Cauliflower Cheese and Gammon Soup

Now if I recall correctly, I once saw a recipe at some point for Cauliflower cheese soup and it slipped to the dark recesses of my mind as one of those hmm one day recipes... but when faced recently with the usual dilemma of er what to make for dinner but even more so as I was far away from home and in my aunties kitchen, and a fridge full of leftovers the filed away thought magically resurfaced with a ooh could I try it out? Would it work? Would it be weird.... 

On the Sunday prior I had made a fairly majestic mustard spiked cauliflower cheese but despite our best efforts, there was a tub leftover... that was until Wednesday, arriving home post a long drive and day to the lovely River Cottage clutching my lovingly hand made Apple, blackberry and Goats cheese soda bread and wondering what I could serve with it, the Cauliflower cheese soup idea came back to fruition and a star was born! I think in future I will have to make extra Cauliflower cheese purely to make soup with its leftovers! It tasted so good and was a perfect accompaniment to my bread! Oh and my home made butter!

Lovely leftovers!

Now I think it was gammon, it was either that or a bacon joint, either way it was another leftover that got added!

Making the finishing touches:

Serves 2

Easy

Ingredients:

400g leftover cauliflower cheese

1 clove minced garlic

400ml vegetable stock

1/2 tsp spicy Polish spicy mustard (if not a little more wholegrain-this is presuming your cauli cheese was already containing mustard too)

50g shredded cooked gammon or bacon

S&P

1 tsp oil

mint leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a saucepan, saute the garlic until softened, add the cauliflower cheese and stock, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the mustard, then blitz with a stick blender adding the gammon at the very end for a few seconds, season to taste

Serve, garnish with mint leaves if you have some or a similar herb.

As my recipe used up lots of lovely leftovers I am entering it into one of my favourite blog challenges - Fab Food 4 All's Credit Crunch Munch which was born from Fuss Free Flavours!

Leek and Potato Soup with Chorizo crumbs and Cheese croutons

With the nights drawing in and not only chilly starts but chilly nights too I do declare soup season officially open! I always enjoy making soup, there is something so nourishing and rewarding about it! I must admit I have no real memories of ever really eating leek and potato soup, its certainly the first time I have made it but I had some leeks going spare and I had bought a giant bag of potatoes going cheap and it sort of called out to me to make it!

Whilst the soup was lovely on its own…. do make the tiny extra bit of effort to make the topping too! The cheesy topped croutons are a doddle to make and the sweet smoky spicy chorizo pieces add a nice little extra bite! The soup reheats very well too the following day for lunch! I packed up a little container with the extra croutons and chorizo pieces and got some admiring looks in the works kitchen whilst assembling!

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 large leeks, trimmed and finely sliced

2 medium white potatoes, diced. I.e. maris piper variety

20g butter

800ml vegetable stock (1 heaped tsp marigold bouillon powder)

300ml milk

70g picante chorizo

2 slices wholemeal bread

2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan

Flavoured olive oil

Halve the chorizo lengthways and then slice each half lengthways again, finely slice so you have nice little thin quarters.

Heat a large deep saucepan and fry the chorizo for a couple of minutes to release the lovely oil but not burning the chorizo, scoop out into a bowl. Add the butter to the saucepan (and remaining chorizo oil), then fry the leeks for 4-5 minutes until softened, stir in the potato chunks and cover, reduce the temperature and gently cook them without browning for 10-15 minutes or until just softening. Add the stock, milk and stir well and re-cover, gently bubble away for 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Meanwhile, remove the crusts from the bread and brush with the oil on both sides, use a sharp knife to slice into little triangles. Keeping the triangles close together grate a thin layer of parmesan over the top, place on a baking tray and cook in a medium hot oven until crispy and lightly golden.

Blend the soup until smooth and serve in bowls, top with a couple of cheesy triangles and sprinkle over a few of the chorizo pieces.

A comfort hug in a bowl.

Marmite Noodle Soup and its Variations...

