Recipes

Onion, tomato & chickpea soup

Onion, tomato & chickpea soup

Couverts6
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 red onions roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 625 g tomatoes skinned if liked, roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons harissa paste
  • 3 teaspoons tomato purée
  • 400 g can chickpeas drained
  • 900 ml vegetable stock or chicken stock
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions and fry over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until just beginning to brown around the edges. Stir in the garlic and sugar and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring more frequently as the onions begin to caramelize.
  • Stir in the tomatoes and harissa paste and fry for 5 minutes. Mix in the tomato purée, chickpeas, stock and salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes until the tomatoes and onion are very soft. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
  • Ladle into bowls and serve with warm tomato ciabatta.

Notes & Wine Advice

For chillied red onion & bean soup, make up the soup as above but omit the harissa and add 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika and 1 split dried red chilli when frying the tomatoes, then swap the chickpeas for the same size can of red kidney beans. Serve with garlic bread.
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Course; Soup / Vegetables
Diets; Vegetarian

Spring vegetable broth

Spring vegetable broth

Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 2 celery sticks with their leaves chopped
  • 2 leeks chopped
  • 1 carrot finely diced
  • 50 g pearl barley
  • 1.2 litres vegetable stock
  • 1 teaspoon English mustard
  • 125 g mangetout sliced diagonally (optional)
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the celery, leeks and carrot. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the pearl barley, stock and mustard, season to taste and simmer for 20–25 minutes. Add the mangetout, if liked, and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Ladle into warmed soup bowls and serve piping hot.

Notes & Wine Advice

For winter vegetable broth, make up the soup as above using just 1 chopped leek and adding 125 g (4 oz) finely diced swede. Simmer for 20 minutes then add 125 g (4 oz) finely shredded green cabbage instead of the mangetout. Simmer for 10 minutes then ladle into bowls and top with diced crispy grilled bacon.
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Course; Soup / Vegetables
Diets; Vegetarian

Beef & barley brö

Beef & barley brö

Couverts6
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Ingredients

  • 250 gbraising beef fat trimmed away and meat cut into small cubes
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 200 g swede diced
  • 150 g carrot diced
  • 100 g pearl barley
  • 2 litres beef stock
  • 2 teaspoons dry English mustard optional
  • salt and pepper
  • chopped parsley to garnish

Instructions

  • Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the beef and onion and fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until the beef is browned and the onion just beginning to colour.
  • Stir in the diced vegetables, pearl barley, stock and mustard, if using. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 1¾ hours, stirring occasionally until the meat and vegetables are very tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with a little chopped parsley. Serve with warm potato bannocks or farls.

Notes & Wine Advice

For lamb & barley hotchpot, substitute the beef for 250 g (8 oz) diced lamb fillet and fry with the onion as above. Add the sliced white part of 1 leek, 175 g (6 oz) each of diced swede, carrot and potato, then mix in 50 g (2 oz) pearl barley, 2 litres (3½ pints) lamb stock, 2–3 sprigs of rosemary and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 1¾ hours. Discard the rosemary, add the remaining thinly sliced green leek and cook for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with a little extra chopped rosemary to serve.
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Course; Beef / Meat / Soup

Spiced lamb & sweet potato soup

Spiced lamb & sweet potato soup

Couverts6
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 500 gstewing lamb on the bone
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ras el hanout Moroccan spice blend
  • 2.5 cmpiece fresh root ginger grated
  • 2 litres lamb stock or chicken stock
  • 75 g red lentils
  • 300 g sweet potato diced
  • 175 g carrot diced
  • salt and pepper
  • small bunch of coriander to garnish (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the lamb and fry until browned on one side, turn it over and add the onion. Cook until the lamb is browned all over and the onion just beginning to colour.
  • Stir in the garlic, spice blend and ginger, then the stock, lentils and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours.
  • Add the sweet potato and carrot, bring back to a simmer then re-cover and cook for 1 hour. Lift the lamb out of the soup with a draining spoon, put on to a plate then carefully remove bones and excess fat, breaking the meat into small pieces. Return the meat to the pan and reheat if needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
  • Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with torn coriander leaves and serve with hot fennel flat breads.

Notes & Wine Advice

For homemade fennel flat breads, to serve as an accompaniment, put 200 g (7 oz) self-raising flour and ½ teaspoon baking powder into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds that have been roughly crushed using a pestle and mortar and a little salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, then gradually mix in 6–7 tablespoons of water to make a soft dough. Cut the dough into 6 pieces, then roll each piece out on a lightly floured surface until a rough oval shape about the size of a hand . Cook on a preheated ridged frying pan for 3–4 minutes each side until singed and puffy.
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Course; Lamb / Meat / Soup

Chilled lettuce soup

Chilled lettuce soup

Couverts6
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Ingredients

  • 25 g butter
  • 4 spring onions sliced
  • 250 g peas shelled fresh or frozen
  • 1 Romaine lettuce heart leaves separated, rinsed
  • 600 ml chicken stock or vegetable stock
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • 6 tablespoons double cream
  • salt and pepper

To serve

  • 12 Little Gem lettuce leaves
  • 1 small fresh prepared crab on the shell about 150 g (5 oz)
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • a little paprika

Instructions

  • Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the spring onions and fry for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add the peas, cook for 2 minutes then shred and add the lettuce. Pour over the stock, add the sugar and a little salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
  • Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes until the lettuce is wilted but still bright green. Allow to cool slightly, then purée in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir in the cream, then taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Chill well.
  • Ladle the soup into small bowls set on plates. Serve with Little Gem lettuce leaves topped with a small amount of crab mixed with the mayonnaise and lemon juice and sprinkled with paprika.

