300ml/10fl oz/1¼ cups pouring cream
150g/5oz blue cheese, plus extra to garnish
1 Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion, leeks and garlic and sweat over a low heat for about 6–8 minutes until the vegetables have softened. Add the bay leaves and chopped potato and cauliflower and sweat them for another moment or two. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
2 Next pour in the warmed stock and the cream and bring to the boil. Continue to boil for about 2–3 minutes then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and simmer for a further 10–15 minutes until the vegetables have softened. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
3 Remove the pan from the heat and stir in half the blue cheese. Using a hand-held electric blender, blitz the soup, adding additional stock if you desire. Some people prefer a thicker or thinner soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning then reheat it gently.
4 Serve the soup garnished with the rest of the crumbled blue cheese on top.
ROASTED RED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP
The colour of this soup is so inviting and it is a great way to use up the glut of early autumn tomatoes.
SERVES 6–8
3 medium red (bell) peppers
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1kg/2lb 4oz ripe plum tomatoes, halved
700ml/1¼ pints/3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (see Chapter 5) Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
or water
A pinch of brown sugar (optional)
100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup pouring cream
TO GARNISH
Crème fraîche
Snipped fresh chives
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), Gas mark 5.
2 Arrange the peppers on a baking tray and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Season with a little salt and pepper and roast in the oven for about 25 minutes until they are very soft and the skin is blistered. Put the peppers into a large bowl and cover tightly with clingfilm (plastic wrap), which will allow the skins to peel away easily. Leave until cool enough to handle, then peel away the skins, deseed and chop the roasted flesh roughly.
3 Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium–high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes until golden. Add the tomatoes and continue to sauté for a further 5 minutes or so, until well heated through and just beginning to break down. Add the chopped peppers at this stage. Stir in the stock or water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15–20 minutes or until all the vegetables have softened completely.
4 Remove the pan from the heat and, using a hand-held electric blender, blitz to a smooth purée. Season to taste and add the sugar if you think the soup needs it. Sometimes the pepper can cause the soup to be a little bitter.
5 To serve, add the cream to the soup then return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil. Season to taste and ladle into warmed serving bowls. Garnish each bowl with a small dollop of crème fraîche and a sprinkling of chives.
SPICED PUMPKIN SOUP
Pumpkin tends to be quite bland, so it often needs the addition of some spices to liven it up a little. This recipe will let you make use of all the flesh that gets scooped out when you’re making Halloween decorations!
SERVES 6–8
50g/2oz/½ stick butter
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 large potato or sweet potato, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 leek, trimmed and chopped into large chunks
2 celery sticks, chopped into large chunks
900g/2lb pumpkin flesh, chopped into large chunks
½ medium onion, peeled and chopped into large chunks
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp curry paste or a pinch of crushed dried chilli flakes or 1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
75ml/3fl oz/ 1/ 3cup pouring cream
1.25 litres/2 pints/5 cups chicken or vegetable stock (see Chapter 5) Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
TO GARNISH
About 1 tbsp crème fraîche
About ½ tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 Slowly melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the vegetables and garlic and mix thoroughly, then pan-roast over a medium heat for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them sticking to the pan.
2 Season lightly at this stage then add the curry paste or chilli and allow to infuse with the vegetables.
3 Next add the cream and two-thirds of the stock. It is best to add just this amount of stock now, as it allows you to adjust or correct the consistency more accurately before serving. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a constant simmer and simmer for 15–20 minutes or until all of the vegetables have softened.
4 Remove the pan from the heat and, using a hand-held electric blender, blitz the soup until smooth, adjusting the consistency with the remaining stock as required. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly. For those that are more daring, you may wish to add extra chilli flakes.
5 Divide the soup either among little mini pumpkins, out of which you have scooped all the flesh, or teacups and saucers. Garnish with a little crème fraîche and toasted pumpkin seeds and serve.
TIP
This is a basic soup recipe, which you can vary depending on what you like. Try substituting the pumpkin for carrot and ginger, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, or parsnips.
CREAMY MUSHROOM AND THYME SOUP
Mushroom soup is a classic, but this version is particularly fabulous as the thyme adds a real edge. It’s a recipe that can be made ahead of time and then just reheated as required. I normally use two-thirds button (white) mushrooms in this soup and one-third wild mushrooms, as the wild mushrooms are much more expensive.
SERVES 6–8
900g/2lb selection of mushrooms (mixture of button/white and wild), sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
4–5 fresh thyme sprigs
50g/2oz/½ stick butter
1 leek, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
50g/2oz/ 1/ 3cup plain (all-purpose) flour
1.25 litres/2 pints/5 cups boiling chicken or vegetable stock (see Chapter 5) Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
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