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February 19, 2014 by sarah
Whenever I make this soup, the colourful bowlful and cheery flavours brightens up the dampest of wet winter days. Saying that though, I can tell spring is close now; the dawn chorus has returned, it is just about light when I get up, the sun has some warmth in it when it is out from behind a cloud and little shoots are appearing in the garden and on our walks. I suppose we should be grateful for living on the top of a hill and not in a flood, but the incessant mud and grey skies are very soul draining.
I have never eaten a soup of this style in Asia and I am not sure it could ever be called an ‘authentic’ Asian recipe, whatever that may mean, but the flavours of that part of the world are in this soup and the cheerful colour reminds me of the sunnier latitudes. I hope it cheers up your winter days too.
This recipe is adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘River Cottage Everyday’. I think cutting up raw squash is asking for an injury; sharp knife and a round, moving and very hard object do not make a good combination. In this recipe I get round that problem by roasting the squash whole first so it is meltingly tender and easy to prepare. I usually do this when the oven is on for something else, for example our evening meal, to save energy.
Asian-style Butternut Squash Soup
1 butternut squash, medium sized
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ready chili in vinegar or a small medium hot fresh chili
knob/thumb sized amount of fresh ginger, finely grated
1 garlic clove, chopped
about 1 litre of vegetable stock (from a cube/pot is fine)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
juice of a lime
To Serve – fresh coriander, toasted seeds
Place the butternut squash on a baking tray, stab a few times with a sharp knife and place in a medium to hot oven for 30 minutes to maximum 45 minutes until it is soft all the way through when you insert a sharp knife.
Allow the butternut squash to cool sufficiently to handle; this takes about an hour at room temperature. Scrape the flesh of the squash into a bowl using a large spoon or your clean hands, discarding the skin (unless you want to add that for extra fibre) and seeds with the fibres (unless you want to wash the fibres off the seeds and roast them for the topping – too much hassle for me).
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and then add the onion and a pinch of salt (the salt stops the onion catching); cook until the onion is soft, sweet and translucent. Add the chili, ginger and garlic and stir for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the reserved butternut squash and enough stock to cover the squash. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes to meld the flavours.
Add the peanut butter and lime juice, stir until the peanut butter has melted. Blend the soup with a hand blender or in a blender. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as required. Serve!
Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: Asian,butternut,home made,soup,spice,squash | No Comments
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February 14, 2014 by sarah
When I envisioned this blog project, I was going to try to stick to well know spices mostly, in order to explore their potential in new ways. But I was in the supermarket the other day, and found myself staring at the spice section ticking off which spices I had and which I didn’t have. Sumac was the only spice I knew I didn’t have in my cupboard so I just had to have it! And then when I got it home, I realised I knew nothing about it or how to use or even what it tasted of. The packet unhelpfully suggested ‘add to Middle Eastern dishes’. Luckily my new cook book arrived last week and Sophie Grigson’s ‘Spices’ helped me find the potential of this unusual spice.
Sumac is made of the dried berries of Rhus coriaria and used in the cuisines of the Middle East, North Africa and Sicily. It tends to be sprinkled on hummus or yogurt, added to salads and along with thyme and sesame seeds is an ingredient in za’atar seasoning used for dipping of olive oil soaked bread. Tasting it neat, it has a zing citrus like tang but no other aromatic tenancies. I was a little under whelmed tasting it but I think it is probably more suited to lovely sunny days, BBQs and salads than the rainy, windy weather we are having at present. I will do more experimentation if the weather improves and add another recipe for this spice.
Homemade cream cheese (lebneh) with sumac
500g/ml pot of yogurt, preferably full fat Greek type
1/4 tsp salt
sumac
pomegranate
extra-virgin olive oil
bread to serve, preferably homemade sourdough
Stir the salt into the yogurt in its pot. Place a plastic sieve over a glass bowl and line the sieve with muslin that has been sterilised by pouring boiling water over it. Tip the yogurt into the muslin lined sieve and cover the whole lot with cling film. Place the bowl in the fridge and leave for about 24 hours so that the whey drains out of the yogurt.
Serve the cheese sprinkled with sumac and drizzled with the olive oil. Scatter over the pomegranate seeds; the sweet burst of the seeds make a pleasing contrast to the creamy yogurt and slightly sour tang of the sumac. Eat within a day as this is a fresh cheese and does not last.
Category 40 Spices, Home | Tags: spice,spices,sumac | No Comments
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February 14, 2014 by sarah
I love food travelling; in other words, making a dish or meal that transports you to somewhere else. That is what this soup does for me. One sniff and one taste, I am back to Hanoi in Vietnam. Making these travel inspired dishes is also a whole lot cheaper than going there, even if it only lasts for the duration of the soup supping!
