Souptastic!
You can't beat a nice bowl of home made soup. It is a filling lunch or supper that is very easy to make. It's especially cheap if you use seasonal vegetables and very nutritious. It's a delicious way of getting two or three of your five a day and I find it really fills me up at lunchtime especially with some nice home made bread. I first started making soups 10 years ago when I spent a year living in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They have big vegetable stores over there, packed full of every kind of fruit and vegetable and very good value too. It was during my stay that I fell in love with butternut squash!! It is more widely available in England now and a lot more popular on restaurant menus but 10 years ago it wasn't so well known. They eat a lot of it in South Africa and enjoy it roasted or mashed as well as in soups. At one point during my stay I was renting a small garden flat and my cooking facilities were limited to a 2 ring belling hob and a microwave. I still managed to cook myself a meal everyday, stir frys, pasta dishes, chilli and lots of soups. My favourite was spicy carrot and butternut and I still make it to this day. Of course if you aren't keen on spices you can leave the curry powder out and maybe add a little chopped coriander. However I find the spices really compliment the sweetness of the butternut squash.
The good thing about soups is that they are so quick to make and if you make a big pot you can have meals for several days in a row. They are also ideal for freezing. Lakeland do some good soup and sauce bags that are the right size for 2 portions to be frozen. Most soups start with a chopped onion sauted in a little sunflower or olive oil. You then add the veg of your choice and saute for another 10 minutes or so before adding vegetable stock, bringing to the boil and simmering for 15-20 minutes. They are then ready to be blended. I find the hand held blenders the most convenient to use as you can blend the soup in the pan you made it in and then reheat for serving. However there are also some good jug blenders and if you don't have either of these you can always pass it through a sieve. Even without any of these you could still make a delicious minestrone soup as this doesn't require any blending and is a perfect way of using up those odds and ends of veg - those last few carrots or potatoes and topping up with tinned tomatoes, frozen peas and spaghetti. This happens to be my two year olds favourite tea and he really made me smile when I put a bowl if it in front of him the other week and he said "mmmmm, delicious!"
Spicy carrot and butternut soup
1 large onion chopped
1 clove of garlic peeled and crushed
2 carrots peeled and diced
1 large butternut peeled, deseeded and chopped into medium chunks
1 teaspoon of medium curry powder (optional).
600 ml of vegetable stock
black pepper to taste
Begin by heating a teaspoon of sunflower oil in a large pan.
Add the chopped onion and cook gently for 5 -10 mins stirring frequently until softened.
Add the garlic, butternut and carrots, Stir, cover, lower the heat and saute for 10-15 minutes until softened.
Stir in the curry powder (if using) and cook for a minute.
Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
Season with black pepper according to taste.
Blend until smooth. You may need to add more water at this stage, depending on the thickness of the soup. Reheat and serve.
Minestrone
1 onion peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 large carrot peeled and diced
1 medium potato diced
1 celery stick diced (optional but really adds to the flavour)
1 leek or courgette diced
50g frozen peas or green beans (fresh or frozen)
400g tin chopped tomatoes
50g dried spaghetti (broken into smaller sections makes it easier to serve!)
1 tsp tomato puree
500-750 ml stock
salt and black pepper to taste
Heat a tsp of sunflower oil in a large saucepan
Add the onion and cook gently for 5-10 minutes stirring frequently until softened
Add the garlic, carrots, potato, celery and leek.
Cover, lower the heat and cook gently for 10-15 mins stirring 2-3 times
Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and 500ml stock and bring to the boil
Add the spaghetti and bring back up to the boil
Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes
Add the peas/beans and courgette (if using)
Simmer for another 5 minutes
Add the remainder of the stock depending on the thickness
Season with salt and black pepper according to taste
Last night my husband and I had a great meal out at the Spotted Cow in Farnham. Since having our son two years ago we have always tried to have a date night once a month. It is great to have unhurried time together just the two of us to talk and enjoy each others company away from the busyness of the home, our business and the demands that go with having a young child. More often than not we choose to go out for a meal. We enjoy great food and being inspired by the surroundings and menu. Last night we enjoyed a very delicious meal. For starter we shared a seafood platter; prawns, crab cakes and smoked salmon. For main we both had chicken breast wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cream cheese, served with creamy mash, carrots and broccoli (more about the veg in a bit), We managed to find room for dessert, I had a delicious apple and sultana crumble and my husband had sticky toffee pudding. It was a real treat!!
Now back to the veg part. We are constantly being told by the Government how important it is to get our five a day in terms of fruit and veg and some reports now even suggest we should be eating eight portions a day to protect against heart disease and cancer. I love fruit and vegetables and as a family we eat a lot as part of meals and healthy snacks. My two year old son has always loved his fruit and veg. Home made vegetable soup is one of his favourite teas. So why is it that when you go out to a restaurant for a meal the veg you get offered is often very limited? It's mainly carrots or broccoli and is a small portion in proportion to the meat and potatoes on the plate. Shouldn't restaurants be trying to encourage us to eat more veg by offering greater variety and more creative and exciting ways of serving them? Since watching Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall's series River Cottage Veg (where he chose to give up meat and fish for 3 months). I have been inspired to make one or two vegetarian meals a week for us as a family in place of meat and fish. At first my husband was a bit sceptical and thought that the meals wouldn't be very exciting and that he would still be hungry afterwards! But now he enjoys them just as much as the meals where we do have meat or fish and says that they can often be more interesting and flavoursome. This week we will enjoy aubergine kedgeree (from River Cottage Veg Everyday) but with my own twist added - mango chutney. I am also trying sweet potato and sweetcorn burgers for the first time. I have enjoyed developing my cooking skills in this area and the challenge of trying to create a tasty and filing meal without the meat or fish. So how about giving it a go and giving yourself that extra veg boost.