In an effort to fit into not one, but two bridesmaid dresses at the end of last year, drast action was needed as what with winter approaching vs bad knees; resulting in a distinct lack of exercise, and thus resulting in being a little curvier than the dresses required, this soup became my trusty dieting friend – and hooray the dresses both did up perfectly!

This is a soup that lacks finesse but makes up for on flavour! I love the savoury kick the marmite gives it, if however you are not a fan, you could substitute soy sauce. It is also a staple meal of mine post working late shift when you are hungry but don't want a heavy meal sitting on your stomach. 

Method:

Start by grabbing your intended serving bowl, fill with water, transfer to a pan and bring to the boil

Then stir in 1 tsp marmite and ½ tsp vegetable bouillon powder, add a handful of soup pasta/ noodles and add in either of the following

Half a grated carrot
Half a grated courgette 

Sliced mushrooms (lightly fry first in the pan)
Handful frozen mixed vegetables
Frozen peas
Sliced peppers 
etc!

Then reduce the heat to a moderate simmer for about five minutes or until the pasta is cooked through. 

If you prefer a thicker soup, add a little cornflour slackened with water to the boiling soup and stir vigorously. You can now serve up or turn it into a more protein boosted version with these optional extras:

Courgette version

Egg versions:

Turn off the heat, crack in an egg, don’t touch for 30 seconds then lightly whisk with a fork and serve immediately, preferably garnished with a little fresh coriander and a twist of black pepper. It doesn't look pretty but it tastes good!

Or quickly fry a one egg omelette, shred into the cooked soup

Prawn:
Once the soup is almost cooked, throw in a small handful of cooked peeled prawns, a little fresh coriander here too is welcome. 

Mushroom and Egg version

Basically the list is endless! Leftover scraps of meat work perfectly well too. It is a great way of using up fridge leftovers and super frugal!

I am also sending this over to Credit Crunch Munch created between Camilla from Fab Food 4 All and Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and also held this month by Helen

Meal Planning Monday w/c: 07/05/2012

I hope everyone had a nice bank holiday even if the weather has been soggier than the paper under a bag of hot chips! On Saturday I visited the Foodies Festival at Hampton court, and despite the rain and being frozen to the bone managed a few hours, think once the wine samples kicked in we felt better! Have come away with several goodies including some delicious fruit curds, crisps and plenty of inspiration!

Yesterday unfortunately saw me say goodbye to the twenties and entering my thirties. Though was told on several occasions I don't look it which is good! We went out for a delicious curry and visited a lovely place near me in Cobham, which has plants, little outlets selling all sorts of stuff, and a great little cafe where we stopped for lunch. And beer! Also managed to buy there some gorgeous fresh olives which are rapidly vanishing this afternoon! Some are smoked which is a first for me, they are intriguingly good!

Last weeks meal plan as always got several tweakings but didn't do too badly at sticking with it! The surprise highlight of the week were these pork patties I made on Thursday night:

In them went minced pork, lgihtly cooked grated carrot, breadcrumbs from the depths of the freezer, a few tbsp of some 'omega seed' mix and a little soy milk to bind. Alongside I cooked my groats as planned, and they are a definite new favourite. They faintly reminded me of oatmeal and are a little bigger than couscous grains. Were good both hot that night, and cold the next day in my lunchbox, along with another pork patty!

the second highlight were as posted on Wednesday were my bannocks, with broccoli and pesto soup. A thriftily good recipe!

So moving on to this week, I have not planned the weekend yet as am off work and haven't decided what to do! I've also leant my camera to my dad, so won't be able to photograph anything again for a few weeks! Am planning to make a fruit tealoaf though but going to experiment with a herbal teabag instead..

Lots of freezer raiding going on - need to save pennies to pay back car repairs!

Monday - tonight is leftover takeaway curry - special biryani, vegetable curry and paratha

Tuesday - Breaded fish portion, mashed potato and green beans

Wednesday - might be going out but if not will be gammon with boulangere potatoes and carrots

Thursday - Chicken and mushroom pie with frozen root veggies

Friday - Salmon with ginger noodles and peas

Have a great week everyone!

