Butternut squash & red pepper soup

With having half a butternut squash left over from this dish it seemed foolish to waste it, so I decided that I was going to make this wonderful soup that provides aromatic tones and sweetness - as well as a hearty small meal ideal for winter lunches or evening starters. We once had this on our xmas menu a while back, and never had any complaints or non empty bowls. I guess it went down well (he smiles).

You will need

1 red pepper (cut into 1cm pieces)
1/2 butternut squash (cut into same size as peppers)
250 ml milk
vegetable or chicken stock cube
pinch cinnamon
2 cloves
1 small red onion (top and root cut off and scored)
pinch nutmeg or mace
dash white wine
salt and pepper for seasoning.

Preparation

In a heavy bottomed pan on low heat, put in the pepper and the squash and the cinnamon. Add a little olive oil if youre worried about it sticking but i like to leave it out. Its up to you. Put the lid on the pan and keep it stirred every few minutes. we're aiming to get the most sweetness out of the squash and pepper so longer is better.

In a seperate pan add the milk, scored onion, nutmeg and cloves and bring to temperature on a low heat while the peppers and squash are fettling nicely.

When the squash has begun to soften (and turning to mush), keep stirring then add the white wine. Cook out for a few minutes, then add the milk infusion (strained) keep the onion though, and add it to the mix. Turn the heat up a little and allow our soup to come to a tempered simmer. add the stock cube (crumbled) and stir in, if the mix is a bit too tight feel free to add water - if it gets too thin it can always reduce and enhance flavour.

Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Stir occasionally, tasting each time. Season with salt and pepper where neccesary and blend.

Serve, and devour.

Leek & potato soup (with gratin)

Leek and potato soup is probably one of the soups out there that everybody loves. From my perspective its easy to understand why - the gentle onion flavour of leeks provides a wonder element to alot of dishes and in soups is quite unmistakable.

Here in present a twist on the original favourite, leek and potato soup with a potato gratin on top. Its a good deal more hearty than a leek and potato soup, but when i made this for mothers day I wanted a two dimensional element - a nice crisp on top with a sturdy cheese flavour, complementing the leek and bacon soup underneath.

You will need:

(for the soup)
4 leeks, washed trimmed and copped into small(ish) pieces.
1 medium sized potato peeled and cut into 1cm dice.
250ml milk
2 rashers of smoked bacon (cut into 1/2cm pieces)
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
250ml vegetable stock

For the gratin:
1 medium sized potato per serving, sliced very thinly (ideally on a mandolin)
mix of grated cheddar and parmesan

The doing bit:

In a large pan add a small amount of butter, heat till melted then add the bacon, potato and leeks on a moderate heat. Cover the pan and check every 3 minutes until the potatoes have coloured, and the leeks softened. At this point add the milk and nutmeg.  Bring to a simmer, then add the stock.Bring to a simmer once more until the potatoes have turned almost to mash. Remove from the heat and blend to a uniform consistency. Season where appropriate

For the gratin, sear each potato slice in a hot pan, then layer onto the soup in an ovenproof bowl overlapping until the soup is covered. Add the cheese and black pepper then put in a hot over (200C) until the soup is bubbling away, and the cheese has begun to do the same.

Devour.

Parsnip & Chestnut Soup (Another winter warmer)

Image courtesy of mistress-of-spices.com

I made this some years back during the winter, thinking along the lines of something to complement parsnips and the mid range in flavour tones they have, which is not to dissimilar from vanilla. I had thought along the lines of honey or similar, but then it hit me - a can of chestnut puree eyed me suspiciously from the shelf and thus this hearty winter warmer was born.

It is a very filling, sweet and comforting soup. If you are a fan of parsnips and generally sweet vegetables this will be right up your alley. Posted at the request of Jaffacake - this recipe hits all the buttons for the budding soupmaker. It works on a number of levels and can be applicable to alot of vegetables such as carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash and even turnip or mooli radish.

Feel free to play around with the recipe a little - use of mellow spices such as turmeric and cumin can make this dish even more pleasurable.

You will need (makes a large batch of about 4-6 portions)

3 or 4 parsnips, cleaned and peeled into ribbons. Chopping them up works but will take alot longer.
Can of chestnut puree
500ml milk
250ml vegetable or chicken stock.
1 large onion diced finely.
Teaspoon of butter or margarine

Heat up a large pan, add the finely diced onion and the butter. Cover the pan and allow the onions to sweat and soften, then add the parsnips. Allow the parsnips to colour slightly then turn the heat down to low and cover the pan until the parsnips begin to break up. Add the milk and allow to come up to temperature, but not boil, When the parsnips have turned to a mash texture, add the chestnut puree then blend to a uniform texture.

Add the stock, bring to the boil then simmer for approx 20 minutes. Taste and season appropriately

Serve while piping hot, and add a spoonful of honey if feeling adventurous.

