A selection of soups...
Good Friday's post - a bit late!
"Half for you and half for me, between us two shall goodwill be"
In researching the history of hot cross buns today, I came across this quote which was said when a bun was shared to ensure good friendship throughout the coming year. I know the religious significance of the buns, but hadn't come across this before. What a great piece of information to find - perhaps they should be renamed 'Friendship buns' so we can eat them all year round!
These buns have been around a long time, and certainly recipes must have adapted over that time. Mine certainly bear no resemblance to the supermarket (thank goodness!) and are much firmer in texture.
I had said I would feedback about leaving the butter out, and yesterday realised I had also left out the sugar! Very healthy buns they were, and actually a little lighter than the trial batch I made last weekend. H isn't sure, I can tell, but then she likes the supermarket ones because they are what she knows. I'll keep baking my version as a friendship bun, see how they develop and try to convince H that they are the way to go...
Soup today. We have had showers of snow, interspersed with sunshine and it is still cold, although not as cold. Soup is perfect for lunch and means I can use up vegetables that are near their use by date. Today, I reach for the lonesome leek, the final half a dozen new potatoes and half an onion from the fridge drawer. I re-notice the pack of Italian Gorgonzola, that I bought reduced some time ago - boy, that is going to pong!!
It is a Gorgonzola Piccante - a centuries-old cheese still handmade in Italy. It takes 3 months to produce. As I open the packet, it doesn't scream at me, but sends out its 'blue' strength without overpowering the senses. It almost seems a shame, but I do want to put it in my soup.
Leek, Onion and Gorgonzola Soup (AKA Stinky Cheese Soup!)
Chop the onion and slice the leek, then cube the potatoes so they cook quickly.
I always leave the skin on potatoes as much as I can when cooking, conscious that the skin holds the nutrients. As we can never tell how long the vegetables have been out of the ground, it is a bit hit and miss how many of these nutrients we benefit from, so cooking in the skin, gives us at least a chance of grabbing any that are left!
Fry the onion and leek in 1 oz butter and 1 tbsp oil, leaving to soften in the butter for 2-3 mins, covered.
Add the potatoes, stir and then add 1 pint of hot water and a vegetable stock cube.
Stir this thoroughly to start the cube melting.
Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer for 15 mins, after which time the potatoes should be cooked. Test to make sure.
Add cubes of Gorgonzola to the soup and let it simmer for 2-3 mins while the cheese melts into the soup. This is where the change in the soup aroma happens and your stomach realises something good is about to happen!
Blend the soup. My hand blender suits me, as I like to have the odd bit of veg unblended. It is also easy and quicker than getting out the machinery and hoping the lid doesn't explode off from the heat. However, do what suits you.
Serve with some lovely (preferably Italian) bread warm from the oven. Mmmmmm!
I have regularly made soup since the beginning of the year, so here are a few more recipes from my diary:
"Half for you and half for me, between us two shall goodwill be"
In researching the history of hot cross buns today, I came across this quote which was said when a bun was shared to ensure good friendship throughout the coming year. I know the religious significance of the buns, but hadn't come across this before. What a great piece of information to find - perhaps they should be renamed 'Friendship buns' so we can eat them all year round!
These buns have been around a long time, and certainly recipes must have adapted over that time. Mine certainly bear no resemblance to the supermarket (thank goodness!) and are much firmer in texture.
I had said I would feedback about leaving the butter out, and yesterday realised I had also left out the sugar! Very healthy buns they were, and actually a little lighter than the trial batch I made last weekend. H isn't sure, I can tell, but then she likes the supermarket ones because they are what she knows. I'll keep baking my version as a friendship bun, see how they develop and try to convince H that they are the way to go...
Soup today. We have had showers of snow, interspersed with sunshine and it is still cold, although not as cold. Soup is perfect for lunch and means I can use up vegetables that are near their use by date. Today, I reach for the lonesome leek, the final half a dozen new potatoes and half an onion from the fridge drawer. I re-notice the pack of Italian Gorgonzola, that I bought reduced some time ago - boy, that is going to pong!!
It is a Gorgonzola Piccante - a centuries-old cheese still handmade in Italy. It takes 3 months to produce. As I open the packet, it doesn't scream at me, but sends out its 'blue' strength without overpowering the senses. It almost seems a shame, but I do want to put it in my soup.
Leek, Onion and Gorgonzola Soup (AKA Stinky Cheese Soup!)
Chop the onion and slice the leek, then cube the potatoes so they cook quickly.
