Broccoli and Stilton Soup

I was in my local supermarket earlier and I picked up 2 heads of organic broccoli reduced to only £0.03 each!!  …. you know what it’s like, your head starts going through possible yummy recipes… my head was telling me soup! 😉    I nipped round to the cheese counter and picked up a bit of stilton.

|This recipe should serve six.

Ingredients:

• 50g / 2oz butter
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Garlic Clove, crushed
• 2 large heads of Broccoli
• 2-3 oz of Stilton Cheese or adjust depending on your preference
• Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
• 1-1.5 litres boiling water and a stock cube

Method :

• Heat the Butter in a large pan, add the onion and garlic and leave to cook on a low-med heat for 8 mins until they become soft and clear
• Whilst the onion and garlic are softening, chop the broccoli as finely as possible.   Add the chopped broccoli to the onions and pour in 1 litre of boiling water an a stock cube and bring back to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• When the broccoli is tender, add the stilton cheese.   Whizz the soup well in a liquidiser to give it a really smooth texture.
• Check and adjust the seasoning and reheat if necessary.

Hearty Scotch Broth Soup

Hearty Scotch Broth Soup.

I have been cooking and baking for a long time now and I am embarassed to admit that I have never ever made a pot of Scotch Broth Soup before {hangs head in shame} … that was until thursday last week 🙂 !  I always had this strange idea that it would turn out to be a disaster and never bothered to make it, but…..  

Whilst I was in the supermarket last week, I picked up a couple of bags of vegetables from the reduced counter,an absolute bargin @ £0.10 pence a bag, and locally grown.. In the bag I got a couple of handfuls of carrots, 2 Onions, a leek and a small turnip, the plan was to make a stew and some soup, so I toddled round to the pulses and dried foods section and picked up a 500g bag of Vegetable Broth Mix.

Ingredients :

• 2 oz Vegetable Broth Mix
• 1 Medium Onion, chopped finely
• 3 Medium Carrots, Grated
• 1 Leek, halved and sliced thinly
• 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A Tablespoon of Oil and a knob of butter
• About 1 – 1.5 litres of water

Method:

• Soak the broth mix overnight, in a bowl cling filmed and in the fridge.
• Next day rinse the broth mix under cold running water and set aside
• Take a heavy based saucepan and add to it the oil abd butter and melt
• Add the finely chopped onion and cook int he pan until translucent/softened
• Add the grated Carrot and sliced leek
• Add the broth Mix and combine
• then add enough water to cover everything in the pan and loosen it all off, you can always add more water to loosen it off should it get too thick
• Add the stock cube/boullion or granules, Salt & Pepper and mix well
• Simmer until everything is cooked and the pulses softened…. I left mine cooking for a couple of hours and it was fine.

Verdict : 8/10 – It tasted fab and I would make it again but experiment with adding a diced potato and diced turnip 🙂

Roasted Tomato, Garlic & Basil Soup..

I had excess tomatoes left over from last weeks trip to the farm shop, so I thought i’d make a nice spot of tomato soup.

Ingredients:

6 Large Vine Tomatoes

6 Cloves of Garlic

A good glug of extra virgin Olive Oil.

A handful of shredded fresh basil leaves.

Some herbamare Salt and crushed black pepper to season.

Method..

• Take an oven proof dish and place the tomatoes into it.
• Scatter 6 cloves of garlic in amongst the tomatoes (leave the papery skins on)
• cover with a generous amount of olive oil
• slow bake in a medium oven for a couple of hours until the tomatoes are soft and the garlic is squidgey.
• Carefully take the skins off the tomato and garlic and put into a saucepan.
• Add enough water to cover and simmer
• Either add a vegetable stock cube / powder and seasonings & shredded basil, allow to cook through for 5 mins.
• Blitz to liquidise, pass through a sieve to remove seeds then return to the pan and add some double cream, heat through and stir it thoroughly,
• to serve you can add a switl of cream and some finely chopped basil leaves.

Serve immediately… serves 2 (big bowls) or 4 (Small bowls)

 

Sweet Potato & Red Pepper Soup with Coconut

I popped along to visit Nancy @ Bankhead Farm Shop to pick up my weekly vegetables.   She had sweet potatoes this week so I bought some with a view to making some soup.

 Once I got home I had a scan through my recipe books and found this one, its extracted from Best Kept Secrets of the Women’s Institute – isbn : 978-1-4165-2791-5

 I have to admit it turned out very well indeed and everyone loved it.

Serves 4

Vegetarian

Preparation & Cooking Time : 1 Hour

Freezing: Recommended.

25g / 1oz Butter

1 Onion, Chopped

1 Garlic Clove, Chopped

1 Tablespoon Ground Coriander

450g / (1lb) Sweet Potato, Grated

2 Red Peppers, Chopped

700ml (1 1/4 Pints) Vegetable Stock

400g Can of Coconut Milk

• Melt the butter in a large pan.   Add the onion and garlic and cook over a low heat until soft.
• Stir in the ground coriander and cook for 2 minutes
• Add the sweet potato and red pepper to the pan and cook for 5 mins.
• Pour the vegetable stock over and bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Allow to cool a little and then puree
• Return to the rinsed out pan and add the coconut milk.   Heat gently until piping hot and then serve at once.

Note: If coconut milk isnt available, use 100g of creamed coconut, chopped and increase the amount of stock by about 150ml.

Serve with freshly baked crusty bread and enjoy ….