Tomato and pepper soup with pecorino and basil

I never thought this would be one for the blog. I made this one monday night after a weekend away when I hadn't had time to shop and there were not many very exciting things around in the kitchen. A yellow pepper, a small handfull of cherry tomatoes. A piece of percorino cheese - small and not so fresh and appealing-looking any more even though it was still perfectly ok. Do you know the kind? They often get treated unfairly, the poor sods. Anyway. A can of pelati unearthed from the kitchen drawer and dinner was saved. While I expected this soup to be tasty and filling, I never thought that we would end up scraping the soup ladle with our spoon after we had mopped up every last bit from our plates. Use only fresh tomatoes if you can for even more summer in your plate, I simply didn't have enough fresh so I resorted to tinned.

Tomato and pepper soup with pecorino and basil (serves 2)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 yellow pepper, finely diced
• 5-6 cherry tomatoes, halved or
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 400g-tin tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 basil leaves, finely chopped
• a small piece of pecorino cheese, grated

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion and garlic and gently fry until soft. Add the pepper and cherry tomatoes or the chopped tomato and fry for another minute before adding the tinned tomatoes. Half-fill the tin with water and add it to the pan together with the stock cube. Simmer the soup for twenty minutes, then blend until smooth. Add the sour cream and season to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with the basil and the pecorino cheese. Drizzle with some extra olive oil if you like.

If you want your soup to be perfectly smooth you'd have to peel your peppers and tomatoes, even with a top-notch blender, there will still be some of the pepper and tomato skin left otherwise.

Bean soup with sausage, celery, carrots and tomatoes

The Boyfriend and I are moving to another city. Only in december but I'm dreading it now already. As much as I'm looking forward to living in a new place, I just find moving so unsettling. Rummaging through my kitchen cupboard the other day, I found a half-empty bag of soissons beans in a remote corner and immediately decided they had to be cooked for fear of having to pack and unpack them in a couple of months. I hear there are pulses where we are going. Apart from the beans I had some sausage that needed to be used up and that's how this meal came together. Autumn has been creeping in and this dish fits the weather perfectly.

Bean soup with sausage, celery, carrots and tomatoes (serves 2)

• 160g of soissons beans
• a pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 large ground meat sausage
  
• 2-3 celery stalks, finely chopped
  
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
  
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small dried chili, crumbled
  
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 sprigs of dill, finely chopped
  

Soak the beans with the bicarbonate of soda in cold water over night. Drain and cook until soft. (I used my tried and tested pressure cooker and it took only ten minutes.) Blend the beans and the garlic with some of the cooking water until smooth. Pour back into the pan and season with salt and pepper. While the beans are cooking, prepare the topping. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and roll into small balls. Fry them in a large frying pan until nicely browned, then remove. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper, add the olive oil and heat gently. Add the celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook the vegetables until just done. Add the sausage balls, tomatoes, chili and dill and correct the seasoning. Divide the soup between two plates and top with the sausage and vegetables.

Minted pea soup

During my year in England, I once bought a bag of minted peas by mistake. And I hated them, peas tasting of toothpaste not being my idea of a nice meal. Never again, I thought. But when thinking about what to make with the frozen peas sitting in my freezer, I realised that the pea-mint-combination was actually great, provided you use fresh mint and get the seasoning right in order to prevent your dish from tasting overly sweet. My minted pea soup is a combination of several versions I found on BBC Food. I served it with melted goat cheese on slices of sourdough bread - the taste of spring!

Minted pea soup (serves 2)

• 400g frozen peas
• 1 small onion, very finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
• a nugget of butter
  
• 4 dl vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• fresh mint, finely chopped, quantity according to tast
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter and gently sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add the peas and the hot vegetable stock. Simmer for a few minutes until the peas are soft. Blend, then add the sour cream and the chopped mint. Season with plenty of black pepper and maybe a little salt. For the goat cheese toasts, lightly brush two slices of bread (sourdough or brown) with olive oil and top with two slices each of a fresh but fairly firm goat cheese. Sprinkle a little pepper on top and place under the hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese starts to melt.

Thai-scented pumpkin soup

This soup satisfied two needs: the one to fix a nice and not too heavy (having indulged in the usual mountain-top restaurant food such as rösti and huge helpings of spaghetti over the weekend) supper in little time and the one to use up a half-used carton of coconut milk. The thai-style pumpkin soup was great to do away with the coconut milk but there's one thing: I bought lemongrass stalks and kaffir lime leaves for an authentic taste and as always, the little packets held more than I used in one go so I will have to find something else to make with that and I will possibly be forced to buy other ingredients in way-too-big quantities - dear, reader, can you see where this is leading? I'll be stuck in a culinary perpetuum mobile.

