Carrot and Coriander Soup

Surprises. My Mum can’t stand them – from who’s left Strictly Come Dancing to a surprise birthday present, she just needs to be in the know. But I think there can be good surprises: finding £5 in your pocket, a day forecast to be rainy turning out sunny, a botched up recipe turning out well after all! My good surprise today was a gift in the post… This book was destined to give good results – the recipes are from the WI  after all! As with all cookbooks, I flicked straight to the dessert/puddings/baking section (or in this case, all four of them – the book is organised by seasons!) and of course found plenty of gorgeous things I look forward to trying. But what also struck me about this book was the fabulous collections of soups that came at the start of each season. So many varieties of and new twists on tomato soup, but also dozens of vegetable, fish, bean and meat soups. Plus, with our summer weather slowly slipping away and the rain creeping in I thought I better get practising a truly delicious winter repertoire! I forgot that I had already made a carrot soup, but this version was different in every way: taste, appearance, texture, cooking style and the flavours involved. This soup also taught me the important message of seasoning, something I knew I need to learn more about. After taking the first spoonful, I was concerned that the soup was a bit bland and the carrot goodness wasn’t coming through. The trick? After pureeing, hit this soup with A LOT of black pepper. There is no point being shy here, just taste as you go along and slowly the flavours appear! Gorgeous. I was a big fan of this soup. Because of the true carrot flavour, you just know this soup is good for you. A large amount of coriander adds heat and the amount of work required from you is minimal. How could you not be a fan? This soup is from the Spring section of the book, which is a couple of seasons away for me, but I found it just perfect for a rainy Autumn afternoon. Enjoy!

Carrot and Coriander Soup from Best-kept Secrets of the Women’s Institute

Ingredients: 25g (1oz) butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
25g (1oz) plain flour
1 litre (1.25pints) chicken or vegetable stock
450g (1lb) carrots, grated
2tsp chopped fresh coriander (I probably used double this)
salt and LOTS of freshly ground black pepper
cream or yoghurt, to serve

Method:
1. Melt the butter in a pan and soften the onion and garlic slowly.
2. Blend in the flour and then add the stock gradually, stirring all the time over a low heat.
3. Add the carrots and coriander. Bring the soup to the boil and then let it simmer for 15minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and adjust seasoning. Pour into a food processor and blend until smooth.
5. Divide between four bowls and add a swirl of yoghurt/cream to serve.

Roasted Tomato and Thyme Soup with Twice Baked Potatoes

For my birthday, I received some fabulous foodie gifts. So much so, I thought I would make a mini-series as I revealed each one and made something using each one. So, today is the day I start!

Gift: Sophie Dahl’s book “Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights”

Recipe: Roasted Tomato and Thyme Soup with Twice Baked PotatoesNow strictly speaking, these recipes aren’t in the book. Which is a travesty because they were in the TV series that accompanied the book and are both fabulous dishes! The book, like you might expect from a former model, is beautifully laid out, full of pretty pictures and glamorous stories but most importantly to me – good food! Like this deep, rich, hearty-yet-summery, velvety soup. My sister and I have been meaning to make this soup for ages and today regretted waiting so long as it filled the house with the best smell of slowly roasting tomatoes. Sophie Dahl’s recipe is super easy because it cuts down on any fussy chopping, peeling, boiling etc. Everything is just halved and put in a roasting tin, left to cook in the oven and release all their gorgeous juices, then whizzed up in a blender and enjoyed. That was the basic plan, but this leaves a very thick soup – more like a tomato puree or sauce for pasta. After years of extremely smooth Heinz tomato soup, I do look for a smoother soup so after a quick boil and slosh of cream the soup was perfect. And all made by my sister who originally found the recipe. So on to the side dish, made by me…Twice Baked Potatoes. Which essentially means you bake potatoes, cut them in half, scoop out all potatoey goodness and then mix with cheese, chives, and a dollop of yoghurt, replace in the potato and bake for a tiny bit more to crisp up the top. Gorgeous and quite filling by themselves, let alone with a big bowl of soup! These are something I would like to repeat because they make a refreshing change to ordinary jackets and could make good use of odds and ends from the fridge. Individually – delicious. Together, curled up in front of the Doctor Who finale as it rains in the middle of June – perfect. Find the recipe and video of Sophie Dahl making both recipes here, and I do also recommend the charming book! More recipes from that and other birthday gifts to come soon :) 

