Rachel Allen - Home Cooking

SERVES 6 · VEGETARIAN (IF MADE WITH VEGETABLE STOCK)

This is a tasty and highly nutritious soup that freezes very well. Feel free to substitute the nettles with other greens such as spinach, watercress or sorrel. For the best flavour, pick young new nettles that haven’t been sprayed. Don’t forget to wear gloves while picking and chopping! The sting goes out of the nettles as soon as they hit the hot stock. Like all green soups, this should not be left to simmer for a long time or it will lose its fresh green colour and flavour.

25g (1oz) butter or 2 tbsp olive oil

110g (4oz) peeled and chopped onions

150g (5oz) peeled and chopped potatoes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

600ml (1 pint) chicken or vegetable stock (see page 326)

600ml (1 pint) milk

350g (12oz) nettles, destalked and chopped

2 demi baguettes or 1 thin baguette, cut in half

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 smoked mackerel fillets (about 150g/5oz in weight)

4 tbsp crème fraîche

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp dill

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (optional)

1Add the butter or olive oil to a large saucepan on a very low heat and when the butter has melted, tip in the onions and potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned.

2Pour in the stock and milk into the pan, bring to the boil and add the nettles. Cook, uncovered, on a high heat for about 1 minute until the nettles are just cooked — don’t heat them for too long or they will lose their fresh green colour. Remove from the heat and purée until smooth in a blender or using a hand-held blender. Check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

3Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, and prepare the crostini.

4With the baguettes running lengthways away from you, trim the ends of each loaf and then cut the remaining bread into six long thin slices. Arrange the slices on a baking tray crust side down and brush the olive oil over evenly. Bake in the oven for 6–8 minutes or until crisp and golden. Remove and allow to cool.

5Peel the skin from the mackerel and chop the flesh. Place in a blender with the crème fraîche, lemon juice, most of the dill, chilli sauce (if using) and a little pepper. Blend for a few seconds until smooth. Taste and season with a little salt, if necessary.

6When ready to serve, divide the mackerel pâté between the cooled crostini, spread evenly and sprinkle with the remaining dill. Ladle the soup into warm bowls, arrange two pieces of mackerel crostini on the side and serve.

65 minutes or until the spring onions have softened. Check the seasoning, adjusting it if necessary, and ladle into warm bowls to serve.

This is a wonderfully easy, warming soup with deliciously sweet garlic. As well as normal garlic, you could use wild garlic leaves in this soup, which are in season in April and May. Simply substitute for the chives and spring onions.

50g (2oz) butter

1 onion, peeled and diced

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 200g/7oz), finely diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

600ml (1 pint) chicken stock (see page 326)

300ml (½ pint) milk

300ml (½ pint) double or regular cream

1 tbsp finely chopped chives

4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

1Melt the butter in a large saucepan on a medium heat and fry the onion and garlic for 3–4 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 4–5 minutes.

2Pour in the stock, the milk and cream and bring to the boil. Stir in the chives and spring onions and simmer for about

This old-fashioned, rustic and hearty soup has been popular since the 18th century and makes good use of a cheaper cut of beef. It is ideal for warming up friends and family on a cold day.

1 tbsp plain flour Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.5kg (3lb 5oz) oxtail, cut into 3 cm (1¼in) pieces and trimmed of excess fat

2–3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

3 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely sliced

1 bay leaf

1 sprig of thyme

6 peppercorns

2 cloves

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 litres (3½ pints) beef stock (see page 326)

1Sift the flour onto a large plate, season with salt and pepper and toss the oxtail pieces in the flour to coat evenly. Place a large saucepan or casserole dish on a high heat, add 1–2 tablespoons of the oil and fry the oxtail pieces in batches, adding more oil if necessary, for 4–5 minutes in total, or until they are well browned all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2Add the onion, carrots and celery, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook on a gentle heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft but not browned.

3Return the oxtail to the pan and add the bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, cloves, tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper, pour in the stock and bring slowly to the boil, skimming off any frothy impurities that rise to the surface. Reduce the heat to very low, cover with the lid and gently simmer for about 3 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Continue to occasionally skim off any impurities as well as any melted fat.

4Remove from the heat and strain through a colander over a large bowl to catch the liquid. Tip the meat and vegetables into a large, shallow bowl and leave to cool a little. Add a few ice cubes to the liquid and wait for the fat to solidify and rise to the top, before removing and discarding it. Once the meat and vegetables are cool enough to handle, discard the bay leaf and thyme stalks (the cloves will be blended into the soup later) and remove the meat from the oxtail bones.

5Pour the liquid into a blender with the reserved vegetables and two-thirds of the meat (you may have to do this in batches) and blitz to a smooth soup, then return to the pan. Add the remaining chunks of meat and bring slowly to the boil. Check the seasoning and serve immediately.

Alphabet pasta is available in larger supermarkets, but use what other little shapes you can get hold of, such as small rings, tiny shells, little bows, wheels, stars or moons — they are fun additions to soup, amusing adults just as much as children. You can use raw chorizo or chicken instead of the bacon, if you prefer.

1 tbsp olive oil

150g (5oz) streaky bacon, thinly sliced

1 onion, peeled and diced

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 × 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 litre (1¾ pints) chicken or vegetable stock (see page 326)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½–1 tsp caster sugar

100g (3½oz) alphabet pasta or other small pasta shapes

2 tbsp finely shredded basil (optional)

1Add the olive oil to a large saucepan on a high heat and fry the bacon for 3–4 minutes or until crisp and golden. Tip in the onion and garlic, reduce the heat and gently cook for 8–10 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add the tomatoes and stock and season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar.