear to be sticking, add a little more oil or butter and make sure the heat is low enough – if the vegetables are sizzling, the heat is too high).

Next, add the chicken stock and unsweetened coconut milk. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and leave to cook gently for a further 15 minutes.

Finally, puree the soup – a stick blender is the perfect tool for this job. Taste and add salt and a little white pepper if necessary.

Serve with a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley or corriander leaf, or get posh and instead serve with parsley or corriander leaf oil artfully dotted on top.

Tuck in!

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French Onion Soup – Ooh là là!

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The smell of frying onions reminds me of fairgrounds; of treasure hunting in a drizzly Camden Market; of hotdogs on a New York street corner; of the gently sizzling start of many a comforting soup, stew or casserole.  Proust, you can keep your Madeleines.

What I am after today is something even the fickle sugar rush of chocolate can’t provide. I need a bowl of no-nonsense, unapologetically pungent, solidly satisfying French onion soup with a lid of thick cheesy croutons.

Just as Ooh là là! has acquired a different meaning in English, French onion soup has come to mean an onion soup made with beef broth. However, if you can get someone to make you this dish in France, it is just as likely to be made with a chicken stock or just plain water. I’ve chosen a middle ground, going for chicken stock, as I find the beef version too ... well, too beefy. I’m in an onion sort of mood and that’s what I want this soup to sing of.

(The traditional method is to place the croutons on the soup, cover with cheese and put the whole lot under a hot grill but I find that preparing the croutons separately is quicker and safer.)

To create a little Ooh là là! for about 4 people you will need...

...for the soup

75g butter

1kg onions, peeled and sliced thinly into half moons

1L good chicken stock (or 350mls dry white wine and 650mls stock)

2 tablespoons of whiskey or brandy (optional)

a small bunch of thyme

2 or 3 bay leaves

time and patience (about 2 hours worth)

a little salt and black pepper to taste 

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat and add the onions. Turn down the heat and cook the onions gently until they have reduced dramatically in volume and have turned a deep caramel brown (anything up to 2 hours), stirring occasionally, particularly towards the end.

Add the stock, whiskey or brandy (if using), and the bunch of thyme and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.

At this point it is ready to serve, however, I prefer to leave it cool, then chill it in the fridge overnight. I scrape off and discard any butter than has congealed on the top before reheating while I make the croutons.

Transform the humble onion into a pot of gold

 

... for the croutons

8 slices of baguette, about 1.5cm thick

1 clove garlic, peeled

100g Gruyere (or a mixture of Gruyere and Mozzarella) grated

Place the slices of baguette on a baking tray and bake at about 175°C for about 15 minutes or until golden, turning once about half way through the time. Leave to cool.

When the soup is ready to serve, rub the croutons lightly with the clove of garlic, place on a baking tray and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Place under a hot grill until golden and bubbling.

Ladle the soup into bowls and launch two croutons on the surface of each golden oniony sea. Serve immediately. Ooh là là !

Ooh là là !

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Butternut Squash Soup with Sumac and Coriander Seed – good thinking, sunshine!

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I had been looking to try out the jar of sumac that I’d found recently. While I searched for divine inspiration, a ray of sunshine obligingly blazed through the window and lit up a butternut squash that had been lingering in the vegetable basket for the past few weeks. Good thinking, sunshine! This creamy, filling and surprisingly healthy soup is the result. It tastes even better the next day. Alchemy at work!

For 6-8 bowls of sunshine, you will need...

1.5kg butternut squash

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sumac*

1 teaspoon coriander seed, finely crushed

½ teaspoon salt 

a further 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 stick of celery, peeled of stringy fibres and finely chopped

1 fat clove of garlic, crushed

1.25 litres chicken stock or vegetable stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley 

I love the aroma released when the coriander seeds are crushed
- definitely worth the slight effort it takes.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C

Using a sharp knife cut the butternut squash into quarters. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Rub the quarters with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place in a shallow roasting tray, skin side down. Sprinkle evenly with the sumac, coriander seed and salt. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 50 minutes or until tender. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle. Then, scoop out the tender flesh. Discard the skin. 

Roasted sunshine!

Meanwhile, heat another 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and celery, and cook gently without colouring until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for a further minute then add the roasted flesh from the butternut squash, followed by the stock. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Liquidize the contents of the saucepan – a stick blender is perfect for this. Taste before adding salt and black pepper according to your own taste. 

Sprinkle with the chopped parsley before serving.  

*Used in Middle Eastern and some Mediterranean cuisine, sumac is a berry that is usually sold dried and crushed to a coarse powder. If you can’t find sumac, a ½ teaspoon of grated lemon zest works well as a substitute in this soup.

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