I always leave the skin on potatoes as much as I can when cooking, conscious that the skin holds the nutrients. As we can never tell how long the vegetables have been out of the ground, it is a bit hit and miss how many of these nutrients we benefit from, so cooking in the skin, gives us at least a chance of grabbing any that are left!
Fry the onion and leek in 1 oz butter and 1 tbsp oil, leaving to soften in the butter for 2-3 mins, covered.
Add the potatoes, stir and then add 1 pint of hot water and a vegetable stock cube.
Stir this thoroughly to start the cube melting.
Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer for 15 mins, after which time the potatoes should be cooked. Test to make sure.
Add cubes of Gorgonzola to the soup and let it simmer for 2-3 mins while the cheese melts into the soup. This is where the change in the soup aroma happens and your stomach realises something good is about to happen!
Blend the soup. My hand blender suits me, as I like to have the odd bit of veg unblended. It is also easy and quicker than getting out the machinery and hoping the lid doesn't explode off from the heat. However, do what suits you.
Serve with some lovely (preferably Italian) bread warm from the oven. Mmmmmm!
I have regularly made soup since the beginning of the year, so here are a few more recipes from my diary:
Saturday 19th January 2013
Parsnip
soup… actually…. ‘Honey roasted parsnip soup’
Roast
a bag of peeled parsnips drizzled with honey in a low oven (150-170˚C for 45-50
mins, or until cooked.
Slice
an onion.
Heat
1tblsp oil in a pan and add 1tsp mustard seeds. When these start to pop, add
the onions and fry until flexible and golden.
Add
the parsnips and 1 pint chicken stock. Bring to the boil.
Simmer
for 20 mins.
Season
to taste and blend either in a lender (carefully!) or as I do it, with a hand
blender, making sure you leave some small lumps of parsnip if yu like a
chunkier soup.
Serve
this sweet soup with something salty or creamy. I chose Brussels
Sunday 27th January 2013
A
bright, sunny day today, but a cold wind. Brrr! Ideal weather to use up the
chestnut mushrooms that have sat unwanted in the fridge this week and make them
into Mushroom and Walnut soup.
Handful
porcini mushrooms, soaked in boiled water for 5 mins.
¾
packet (or more) chestnut mushrooms, chopped.
1
onion
2oz
butter
splash
olive oil
handful
of walnut pieces
1
pint chicken stock.
Melt
the butter into the oil on a low heat, then add the onions and cook for 2-3
mins, covering them for 2 mins to allow them to sweat rather than fry.
Add
the chestnut mushrooms and cook for a further 5 mins or until the juices start
to appear from them. Pour in the porcini mushrooms with their juices, then add
the stock and the walnuts.
Bring
to the boil.
Simmer
for 15 mins, and then serve chunky, or blend to taste.
Season
after testing flavour.
If
blended, add some cream to make ‘cream of mushroom’ soup, if you desire.
Serve
with a nice fresh chunk of bread.
Sunday 24th February 2013
Quick
Pea and Ham soup for lunch today. I kept the stock from the Ham I cooked last
week because it wasn’t too salty.
Chop
1 onion and fry to soften.
Add
diced, cooked ham and 1 pint of ham stock.
Add
3 good handfuls of frozen peas/petit pois.
Bring
to the boil.
Cook
for 7-8 mins.
Blend,
then add some extra pieces of chopped ham to add texture.
Season
in the bowl to taste.
Saturday 2nd March 2013
A
bright day, but still cold. Washing’s out in the breeze and there is time
before shopping to help advise H on making Sweet Butternut, Carrot and Parsnip soup for lunch. We’d brought the
ingredients last weekend, but had run out of time to make it. So, out comes the
¾ of the butternut squash (I used ¼ in the risotto on Wednesday), 3 large
parsnips and the remnants of the carrot bag (about 5).
Carrots
scrubbed (organic skins don’t bother me), squash and parsnip peeled, sliced and
diced, H mixed them up and put them in a roasting tin and sprinkled them with
olive oil.
They
went into the oven at 200 C for 40 mins – just enough time for these lovely
sweet vegetable to roast.
Once
done, they were popped into a saucepan and covered with boiling water, into
which was dropped a vegetable stock cube (Kallo organic cubes give a great
flavour).
After
bringing back to the boil, leave the soup to simmer for 10 mins.
Season
and blend. H left some chunks when she blended to add texture.
The
soup was thick and luscious, tasting of sweet parsnips. I did have the texture
of baby food a little, as pointed out by R, but we didn’t care – if it’s good
enough for baby… ;-)
Comments
Post a Comment