Notes & Wine Advice

For chilled watercress soup, heat the butter as above, slice 1 small leek, add the white slices and 200 g (7 oz) diced potato, cover and fry gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 750 ml (1¼ pints) chicken or vegetable stock, season then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the green leek tops, 2 bunches or 200 g (7 oz) watercress, cover and cook for 5 minutes until the watercress is just wilted. Purée in batches as above, then return to the pan and mix with 150 ml (¼ pint) milk and 150 ml (¼ pint) double cream. Chill well. Serve in shallow bowls with a swirl of cream.
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Course; Soup

Yogurt, walnut & cucumber soup

Yogurt, walnut & cucumber soup

Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • ½ cucumber
  • 25 g walnut pieces
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 4 stems dill
  • ½ slice white bread torn into pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 400 g low-fat natural yogurt
  • 4 tablespoons cold water
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • salt and pepper

To garnish

  • little extra olive oil
  • few chopped walnuts
  • dill sprigs

Instructions

  • Peel off half the cucumber skin, then roughly chop the cucumber. Put it on to a plate and sprinkle with a little salt. Set aside for 20 minutes.
  • Rinse the cucumber with cold water and drain well in a sieve. Put the walnuts, garlic, dill, bread and oil into a blender or food processor and whiz until finely chopped. Add the cucumber and yogurt and blend again until the cucumber is finely chopped. Mix in the water, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill well.
  • Ladle into glasses. Drizzle the top with a little extra olive oil, sprinkle on a few walnuts and a sprig or two of dill. Serve with strips of toasted pitta bread, if liked.

Notes & Wine Advice

For minted yogurt, almond & cucumber soup, salt the cucumber as above. Omit the walnuts, garlic and dill, adding 25 g (1 oz) ground almonds and 2 stems fresh mint in their place. Blend with the bread and oil as above, then add the rinsed and drained cucumber, yogurt, water, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Blend again, then chill. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a swirl of olive oil, a few toasted flaked almonds and some tiny mint leaves.
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Course; Nuts / Soup / Vegetables

Bloody mary soup

Bloody mary soup

Couverts6
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil plus extra to serve
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 red pepper cored, deseeded and diced
  • 2 celery sticks sliced
  • 500 g 1 lb plum tomatoes, chopped
  • 900 ml vegetable stock
  • 2 teaspoons caster sugar
  • 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 teaspoons tomato purée
  • 4 tablespoons vodka
  • few drops of Tabasco sauce
  • salt and pepper
  • baby celery sticks with leaves to garnish

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and fry for 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Stir in the red pepper, celery and tomatoes and fry for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Pour in the stock, add the sugar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée and a little salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Allow the soup to cool slightly, then purée in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Sieve if liked then pour back into the saucepan. Add the vodka and Tabasco to taste, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Chill well.
  • Ladle the soup into small bowls or glasses, add tiny celery sticks, drizzle with a little extra olive oil and sprinkle with a little extra pepper.

Notes & Wine Advice

For virgin mary & pesto soup, fry the onion in the oil as above, add the red pepper, celery and tomatoes, then simmer in 900 ml (1½ pints) stock mixed with 4 teaspoons sun-dried tomato paste and 2 teaspoons caster sugar for 15 minutes. Purée with 1 tablespoon pesto. Chill and serve with a little extra pesto added to each bowl and garnished with a few tiny basil leaves.
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Course; Soup

Chilled almond & grape soup

Chilled almond & grape soup

Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 100 g stale ciabatta bread crusts removed
  • 600 ml chicken stock
  • 100 g blanched almonds
  • 2 garlic cloves sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • salt and pepper

To garnish

  • 3 tablespoons flaked almonds toasted
  • 150 g seedless grapes halved

Instructions

  • Tear the bread into pieces into a bowl, pour over 150 ml (¼ pint) of the stock and leave to soak for 5 minutes until softened.
  • Grind the almonds and garlic together in a food processor or liquidizer until they form a fine powder then add the soaked bread with its stock, the oil, vinegar and a little salt and pepper. Blend together then gradually mix in the remaining stock.
  • Chill for at least 2 hours. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, then ladle into small bowls and sprinkle the grapes and flaked almonds to garnish. Serve with fresh ciabatta.

Notes & Wine Advice

For chilled tomato & almond soup, make up the soup as above, soaking the bread in 150 ml (¼ pint) stock then mixing in 450 ml (¾ pint) extra stock along with 150 ml (¼ pint) passata. Chill well and garnish with toasted flaked almonds, 4 pieces sun-dried tomato in oil and some basil leaves in place of the grapes.
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Course; Fruit / Nuts / Soup