Savoury Alert

Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to start my savoury rule just before the Christmas baking season. Needless to say, it hasn’t exactly worked out and nothing savoury has graced my blog since the chicken pie. Well, New Year, new resolutions – and back with the savoury.
I always think that there are two ways to go with food in January. There’s the detox, uber-healthy, salad and water survival way. Or there’s the “its-cold-and-summer-is-too-far-away” mentality – comfort, comfort, comfort. Whilst I always prefer the comfort way – this sort of manages to mix a bit of both. Carrot and Red Lentil soup, with Bacon and Cheese Bread.
On my “Savoury To Make List”, second from bottom, was a rather unclear wish - “some kinda soup”. I’ve never really made soup before so had no idea which way to go with it. It wasn’t until my Mum told me about her recipe (that sounded simple) for this soup, that I knew where I was heading. It was a learning curve for me, simple or not, and a couple of times I did ring my Mum “It’s too watery”  “I think it’s the wrong lentils” “How many onions again?” etc BUT all that said and done – it tasted good. It didn’t turn out watery, in fact perhaps it was a tad on the thick side. I’ve said it before and I don’t mind repeating it – I adore sweet baking, its why I bake. But always at the end of a savoury bake or cooking, the sense of accomplishment is pretty good. There’s no stopping me and soup now ;)
And to go with it – Rachel Allen’s Bacon and Cheese Bread. Its another thing that sounds harder than it is – it’s not a yeast sort of bread, in fact its almost a savoury cake, especially with its soft texture.  This bread is really simple and can be made up in so little time, no kneading or rising or anything like that. I guess you just can’t go wrong with Rachel Allen! The bread creates a gorgeous thick crust, and the lardons throughout mean bursts of extra flavour. Delicious, and even better toasted!
Rustic Bacon and Cheddar Bread, from Bake by Rachel Allen
Ingredients: 320g/11.5oz plain flour
1tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4tsp ground black pepper
100g/3.5oz Cheddar cheese, grated (I think you need to use more for stronger flavour)
100g/3.5oz bacon lardons cooked until crisp
200ml/7fl oz milk
2 eggs
1tbsp wholegrain mustard
60ml/2fl oz olive oil
1. Preheat the oven to 180’C/350’F/Gas Mark 4. Lightly oil and line a 13x23cm (5x9in) loaf tin.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the grated cheese and cooled bacon lardons and mix well.
3. Pour the milk into a large measuring jug, add the eggs, mustard and olive oil and whisk to combine.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly pour in the liquid, stirring all the time until it is fully incorporated.
5. Pour (or spoon, my dough was not pourable) into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 50minutes. Remove from the tin and allow to cook for 10 more minutes on the oven shelf in order to crisp the bottom (I baked first for 45 minutes, then gave it 2-3 out the tin and this was more than enough). When cooked, it will sound hollow when tapped on the base. Allow to cool on a wire rack before eating.
My Mum’s Carrot and Red Lentil Soup. Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 onion
1 clove of garlic
4-5 carrots, sliced fairly thinly into circles
1 stick of celery, chopped
4-5tbsp red lentils
1 litre of vegetable stock (I make it 4tsp stock powder = 1 litre of hot water, but your stocks may vary)
1 tin of tomatoes
1. Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic. Soften the onion and garlic in a small amount of oil in a large saucepan/stock pot over a low heat. Add the carrots and celery.
2. Pour in your vegetable stock which should cover the vegetables. Spoon in the lentils, which won’t look like there are enough but they swell like rice during cooking.
3. Leave to simmer over a low heat until the vegetables are soft. Add the tomatoes and let cook for 4-5 minutes.
4. Blitz the soup in a food processor and serve. Some people like to blitz half and leave half, to get varied texture. You may need to add a little more stock if it is too thick, or cook and add more lentils if too thin. Enjoy!