Aubergine Kedgeree.
Serves 4.
2 medium onions
2 aubergines
2 tsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp medium curry powder
300g basmati rice (brown or white, I prefer brown as it gives a more nutty flavour)
4 large eggs
1 tbsp mango chutney plus extra to serve
Black pepper
Preheat oven to 190c/gas mark 5
Peel the onions and cut into eighths.
Cut the aubergines into large chunks.
Place in a large roasting tray. Pour over 2 tsp sunflower oil, sprinkle with the curry powder and some black pepper. Roast for 40 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times.
While they are roasting cook the basmati rice in a pan of boiling water (10 minutes for white or 25 minutes for brown). Drain, then leave in the pan with the lid on to keep warm. While the rice is cooking boil the eggs for 7 minutes, drain, cool slightly and peel. Cut into quarters.
When the veg is cooked toss with the rice, stir in a tablespoon of mango chutney (according to taste), heat slightly. Serve topped with the egg and a bit more mango chutney if desired!
I have always enjoyed flapjacks. The oatey, gooey, sweetness of them makes them a filling snack and treat. I used to think they were a pretty healthy snack given that they are made with oats which is a wholegrain cereal, a good source of fibre and a low G.I food. However, they are also full of butter and sugar which means that most slices of them contain about 350 calories with about 20 grams of fat. Mmmm....okay as an occasional treat but not as healthy as I would of thought. I am always on the lookout for recipes that try to make a meal, dessert or cake recipe that little bit healthier by substituting the cream, butter, sugar with something else but without compromising on the taste. Lets face it some cakes that are low fat etc taste it and just don't measure up when you need something sweet. However over the past few years I have accumulated quite a few good cake recipes that are that little bit healthier but still taste great. My husband enjoys them all in his lunch box at work. For example chocolate mayonnaise brownies, banana and dark chocolate muffins and a good flapjack recipe that I came across on NetMums. It uses honey rather than golden syrup and a lot less butter with an egg to bind it together. I have made it ever since and like experimenting with different mixes of dried fruit or nuts in it. Dried figs, apricots and sultanas are good as well as a few flaked almonds. This week I have tried dried pear and ginger. (Dried pears are something that I came across recently in Waitrose and they are very yummy!)
Flapjacks.
Makes 9
180g rolled oats (not jumbo)
150g of dried fruit or nut of your choice eg sultanas, chopped apricots, cranberries, figs, dried chopped pear, walnuts, pecans or flaked almonds or dates.
50g butter
3tbsp runny honey
1 egg beaten
Preheat oven to 180C/Gas mark 4/Fan oven 170C.
Grease a 20 cm oven proof dish or baking tin.
Measure oats and fruit and mix together in a large mixing bowl.
Melt butter and honey together in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the hob.
Add to dry ingredients and mix to combine.
Add egg and mix again.
Pour into dish and level the surface.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes.
When removing from oven put a knife round edge to loosen mixture (as when cool may not come away so well). Leave to cool for 15-20 mins before cutting into slices, then leave until completely cool before removing from tin. Finish cooling on a wire rack. Can be stored in an airtight tin for a week.
I made beetroot risotto for tea tonight and it was delicious. I remember beetroot as a child, the pickled variety in vinegar that my mum bought from the supermarket. I never liked it! Now it is a different story. Since being married my husband and I have had an organic veg box delivered each week from Riverford. This has been a real enjoyment and challenge for me as a cook. The best carrots, tomatoes and oranges I have ever tasted and a whole variety of veg such as kale, celeriac, Swiss chard and whatever is in season at the time that I probably wouldn't have tried before. I would highly recommend it if your pennies can stretch to it as it makes you try vegetables you may not normally and experiment a lot more as well as being better for you and helping keep the air miles down on imported veg. Anyway, it was as part of this that I was first faced with raw beetroot and now I love it. As I say it comes raw and so you either have to boil it for about 45 minutes (which I usually do) or roast it in the oven. It is nice roasted with olive oil and and orange juice (cover with foil to stop it drying out.) It then needs to be peeled (wear gloves if you don't want pink fingers) and is ready to be used. I have enjoyed it on a home made pizza- beetroot and mozarella, chocolate beetroot cake (it makes a really moist cake that is not too sweet) and my latest is beetroot risotto. It is a basic risotto recipe with onion, garlic, stock and red wine. When it is almost cooked you stir in the beetroot (half grated, half chopped) along with some medium cheddar ( I used Waitrose Lighter medium cheddar) and I also added a few chopped anchovies and topped with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. It was really tasty and even my husband was surprised how good it was once he had got over the bright pinkness of it. My two year old son also ate it after initially turning his nose up, but again he may of been put off by the colour! So give it a go.
Serves 2.(and a toddler)
1 onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic crushed
6 ounces of risotto rice
100ml of red wine
600ml vegetable stock
50g medium lighter cheddar
3 anchovies (optional)
4 medium beetroot, cooked and peeled, half grated, half chopped
Greek yogurt to serve.
Method.
Heat a medium non stick pan with a little olive oil. Add onion and fry gently until softened. Add the garlic clove and rice and stir and cook for another minute.Add the red wine and cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Then add the stock a ladle full at a time, bring up to the boil and then simmer stirring regularly until the risotto is almost cooked. (you may need more stock depending on how quickly it absorbs it, but the secret is to keep the stock in a small saucepan on the hob on a gentle simmer and add a ladle a time to the risotto ) Then stir in the beetroot, cheese and anchovies (if using). Season and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt if desired and a green salad.
