Recette du jour

Soup

The nights are drawing in, summer has receded into the memory banks and the weather is getting greyer, colder and damper.

After an hour or so of trudging home in hot and sweaty, germ laden trains, can anyone face standing in front of the stove for another hour ?

What we need now are quickly made, healthy, balm for the soul comfort foods.

We need to rehabilitate the humble soup !

But soup is just a starter.

It's not a real 'meal', is it ?

You can add things and bits to it just before serving. It adds a new lease of life to even the most simplest of soups.

Forget croutons though.

I'm talking about roughly chopped, grilled streaky bacon ... those left over vegetables from the weekend ... drop in a few cubes of blue cheese ... whatever

Above all, don't forget nice bread that you can rip chunks out of .... think rustic


Carrot and coriander soup

Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 20 mins (+/-)

Ingredients :

1 clove of garlic (germ removed)
1 Large onion
450 g of Carrots
3 tablespoons of fresh, roughly chopped coriander
1/2 Litre of stock (made with a stock cube will do)
3 oz of butter
1/2 Litre of milk
Salt and pepper to taste



Method :

1) Peel and chop the onion, the carrots and the garlic.
2) Place the vegetables and half the coriander into a pan, cover with the stock and leave to cook gently until the carrots are tender (15 to 20 minutes).
3) Run everything through a sieve, blender or liquidiser then transfer to a a clean saucepan.
4) Over a very low heat, melt in the butter, stirring continuously.
5) Once the butter has been thouroughly incorporated, add in the milk - simmer for about 2 minutes.
6) Adjust the seasoning ( pinch of salt and pepper will do) just before serving, throw in the remaining coriander.

Serve as it is with tons of bread ... add in very finely chopped peppers ... boiled and chopped potatoes will turn it all into a very satisfying chowder affair ...


Courgette and blue cheese soup

Preparation time : 10 minutes
cooking time : 30 mins (+/-)

Ingredients :

1lb of courgettes (topped, tailed and sliced)
1 large onion (peeled and chopped)
1 clove of garlic (de-germed)
2 oz of butter
1 litre of stock(stock cube will do)
2 tablespoons of roughly chopped fresh basil
6 oz of blue cheese
1/4 pint of cream
Salt and pepper to taste


Method :

1) Melt the butter in a heavy pan - add in the onion and the garlic, leave to fry gently until soft and lightly coloured (5 mins)
2) Add the courgettes and cook whilst shaking the pan and gently stirring (10 minutes)
3) Pour on the stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat - add in 1/2 of the basil and a pinch of salt and papper.
4) Cover and leave to simmer, stirring from time to time.
5) Cut the cheese into small dice and place it into a liquidiser with all but 4 tablespoons of the cream - blend to make a smooth purée.
6) Add in the now cooked soup to the purée - one ladle at time - blend it in with the purée (depending on the size of the machine, you may need to do it in batches).
7) Return the soup to a clean pan and heat through thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasoning then garnish with the remaining Basil.

Serve as it is or with left over vegetables ... pieces of Broccoli are excellent ... throw in a handfull of leftover peas ... even left over coliflower .....


Potato and onion soup

Preparation time : 20 minutes
cooking time : 10 - 15 mins (+/-)

Ingredients :

12 oz of potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 large onion (peeled and finely sliced)
1 bay leaf
1 oz of butter
1 1/2 pints of stock (beef stock cube will do)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method :

1) Melt the butter in a heavy pan - add in the onion leave to fry gently until soft and lightly browned (5 mins).
2) Add the diced potatoes and stir until they have absorbed the fat and are starting to colour.
3) Pour on the stock, add the bay leaf, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat - add in a pinch of salt and papper.
4) Cover and leave to simmer, until the potatoes are cooked through(10 -15 minutes).
5) remove the Bay leaf and serve immediately.


Serve plain as it is or with grated cheese which melts deliciously ... left over boiled ham, cut into chunks ... for the traditional french onion soup; replace the potatoes with onions .....


Bon appetit !


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