Basil infused Bannocks with Broccoli and Pesto Soup

Hooray, I finally have something to blog! My beloved DSLR camera is safely back home this morning and I thought it deserved some long overdue usage! I have just realised how many B's there are in the post title, is a bit of a tongue twister!

A few weeks back I was flicking through my copy of Bread, part of the River Cottage Handbook series and whilst being tempted pretty much by every recipe, Bannocks in particular caught my eye...

I had previously never heard of a Bannock, and a quick googling tells me they seem a Northernly thing… a type of quick bread that’s made from grains.. more handily it was made using oatmeal, and as I’ve been on a mission to use up all the odds and ends gathering dust in the bottom of the draw it meant I could give it a good use, other than throwing into a casserole to thicken!

The book recommends serving with soup. I was intending to use up a (shh!) tin of mushroom soup that’s been lurking in the cupboard but being on a lazy day off from work, and told myself that if I’m gonna make the bread, I might as well do the soup too! I made a small batch of broccoli soup, by frying off a little diced onion, then adding the stalks for 5 minutes and some veggie stock, added the chopped up florets and simmered until soft. Then simply stirred through the last of a jar of pesto, roughly 2 scant teaspoons. Together with the bannocks it made a great combination, as I had also added basil oil to the bannock mixture which was subtle enough not to over power.

The bannocks are super quick to make – less than a minute to make and a couple in the pan to cook. These are fragile beasts and at several points found myself questioning the recipes success but I persisted – and they came up a treat! They are oaty, and wholesome tasting.

In the original recpipe it makes two, but I scaled down as was only me eating and don't think these would re-heat that well..

62g medium oatmeal, and a little extra
Teeny pinch salt
Teeny bit bigger pinch baking powder - say 1/8 tsp
1 tsp basil infused oil, plus oil to grease the pan. The book also recommends using fat or butter.
2 ish tbsp hot water

Method

Place a heavy-based frying pan on a medium heat.

Mix together the oatmeal, salt and baking powder In a bowl, add the basil oil, then enough water to make a stiff paste. This is the fun part!

Sprinkle a little more oatmeal on a suitable board, tip the mixture on to it. Sprinkle a bit more oatmeal over and flatten to a just under a centimetre, working quickly before it cools. Cut it into quarters.

Add a little fat/oil to the hot pan, and cook the bannock for a couple of minutes on each side, until browning lightly. Serve hot with a little butter on if desired.

Carrot, Pepper and Orange Soup

The past few months have taught me that whilst having good quality kitchen equipment certainly helps, and is preferential it is by no means essential. I am currently without my beloved saucepans and have been making do with just my large Meyer sauté and two inherited, very battered, wonky handled and missing lid saucepans. And a warped frying pan! Despite this I’ve made some pretty decent dishes and they certainly have not curbed my cooking! I do frequently now have to check before attempting something that I have the item actually here and not in a friends loft somewhere but overall things have worked out in the end!

This soup was really delicious and so warming on a cold wintery night! It was also a good use of odds and ends – the half an orange was leftover from another recipe, and it really lifted the soup from good to greatness without actually tasting of orange! The gentle spicing from the cumin, ginger and ground coriander made it complete.

Carrots are without a doubt my favourite vegetable since childhood, and about the only fresh vegetable other than onions I buy repeatedly! I love their bright colour, and also the fact the market tend to do a giant tub of them for a pound which lasts me about a month! They are such a versatile ingredient and I love experimenting with them and this soup made good use of them!

A sprinkle of some fresh herbs to make it pretty would have been nice but I loathe paying for the little packets and didn’t have any pots at the time…. Though on the fresh herb front I finally last weekend got round to planting my little set of Jamie Oliver herb tins I was given last Christmas, and in a few weeks from now, crossed fingers, the windowsill be alive with Chives, purple basil and oregano!

Not the prettiest of photos but the pretty bowl I 'inherited' helps to make up for it!