Broccoli & Stilton Soup

image courtesy of lovefoodhatewaste.com

A classic soup - this combines helathy broccoli with tasty Stilton in order to crate a hearty and welcome soup. Back in the day i used to make this virtually daily, and as such this recipe employs a few tips and tricks to bring out the flavour of this wonderful soup to new heights. You wont be disappointed.

 Posted here at the request of Josh Brown, may he long enjoy this recipe :)

You will need (makes about 4-6 portions)

1 pint bechamel sauce
250ml vegetable or chicken stock
100ml white wine or dry cider
1 head of brocolli (chopped into roughly 1cm pieces - stalk included)
100g stilton
tbsp butter

The doing bit

In a large saucepan, add the butter and heat until bubbling. add the chopped broccoli and cover the pan and allow the broccoli to sweat until it begins to soften. Add the stock, bring to the boil then simmer.When the broccoli is completely soft, blend.

In a separate pan add the wine and stilton and heat gently until the cheese melts into the wine and forms a uniform paste.Heat the bechamel separately and add the cheese mix to the bechamel.

Combine cheese / bechamel mix with the broccoli blend. Cook at a simmer for a further five minutes and season if necessary.

Serve piping hot.

Beetroot Soup (A winter warmer)

Ordinarily I wouldn't go out of my way to buy beetroot. Don't get me wrong its a wonderfully useful vegetable, full of nutrients etc - it just often slips my mind. That said its quite low in calorie and generally good for you.

The shopping trip last night yielded some beetroot from the reduced section at a price that couldn't be refused, and as a result i decided to reunite with an old love - beetroot soup. Its extremely colourful, quite filling and very warming. And for the most part its healthy too!

You will need:

4 fresh beetroot (smallish) peeled and chopped into 1cm pieces
Pinch nutmeg
Tbsp butter
1 white onion (large) chopped to the same proportions
250ml whole milk
2 cloves
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock.
(optional) handful of fresh coriander chopped

The doing bit:

In a pan add the milk, cloves and a pinch of nutmeg. Warm the milk through and allow to infuse but do not let it boil.

Put the butter into a pan and heat until melted and bubbling. Add the onion and beetroot - put the lid on the pan and allow to "sweat" until the onions become soft. Add the milk infusion and the stock. Bring to the boil then simmer until the beetroot pieces become soft. Add any optional herbs & blend, then season if necessary with salt and pepper.

Serve piping hot, with an optional dollop of cinnamon creme fraiche.

Cream of asparagus & watercress soup

Alright, ill openly admit its more of a late springtime dish., but im sure that by now, were aware of my love for asparagus, and also fond of the fact that it can be obtained year round from most supermarkets. I will maintian however, that its best in the late spring.


This recipe combines the use of standard larder ingredients and a means to make your asparagus go a bit further. if like me you buy about 4 bunches of asparagus per week, then youll notice that the woody end bits are also useful. I tend to store these bits in a tupperware in the freezer - they dont go off that way and any essential nutrients are still preserved quite well until you need them.

This is a wonderful soup for lunchtimes - and has a nice uplifting feel. Its also quite healthy too.

You will need:

Woody ends from about 4 bunches of asparagus
1/2 pint / 250 ml vegetable stock
Handful of fresh watercress
1/2 pint  bechamel  / white sauce

In one pan heat the bechamel gently, stirring occasionally. In a seperate pan combine your asparagus bits and the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 10 mins, then strain the stock into the bechamel.

Throw in your handful of watercress, then blend to a uniform consistency.

Garnish with parmesan shavings and / or lemon zest.

Butternut Squash & Red Pepper Soup

Image courtesy of fxcuisine.com

With having half a butternut squash left over it seemed foolish to waste it, so I decided that i was going to make this wonderful soup that provides aromatic tones and sweetness - as well as a hearty small meal ideal for winter lunches or evening starters.

You will need

1 red pepper (cut into 1cm pieces)
1/2 butternut squash (cut into same size as peppers)
250 ml milk
vegetable or chicken stock cube
pinch cinnamon
2 cloves
1 small red onion (top and root cut off and scored)
pinch nutmeg or mace
dash white wine
salt and pepper for seasoning.

Preparation

In a heavy bottomed pan on low heat, put in the pepper and the squash and the cinnamon. Add a little olive oil if youre worried about it sticking but i like to leave it out. Its up to you. Put the lid on the pan and keep it stirred every few minutes. we're aiming to get the most sweetness out of the squash and pepper so longer is better.

In a seperate pan add the milk, scored onion, nutmeg and cloves and bring to temperature on a low heat while the peppers and squash are fettling nicely.

When the squash has begun to soften (and turning to mush), keep stirring then add the white wine. Cook out for a few minutes, then add the milk infusion (strained) keep the onion though, and add it to the mix. Turn the heat up a little and allow our soup to come to a tempered simmer. add the stock cube (crumbled) and stir in, if the mix is a bit too tight feel free to add water - if it gets too thin it can always reduce and enhance flavour.

Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Stir occasionally, tasting each time. Season with salt and pepper where neccesary and blend.

Serve, and devour.