Thai-scented pumpkin soup (serves 2-3)

• 800g pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
• 0.5 onion, cut into strips
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pieces of lemongrass
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 0.5 small red chili, finely chopped
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• juice of 0.5 lime or lemon
• 2 tablespoons fine brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 dl coconut milk
• 1 handfull finely chopped parsley
  

Bash up the kaffir lime leaves and the lemongrass in a pestle and mortar. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion and fry over a low heat for a couple of minutes. Add the kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, chili and garlic and fry for another minute. Add the pumpkin and stir. Add water to just barely cover the pumpkin, then add the stock cubes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the pumpkin is almost tender. Add the parsley and simmer a little longer until the pumpkin is very soft. Remove the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and blend the soup until very smooth. Add the coconut milk, lime or lemon juice, fish sauce and sugar and stir well. Laddle into bowls and serve.

Turkish carrot, tomato and lentil soup

My 2007 challenge dish for week three was this turkish carrot, tomato and lentil soup for which the recipe can be found - guess where - on www.mediterrasian.com, here to be precise. I was wondering for a while whether that would count as a new recipe for 2007 seeing it's from a website and not a book. The thing is, though, I have pre-ordered their cookbook called The MediterrAsian Way and even though I don't know yet whether the recipe will be in there, I reckon that in making this soup I anticipate another book on my shelves, waiting to be used, so anyhow, that's good. Ok, I'm rambling - it's late, I've had a hectic day and I have to get some sleep. I'll cut this post short: I highly recommend this lentil soup, it's wonderfully creamy and bursting with flavour - perfect for cold winter nights. Careful with the quantities: I only made half and it was more than the Boyfriend and I could eat in one go. But then, soup-leftovers are never a bad thing.

Carrot Cappucino

If you've conscientiously read all my entries, ("what? You haven't?") you'll know that I am now the proud and happy owner of a small sachet of Dukkah, an egyptian spice mix. I used it for the first time recently and I'm in love. It tastes exotic yet familiar (probably due to the hazelnuts), you have a little taste and your palate is instantly alert with the canny combination of flavours and asks for more. Do I make myself clear? It's a bit like those aromatherapy shower gels which instantly give you a kick when you're half-asleep in the shower.

Carrot Cappucinos (serves 2)

• 500g carrots, peeled and chopped
• one tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• a sprinkle of turmeric
• water
• on stock-cube
• salt and pepper
• a little single cream, whipped
• 2 teaspoons of Dukkah spice mix

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Carefully fry the onion until soft. Add the carrots and turmeric and fry for another minute. Add the stock cube and enough water to cover the carrots. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the carrots are soft. Blend until very smooth. Ladle into bowls and put a little whipped cream on top. Sprinkle with the Dukkah (= cappucino effect).

This would be great as an amuse-bouche served in tiny espresso cups if you wan't to impress your guests.

Thai-spiced sweet potato soup

Winter has come and I am keener than ever on soup. Soups are (mostly) easy and quick to make, nutritious and usually low in fat. The perfect comfort food for cold days. I found the recipe for his thai-spiced sweet potato soup on mediterrasian.com. The site promotes the "mediterrasian" lifestyle for all its health benefits and it contains a number of mouth-watering recipes. I tried the sweet potato soup and really liked it, although I might add some grated ginger or some lemongrass the next time to give it a little more of a kick. If you're looking for something extra-healthy, you can leave the coconut milk out or reduce the quantity, even without it, the sweet potatoes give a wonderfully creamy and rich-tasting consistency to the soup. I put a sprig of parsley on top as a garnish. For a more authentic feel, use coriander or some chopped thai basil.

Spiced roasted vegetable soup

This is another of my monday night soups. Don't worry, it does not require the peeling the amount of pumpkins pictured above. It was a real success, I thought, definitely to be part of my autumn/winter repertoire. I ripped the the recipe out of one of my regular reads, Easy Living. Now who's to say all those glossies aren't worth the money?

Spiced roasted vegetable soup (makes two large bowls)

- 800 pumpkin, peeled and seeded
- 2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled
- 1 large carrot, peeled
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 0.5 teaspoons each of ground cumin, coriander and turmeric
- 0.75l vegetable stock
- lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- sour cream to serve (optional)

- cut all the vegetables (except for the garlice, leave it whole) into large chunks
- in a bowl, mix with the spices and the olive oil
- place on a large baking tray and roast in a preheated oven (200°) for about 40 minutes, stirring once or twice
- when the vegetables are soft and lightly browned, remove from the oven and let cool slightly
- place in a food processor, add some of the stock and blend thoroughly
- pour the purée in a pan, heat and season with lemon juice and salt and pepper
- laddle into big bowls and serve topped with some sour cream if you like.

The roasting really does the trick, the vegetables caramelize ever so slightly, giving to soup a faintly sweetish taste which makes for a gorgeous combination with the exotic spices. Blend the soup until very smooth, it will be irresistibly velvety.