Serves 2-3 and reheats well
Easy

Ingredients

4 large carrots, diced
1 orange pepper, diced (am sure yellow or red would be fine here too!)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
Pinch of ground ginger
1 knorr chicken stock pot (or veggie equivalent)
2 tsp flora cuisine or olive oil
S&p to taste
Hot water to cover

Heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic until softened without colouring too much.

Add the pepper and fry for a further two minutes, stir in the carrot, spices and the stock cube/ pot, cover with boiling water by just under 1cm, cover with something suitable (a lid would be perfect here!) bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 25 minutes. 

Blitz with a hand blender or in a liquidiser, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spiced root Vegetable and Lentil soup

This year I seem to be on a roll with soups! Sometimes in the past they have been a bit hit and miss at times but so far the one thing that I've managed to do successfully is to make some gorgeous tasting soups! If only life was that easy too..!

Out of all my soups, this Spiced root Vegetable and Lentil one was really delicious and my favourite! Its very easy to make, low in fat and full of flavour! A real winter warmer! All you need is a nice hunk of bread and a spoon, then tuck in! You'll be warm in no time at all! The hint of coconut just adds a little something and I am sure you will love it too!

The ingredients for this one came out of my it seems never ending Knorr hamper sent from Forman and Fields. I really rated the curry powder they sent me, though despite my best efforts I've not managed to get my hands on their recipe for it! I guess to try substituting it for a standard spice mix, and tweak as necessary.

Whilst I have used a Knorr chicken stock pot, if you are veggie simply substitute accordingly.

Serves 2-3

25 minutes Easy

Re-heats well

½ white onion, finely chopped
250g carrot, peeled and diced
125g parsnip, peeled and diced  

1 chicken knorr stock pot into 750ml hot water
40g moong dal chilka lentils (or similar lentil)
2 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut
1 heaped tsp medium curry powder 

S&P
Spray oil


Spray some oil into a saucepan and heat, gently fry the onion for a couple of minutes to soften but not colour. 

Stir in the carrot, parsnip, lentils and curry powder. Fry for a couple of minutes then add the stock. Cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, adding the coconut after 10 minutes. 

Transfer to a liquidizer and blitz until all smooth and lovely!

Some fresh coriander would be gorgeous here but alas I had none. Next time!

Spiced Cauliflower soup with Chickpea Raita Topping

This lovely, gloriously green soup is packed with fresh herbs and flavour, and its also my third Video recipe in the Russell Hobbs Blogger VS Fans challenge that’s currently in progress over on Facebook!

This week I got to play with their Allure Jug Blender and I must say I am seriously impressed with this new shiny toy! I’ve used a couple of different blenders over the past few years, ranging in quality but this is a mighty beast! The key features for me are the pull out cord (which admittedly my brother discovered after the first use!) and the speed settings which are easy to control; always important for someone who doesn’t like to read instruction manuals! Another bonus is its little rubber feet that stop it dancing on the counter! Its a big machine, but its still pretty and shiny!

Whilst the soup has a range of herbs and spices in, its not actually hot as in spicy heat. Regrettably I can’t tolerate much chilli nowadays and this is pleasantly mild but flavourful. If you would prefer a little heat, add a green chilli or two to the mix. The blender does a great job at making it really smooth, so no nasty gravelly bits which I’ve had in the past with other liquidizers!

Serves 6, Easy, Ready in under 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 a large or 1 regular sized cauliflower, cut into smallish chunks
1 white onion, finely chopped
1 medium sized potato, diced
1 bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1tsp freshly ground coriander seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black mustard seeds
40g cooked chickpeas
1500ml vegetable stock
Spray cooking oil or olive oil
S&P to taste

Topping:

40g cooked chickpeas
Pinch of garam masala

Raita:

120g plain natural yoghurt
1 small bunch fresh mint, roughly chopped

Start by sweating the onion in a large saucepan in spray oil, until soft but not too browned. Stir in the ground coriander, mustard seeds, turmeric and cumin, and potatoes, stir well, add the cauliflower, cover with the stock and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and gently simmer for 15 minutes, stir in the chickpeas for final minute to warm through.

