Again with cumin? Curried parsnip soup.

 

Full cream, butter, and spices are essential, sustaining elements in our minus thirty temperatures.

What to do with the humble parsnip but apply cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper.

 

 

 

 

1 lb parsnip, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 oz butter

1 ½  tsp garam masala or to taste

5 C chicken stock

5 oz 35% cream

Black pepper & parprika to taste

 

 

Saute vegetables 5 mins.

Season.

Saute further 5 mins.

 

 

Add stock and simmer 40 mins.

Puree.

Add cream and heat.

Do not boil.

Season to taste.

 

Dust liberally with paprika.

 

 

Chillled Red Pepper Soup

Perhaps you’re one of the fortunate few with a neighbour who grows vast quantities of peppers?  I have Frederick and his secret garden.  After preparing this dish I can state with absolute certainty that I will never buy commercially prepared soup again.   It’s never too late for a chilled soup. Lots of flavor!

 

Ottolenghi Chilled Red Pepper Soup

 

 

 

For 4 persons.

1 onion-chopped

3 tbsp oil
8 sage leaves-sliced

4 red peppers-chopped (we had Shepherd) Set aside ½ diced pepper.
2 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin
1tsp sugar
1 dried chili-chopped
2 cups stock

1 celery stalk

zest of ½ lemon
1 clove garlic-crushed

basil leaves-chopped

parsley-chopped

sour cream

 

Sauté onion, sage, and peppers for 10 mins.  Add peppers, bay, cumin, sugar, chili, and stock.

Simmer 15 mins.
Remove bay and puree soup. Cool.
Add remaining pepper, zest, and garlic.  Chill.
Serve with basil, parsley, and sour cream.

 

Man In Comfortable Shoes Bearing Crab Soup

 

Firstly, I’m shocked that you’ve opened a tin of crab meat for this dish.  Isn’t that running contrary to your manifesto or something?  First rule:  shun all things canned. Secondly, you’re wearing socks.  This is the first time in six years? Have you been replaced in the night with a more sensitive human being?

Mrs. F has taken up knitting.  Can you believe this?  After the endless scarves, she turned to socks. 

Shouldn’t homemade socks be purple or yellow & green stripey things?

Mrs. F has made twelve pairs of red socks for herself.  I told her I will wear only white.  She has made one pair and that was my lot.  And thank God because they itch like a bastard.

I think that was very generous of her.  Before we start we should raise a glass to Devon and Cornwall.  Things have been a little damp over there.   Our very dear friends are down in Cornwall.  You’d get on famously with them.  She made the best tomato sandwiches.   Of course that was back in the old days when tomatoes had taste.  How on earth do you stand travelling through Florida?  I don’t need to tell you what they do to tomatoes down there.  What do you do, smuggle a crate down with you?

You would say I martyr myself for the cause. 

I feel sorry for Mrs. F

She’s too busy mixing drinks to notice.

 

 

Devonshire Crab Soup

For 2 persons.

 

1 oz butter

1 onion

1 stalk celery

3 oz long grain rice

2 C milk

8 oz crab meat

1 C chicken stock

2 tsp fish sauce

2 TBSP brandy

5 oz 35% cream

Sauté onion and celery with butter. 

Add rice and milk.  Cook for 15 mins. Puree.

Add crab, stock, brandy and sauce.

Simmer, heating through. Add cream-don’t let it boil.

 

Wellington Boot Soup

My dear man, how did you know?

We are the only people that rake leaves.

Spinach soup?  That’s not very seasonal.

It was on sale.  Besides I’ve grown so many damn onions.  I like soup.  When I was younger, my family took soup at every meal. But back then, it was more like water soup.  We’ll see what we can do with crab. Speaking of the old country, fancy a drop of the old medicinal?

See you in ten.

 

 

Simple Spinach Soup

For 4 persons.

 

2 oz butter

1 onion, sliced

8 C spinach, torn

2 oz flour

1 C stock

2 C milk

2 TBSP 35% cream

1 TSP nutmeg

salt & pepper, to taste

 

 

Sautee onions in butter.  Don’t brown. 

 

Add spinach and cook further five minutes. 

 

Add flour and stir well.

Add stock and stir.

Add milk and bring to boil.

Add nutmeg and simmer 20 minutes.

Season to taste.

Puree.

Serve with fresh cream.

 

Celebration Soup

 



Parsnip, Potato & Onion w/ scallop, horseradish cream

 

For 2 persons

1/8 C 35 % cream
1/8 C 2% milk
1/4 C grated horseradish

Bring to boil, simmer, cool, whip.

1 TBSP butter
1/2 lb parsnip
1/4 C diced potato
1/4 C diced onion
2 C stock (I had pheasant stock leftover)  [Don't underestimate a pheasant.]

Sautee vegetables, add stock, simmer 25 minutes.  Puree.

2 scallops

Seer 3 mins per side.  Pat dry. 

Dress with whipped horseradish cream and chives.

 



Cauliflower Soup & Ginger Cake~from the archive

Left to my own devices this week with the jolly, fat man off at some tasting or other. Decided on the Ginger Cake for the first week of Xmas cooking.  Turned  to the 2012 Holiday edition of the Food & Drink.
 

For the uninitiated, a ginger cake batter performs a little differently than your typical mix. It doesn't flow out of the bowl into the cake pans; you have to drag it out, kicking and screaming. A ginger batter will not self-distribute in the pan. You have to do it for it. Finally smacking the tins on the counter five or six times to cancel air pockets. How do you now if this has been successful? You don't. It's a matter of faith. This is a well seasoned cake-ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, cloves and is great for a miserable rainy day, like Sunday.

 

 

The frosting was a dismal failure and I'm sure with time, I'll come to understand what went wrong. It's butter and icing sugar-how difficult could it be? The icing has separated from the buttery mass and remains to this day, a sticky pool in the bottom of the bowl.

Soup was successful and I recommend this if for no other reason than the garnish. Lemon juice, garlic, paprika, olive oil. Dress the soup with a generous amount of cheese, garnish and parsley. See below for recipes.

 

 

 

Ginger Cake

3 cups flour

1 TBSP baking powder

½ TSP baking soda
2 TBSP ginger

2 TSP cinnamon

1 TSP allspice, nutmeg, black pepper

½ tsp ground cloves & salt

1 C butter

½ cups brown sugar
3 eggs
½ cup fancy molasses
1 C milk

Blend first ten ingredients.

Beat butter, adding sugar until well combined; add egg; add molasses.

Add ¼ flour mix, followed by ¼ milk until all combined.

Coax the batter into pans. Smooth surfaces.   Bang pans on counter to remove air pockets.

Bake 40 mins at 325C.

 

Cauliflower & Potato Soup

Recipe not terribly essential here. Go with your instincts. This is soup, afterall.

1 diced onion

1 stalk celery
1 head cauliflower
3 potatoes (any)
1 TBSP butter and oil of choice
1 clove gariic
1 litre chicken stock 

Garnish

2 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 ½ TSP paprika

1 C cheese grated (any)
2 TBSP parsley

Dice vegetables; sautee a few minutes; add stock; boil and then simmer ‘til tender.

Stir garnish ingredients.
Add  cheese to soup bowl, drizzle with oil mixture; tope with parsley sprinkle.
Hearty soup and a very tasty drizzle.