Black eyed beans and vegetable soup

Monday is soup day at our house, the reason for this being that I ususally take advantage of the weekend to prepare a soup which can then only be reheated come monday night. I like to think of that as quite a brilliant concept: mondays are sometimes a bit difficult (at least for me they are) so the thought of a bowl of home-made, hearty soup at the end of the day with no work involved - apart from cleaning up - can really do something to cheer you up.

You may remember that I stock many varieties of pulses and that I'm determined to get rid of these stocks. The plan is proceeding extremely well and after making the above-pictured black eyed beans and vegetable soup, I only have a handfull of these ones left.

For two hungry soup-lovers, take

- 120g of black eyed beans (or another kind of beans), soaked overnight
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 50-60g smoky bacon (my piece was quite lean, use less oil if yours is fatty), chopped
- some dried or fresh chili (leave it out if you don't like the heat)
- 0.5 tablespoon dried oregano
- 150g chopped, tinned tomatoes
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- salt and pepper
- 1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

The night before making the soup, soak the beans in plenty of cold water. If you're like me and forget to do this, cook them in a pressure cooker for about ten minutes. In a large pan, heat the olive oil. Add the bacon, onion, chili (if using) and oregano and cook until the onion is soft. Add the carrots and cook for another minute, then add the beans, tomatoes, stock cube and plenty of water so that the beans and vegetables are completely covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes until the beans and the carrots are very tender. Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in the parsley.

I find that these kind of soups are even better when reheated, so do prepare it ahead if you can. It could also be frozen; the beans might disintegrate a bit but that won't affect the taste, only the look of the soup.

Mediterranean bean and fish soup

You may have read about my determination to get rid of all the foods I have in stock. You may also have read that I stock a quite, um, surprising amount of pulses. My plan forces me to think of a great dish starting from one ingredient (beans, for instance) or another (maybe another kind of beans). Last week I tackled the canned soissons beans. A fennel bulb and two small zucchini were available in the fridge and we also had a jumbo-sized can of chopped tomatoes, the kind they make with an italian family consisting of mamma, papà, five bambini and friends, la nonna and lo zio in mind (the can was not mea culpa, I swear). Being extremely pleased with using both the beans and the tomatoes, I concocted a

Mediterranean bean and fish soup (2-3 helpings)

- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small red onion, cut into strips
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 small zucchini, sliced diagonally
- 1 fennel bulb, cut into thin slices
- roughly 200g canned chopped tomatoes
- 1 can soissons beans or other beans, drained
- salt and pepper (black and white)
- 200g cod fillets, cut into thick strips
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teapoon grated lemon zest

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, fry the onion and garlic until softened, stirring frequently. Add the zucchini and fennel and fry for another two minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Rinse the beans and add them to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Season the fish with salt and white pepper and add to the soup. Cover the pan and simmer over a very low heat until the fish is done, about 10 minutes. Ladle into large bowls and serve sprinkled with parsley and lemon zest.

Cod flakes very easily, but that's fine with me for this kind of dish. If you're opposed to flaking, use a firmer fish such as lotte. Or you could make a somewhat fancier version and quickly fry a few shrimps and place them on your soup.

What happened to the rest of the tomatoes, you wonder? You think I threw them away? Never. Just wait for my next post to see where they ended up.

In the summertime

I'm having friends over for dinner tomorrow night and I was pondering various possibilities for tomorrow's menu this morning. I knew I wanted to serve something cool and refreshing as a starter but I also wanted it to be something special, not one of the ubiquitous summerfoods such as gazpacho or insalata caprese. Nothing wrong with gazpacho or insalata caprese but today I was looking for something with a little more of a twist. I finally settled on a chilled beetroot and cucumber soup. I love the beetroot's sweet, somewhat earthy taste, balanced by the cucumber's watery freshness. The soup's colour is amazing, too, a very dark pink with spreckles of green from the dill. Last but not least, I could make it today which will save me time tomorrow - handy when you work full time.

Chilled beetroot and cucumber soup with dill
(serves 4)

- 300g cooked beetroot, peeled and choppped
- 1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and chopped
- 2 tubs of natural yoghurt (360g)
- 1 dl vegetable broth
- 4 sprigs of dill, finely chopped
- 2 small sprigs of dill to use as garnish
- salt, pepper
- 2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

- put the vegetables, broth and yoghurt in a blender and blend to a purée
- stir in the dill and season with salt and pepper and chill for at least two hours or overnight
- serve in small bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream if using
- garnish each bowl with a small sprig of dill

The measurements in the recipe don't have to be followed to the letter. Taste the soup as you go and add a little more broth, yoghurt, salt, pepper etc. until you're happy with the result. I have made this soup with raw beetroot which I wrapped in foil and roasted in the oven and then blended into a purée. Beetroot tastes fantastic when cooked this way but it takes a lot of time. As you might not wish to spend hours in front of the hot oven these days (I didn't), I used precooked beetroot in the recipe. Another trick to speed things up is to use liquid broth concentrate instead of stock cubes, the advantage being that you can add cold broth to your soup and it won't take as long to chill.