Meanwhile stir the mint into the yoghurt. In a small pan, add a teeny bit of oil, toast the chickpeas for a couple of minutes with the garam masala. Reserve to one side

Blitz the soup in the blender, until all lovely and smooth. You will need to do this in two batches – have a clean saucepan ready for transferring the soup back into, to keep warm. Season the soup, and ladle into bowls. Swirl in a little of the yoghurt and sprinkle over a couple of the chickpeas and a sprig of fresh coriander to garnish and serve. Some little naan’s would be lovely on the side but I forgot to buy any so had granary toast, which works equally well!

The soup will keep up to four days in the fridge and re-heats very well. In fact it reminded me I must buy a new portable soup container after accidentally melting mine at work the other week…

You can also watch me cook this recipe on Youtube:



Enjoy!

Honey Roasted Pumpkin, Pancetta and Coriander Soup

Halloween has been and gone but if you still have a pumpkin or two hanging around then this is a great soup to use it in!

I bought on the market these ridiculously cute mini pumpkins, I added my pencil in the shot so you can gauge how weeny these babies were:

After a close examination, I realised just how fiddly carving them would actually be and so I opted to make something a little more edible with them, this combined with a few random ingredients that needed using and this tasty, warming soup was born! The pancetta isn’t essential and you could substitute a little more smoked paprika to make it veggie friendly.
The big orange Halloween style Pumpkins can be a little watery, in comparison to squashes designed for eating but by roasting the flesh first, and with careful seasoning, plus a blob of double cream this soup is a real treat, and its even better eaten the next day, as the flavours mellow together
Once you have peeled and diced up your pumpkin, please don’t throw away your seeds! Give them a clean up, rinse and keep your eyes peeled for my next blog post!
Serves 4
Ingredients
620g pumpkin flesh, cut into 1cm dice – this is net weight, my babies weighed in at nearly 1.2kg before trimming. Save your seeds!
15g fresh leaf coriander, roughly chopped.
1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
2-3 tsp clear honey
salt and pepper
Spray sunflower oil
1 onion, diced
90g pancetta cubes
1 heaped tsp marigold bouillon dissolved into 1 litre boiling water
Double cream for serving
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 190o, spray a couple of baking sheets with oil and scatter over the pumpkin, spray with a little more oil and roast for 15 minutes, drizzle with the honey, toss lightly and roast for a further 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender

Heat a large saucepan, spray with a little oil and fry your onion over a moderate heat until softened, without browning, add the pancetta and fry until lightly browned. Stir in the roasted pumpkin, smoked paprika and stock, plus most of the coriander, reserving a few sprigs for serving. Cover and bring back to a gentle boil, simmer for five minutes.

Remove from the heat and blitz until smooth with a hand blender (I used my new toy) or in a liquidizer. Season well, serve garnished with a little cream, a few sprigs of coriander. And your special seeds, which I will add here shortly!

White Onion Soup - A tribute to Keith Floyd

I'm sure I am not the only one who was saddened by Keith Floyd's passing, I loved watching his programs, mainly for his unique style of cooking, which made me feel quite at home in the kitchen, complete with a glass of wine, whilst cooking :)

I had planned as a tribute recipe to Keith Floyd, to make his Prawn's with chilli and coriander, (hoping to make very soon as it sounds so good!) however due to a few dinner guest changes, this glorious White onion soup ended up being first. This soup is so easy, delicious and will be a regular make here! It allows onion fan's to really get a lovely, oniony hit but within gentle, creamy, velvety surroundings. This recipe is taken from the book 'A splash and a dash' by Keith Floyd.

This is also my entry into the blogging event being held by Julia at A Slice of Cherry Pie and James of Back to the Chopping Board in tribute to Keith Floyd.



Not sure on recomended servings but I halved it and it serves 3 as a starter

Ingredients

50g unsalted butter
4 Spanish onions
2 celery sticks, stringed and finely chopped
50g plain flour
300ml milk
900ml good, hot chicken stock (I used a AWT chicken cube, worked well)
Nutmeg (I didn't add as not huge fan in savoury dishes)
S&P to taste

Garnish:
Single cream
Parsley (I didn't use)

Heat in a saucepan a little of the butter with 1 tbsp water, add the onions and celery, cover and sweat until nice and soft (15-20 mins). Blitz in a food processor/ Liquidizer.

Using the same pan, heat the remaining butter, add the flour and cook gently until creamy (a roux), add trhe milk slowly, whisk until smooth and thick, add back the onion/ celery puree and the stock, heat through until smooth. Season with nutmeg, s&p.

Garnish with a swirl of cream and parsley. I used homemade croutons, in lieu of parsley and think they work very well, made me think of bread sauce...:)




RIP Keith, I've raised a toast to you this evening :)

Creamy Mushroom Soup

I do a lot of soup making but realised today, following a conversation at work that I had never made mushroom soup, not sure why as I love mushrooms!! I have fond memories of a company where I used to work at, a lady I shared my desk with called Shirley always bought mushroom soup in, in her thermos and would very kindly share it with me, I remember it being thick and full of mushrooms, sadly I didn't really cook back then and never thought to ask for the recipe, now I don't need to, and dare I say its better? ;-) I was actually going to post tonight a new oven baked risotto recipe we ate for dinner but this was more tastier!

And so today, following the work conversation, I agreed to make mushroom soup and take my colleague a bowl in tomorrow for his lunch, now I have made it, its rather gorgeous and I'm not altogether sure I want to share it!! However, I know thats greedy and me being the nice person I am, just had to share it with you all! It also helps that yesterday we had a roast chicken and I lovingly made the stock afterwards with the carcass ;-)

I'm so happy with the results, I vow never to buy in mushroom soup again as this is like mushroom heaven, creamy and earthy, just the way mushroom soup should be I think!

Makes a good four servings, I'm intending to freeze some so will let you know if succesful, though I don't see why it won't! :-)

Ingredients:

750g mushrooms (I used value punnet, £1.34!) cut into small chunks
750 ml chicken stock, hot (I used home made though you could use a light veggie one)
300ml milk
1 large white onion, finely diced
S&P to taste
30g butter
30g plain flour + 2 tbsp
2 tbsp olive oil

Note: You will need two big pans for this, I used my Le creuset casserole for the mushrooms


1) Firstly heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the flour and whisk together for 1-2 minutes until mixed and golden, now add the milk and keep whisking so it does not stick



2) In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan/ casserole, add the onion and gently fry but be careful not to colour, I used a medium low heat setting and placed the lid on


3) Return to the whisking pan, it should be a little thicker, add the warmed stock and whisk together over a medium-ish heat for about 5 minutes, now add the remaining flour (*I may re-write this part at a later date, I added as was not thick enough!) and whisk together, keeping a close eye on it, move to next stage


4) Add the mushrooms to the onions, mix well and re-cover, return to the sauce mix and keep it bubbling on an even heat for about 10 minutes, until about the thickness of a light custard

5) Tip the mushroom mix, juices included to the sauce, and simmer for a further 10 minutes, ensuring it does not stick on the bottom, season to taste



6) Remove from heat and blend lightly with a stick blender, I only blitzed half of the soup as I like a thick texture but also mushroom chunks in!

7) Pour into a bowl and tuck in with glee!

Winter Vegetable soup

Winter is definately making its mark at the moment and all I want to eat is hot, comforting food!

This makes 2 litres of soup - perfect for freezing or feeding lots of people! Is a simple but tasty and cheap soup and great for these cold days and nights!

I made this on Wednesday night and it fed 7 as a starter on the thursday and there was still plenty left, re-heats well for lunches!

540g carrots
275g parsnips
4 sticks celery
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 chicken kallo boullion cube (if veggie just use two v cubes)
1 vegetable kallo boullion cube
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
S&P to taste

1) Firstly, prep all the veg. Dice the onion, celery, carrots and parsnips into relatively small cubes and chop the garlic


2) Make up the stock cubes in 2 litres boiling water

3) Heat oil in a large pan (I use my pasta pot!), gently fry the onion for about 5 minutes until translucent, add all the remaining vegetables, pour over the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes

4) Now add the tomatoes and seasoning, simmer for a further ten minutes and blitz with a liquidizer or hand blender, I quite like this chunky but have made both chunky and smooth versions. If going for the chunky option and its more of a main course serving, after blitzing add a tin of drained kidney beans, heat through and serve.

Make sure you have plenty of warm fresh bread to mop up!

Pea and Potato soup

This soup wasn't planned but with the weather getting colder all the time and a phone call from the other-half stuck at work it gave me an hour to play with! It also came about as in a time of skint-ness last month I bought a bag of value frozen peas, which just were not tasty enough to serve in normal fashion!

Makes 4-5 bowls
Easy
25 minutes

1200ml boiling water
1 vegetable kallo bouillon cube
1/2 onion diced
460g frozen peas
450g baby new potatoes - preferably slightly old, diced
s&p
2 tbsp Parmesan
1 tbsp olive oil

1) Mix the stock cube with the boiling water, heat the oil in a large saucepan

2) Add the onion, fry for 3 minutes to give a little colour, add the potatoes and stock and simmer for 20 minutes

3) Add the peas and bring to boil, remove from heat, blitz with a stick blender or processor, stir in the Parmesan, season to taste and serve

....

This can be frozen in portions - it will look very peculiar but once heated it all 'comes together again' :-) It does lose a little of its vividness but is still acceptable!

Red Lentil, Celery and Red Pepper Soup

Makes 3 large bowls
Easy
Prep: 5 mins
Cooking: 20 mins

1 red pepper diced
tumbler of red lentils
1/2 onion, diced
4-5 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp Chili powder
Black Pepper
1 1/4 pints vegetable stock (I use Kallo boullion cubes)
1 tbsp light olive oil

1) Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the chili powder, onion and celery, cover and cook on a medium heat until softened

2) Add the pepper and a splash of the stock to mix, add the lentils, pour over remaining stock and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are soft

2) Remove from the heat and blend, season to taste and serve

Can be frozen

Red Lentil, Celery and Carrot Soup

**Recipe revised 20/11/07** (Is now perfect!)
Whilst the title may not sound that great this was a surprisingly good soup made this week! Even carrot hater OH really enjoyed it!!

Easy
25 Minutes

1.5 pints veg stock (Use 1 Kallo Veggie bouilon cube and 1/2 a kallo chicken bouilon cube)
1 mug red lentils (about 10 heaped dessert spoons, add more if using less veg)
1 large Onion
2 cloves garlic
3-4 Sticks celery roughly chopped (including base and greenery)
2 medium carrots cubed
S&P to taste (you prob wont need any salt if using the cubes!)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsbp butter


1) Heat on a medium heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add roughly chopped onions and simmer for 3-4 minutes, add celery and carrot, simmer for another 3-4 minutes, add garlic and lentils, stir in well and cover with stock

2) Cook for 20-25 minutes and blitz like a madwoman (or man!)

Really good reheated as well!

*I revised this recipe last night and really think this is the bees knees! Is golden and warming and reheated perfectly for my lunch*

These freezes very well.

Red Lentil and Cauliflower Soup

You can always tell I think when either someone is skint or trying to use up things lurking in cupboards before going on holiday...hence last nights invention of lentil and cauliflower soup!! It was actually quite good and almost 'nursery food' in texture.

Serves 2:
Easy:

1/2 a cauliflower
4 tbsp approx of red lentils
1 pint light veg stock (I used 1 heaped tsp of marigold boullion)
1 onion finely diced
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 pinch of chili powder
1 pinch cumin seeds
1 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
Black pepper to taste
1 tbsp cream cheese (optional)

1) Cut off all the cauliflower florets and reserve, with the remaining stalks and any good leaves finely chop, then heat the butter and olive oil together and add the chopped stalky bits, onion garlic, cumin and chili powder, simmer for about 5 mins gently being careful not to burn anything.

2) Add the florets and mix well, pour in stock until veg is about 1 cm over the liquid, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until soft and the lentils are cooked through

3) Remove from heat and blitz with your tool of choice, stir in the cream cheese and season to taste.

Croutons for Soup

Not for the salt conscious person ;-)

Makes 32 croutons

2 slices of bread
Few tbsp of olive oil
2 tsp celery salt

Pre-heat oven to 200o

1) Cut the bread into cubes depending what size you want, 1cm will give you about 16 cubes!

2) In a bowl combine the salt and oil, dip the bread in and coat, place on a baking tray for about 12 mins till crispy and starting to brown

Serve!

Cauliflower, Parmesan and Bacon Soup

Easy
Serves 3-4

Rich and comforting winter food! Is very filling and a meal in itself!

1 large cauliflower head
1.5 pints stock, either chicken or veggie
s&p - lots of p!
2-3 bacon rashers, pref smoked
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp creme fraiche (not end of world if you dont have any!)
4 tbsp parmesan freshly grated

1) Remove the florets and put to one side, then dice the cauli stalks and inner leaves

2) Fry the diced onion in about the butter & olive oil for about 4 minutes

3) Then add the garlic, snip in the bacon and cook for about 3 more mins

4) Then add all the cauli stalks chopped up small and cook for 2 more mins

5) Add the stock and simmer for around 8-10 mins, then add rest of cauliflower florets for around 15-20 mins till softened, remove from heat and blitz in the pan or in a food processor. Season to taste and stir in 2/3 of the parmesan and a dollop of creme fraiche and serve!

once in the bowl, sprinkle over remaining parmesan as required!

Perfect with crispy croutons!

Broccoli and Boursin Soup

Easy
Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1 head broccoli
1 small onion
1 pint of veg (or chicken for non-veggies) stock made fresh or from a cube
1 clove garlic
2 pats of boursin / about 2 level tbsp
1 tbsp butter
1tbsp olive oil
s&p to taste

1) Cut the florets off the broccoli and put to one side, finely chop all of the stalks, dice the onion and crush the garlic

2) Make up stock / warm through

3) In a large pan heat the butter and olive oil, add the onion and fry for 4 mins until starting to soften, add the garlic and diced stalks, mix well and cook for 5 mins covered

4) Add the stock and cook for about 12 mins until stalks softened, then add the florets and cook for 5 mins more

5) Remove from heat and either blitz with a hand blender or transfer to a food processor and whizz until smooth, season to taste and stir in the boursin, allow to melt then mix, serve immediately!


Is great for using broccoli that is slightly past its best! Can be done with frozen broccoli just allow to thaw and add extra broccoli as you need the stalky bits! Is yummy and a lovely green colour! Have made this many times and just realised never posted it!

Bacon and Cheese Pasta Bake

Serves 3-4
Easy
Ingredients

6 slices good smoked bacon
80g mature cheese grated
Any parmesan that needs using up
350g conchiglle or penne pasta

*Also the ingredients below for sauce

1) Cook pasta till al dente

2) Fry or grill bacon till crispy and tear into 1inch pieces, mix with cooked pasta and transfer to oven proof dish

3) Make up the sauce as per below and season with black pepper, pour over the pasta, top with a little extra cheese and grill until golden, about 10-15 mins.

*Cheese sauce: Makes 1 pint
45g flour
45g butter
1 pint milk

1) In a large glass bowl or jug add the butter and microwave for about 30-40 seconds till melted and slightly bubbling, remove and place milk in a seperate container in microwave for about 40 secs.

2) In the meantime stir in the flour to the butter and whisk to form a roux (paste) remove the warm milk and add 1/3, whisk well making sure you scrape the bottom, place back in microwave for one min, remove whisk well and add another 1/3 milk, whisk well and return for a further minute, remove add last of the milk and put back in microwave, set it for 2 mins and stop as soon as it thickens should take between 1min30 to 2 depending on wattage.

3) Remove and whisk well making sure all blended, should be thick and stiff, if not keep cooking until so.