Please feel free to alter the vegetables to whatever you have or what ever is on offer at the time. The garnishes are also personal preference too. In Vietnam, they arrive on a dish separate from the soup and it is up to the diner to add which and what and how much to give a personalised soup.
Vit Phô – Vietnamese Duck Soup
Serves 2-4, depending how greedy and if a main dish or snack/lunch dish
1 duck carcass (left over from the Sunday night roast duck)
spice mix (1/2 a cinnamon stock, 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds, 3-4 star anise, 2 cardamom pods, 4 whole cloves)
2″ knob of ginger, don’t bother to peel, just cut or slice roughly
1 or 2 red chilis, depending how hot they are and how hot you like it (I only had dried)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 large onion, do not peel but roughly cut into wedges
1 nest/layer of vermicelli rice noodles per person (I added 2 which was enough for 3 servings)
mix of vegetables e.g. bok choi, mangetout, mini sweetcorn
To Serve-
thinly sliced red chili
limes cut into wedges
bean sprouts
fresh coriander herb
sweet chili sauce (my personal favourite)
To make the pho broth, in a large pan that will hold the duck carcass fully submerged and has a tight fitting lid, put the duck carcass, the whole spices, ginger, chili, fish sauce and onion (and fresh coriander stalks if you have any). Add enough fresh water until the carcass is just submerged. Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer. Allow to simmer for at least an hour, and ideally 2-3 hours.
Remove the duck carcass from the broth and leave to cool on a plate. When cooled enough to handle, pick off the meat (and skin – it is traditional) and reserve the meat and throw away the bones.
Strain the broth through a sieve into a clean pan, taste and adjust salt levels if necessary. Bring back to a simmer and add the noodles, vegetables and reserved meat; simmer for a minute or two then ladle into bowls and serve with the accompaniments, which are essential not optional.
Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: Asian,duck,pho,soup,spices,Vietnam | No Comments
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February 12, 2014 by sarah
Working a full 11 days in a row is not fun, I can tell you. So to sustain me (and the other half) through the drought of real food, I made some flapjacks. Because they take like 10 minutes; because they are chewy; because they are crunchy; but because all, they are jummy!
Throw-together work night flapjacks
150g butter (NOT veggie spread)
75g muscovado or soft brown sugar
about 100g of golden syrup (this is about 4-5 tablespoons)
350g porridge oats, rolled oats, oat-based museli, quick oats i.e. any oaty thing in the cupboard to make up the weight
75g raisins, sultanas, chopped apricots, seeds etc. (optional but give character)
Melt the first three ingredients in a pan over a low heat until butter melted and sugar dissolved.
Mix in a large bowl with the oaty stuff and fruit.
Tip into a greased or lined tin (around about 9″ square or 30cm x 20cm, or whatever), press down lightly with the spoon or spatula.
Place in oven preheated to fan 160 C for 20-25mins until golden brown.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into squares, rectangles, triangles, isosceles etc.
Allow to fully cool in the tin before taking out and storing in air-tight container for up to a week (if it lasts that long).
N.B. the inevitable crumbs in the tin are perfect for sprinkling on breakfast cereal like posh granola.
Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: baking,flapjack,home made,oats,quick | No Comments
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February 6, 2014 by sarah
It really feels like spring may be just around the corner. Crazy really as it is only the first week of February.
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February 2, 2014 by sarah
I am just back from a weeks ski holiday in Vallandry, France.We had a wonderful break and we very lucky with the weather. It dumped 30 cm of snow the night we arrived and a little more mid-week which kept the slopes in good condition and plus we had two fantastic sunny days, which are unusual for January. I am proud of passing the ESF class three and feeling comfortable skiing in any conditions and any terrain, though I will always hate moguls! I hope the photos inspire you too!
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January 24, 2014 by sarah
With the horrible cold long winters’ nights I like to turn to spicy recipes to warm from the inside as well as out as they cook on the stove or an excuse to put the oven on. This recipe from the Caribbean, courtesy of Levi Roots, fits the bill perfectly. Wouldn’t life be so boring without these exotic spices that can transport us half way around the world in one sniff, even if we haven’t been there ourselves?
Even the cat, Brian, is around more and more, even if it is mostly quick stops for drying off on the bed linen or an extra portion of cat food! I wonder if he would like butternut squash soup? Some sad news this week though; two of the chickens were taken by a cat in the early hours of dawn at the weekend. Poor Gertrude and Mrs Speckledy and now Mrs White is all alone. I will have to get her some friends in the spring.
Martinique Coconut Curry by Levi Roots (Caribbean Food Made Easy) with some alterations by yours truely. Serves 4.
2 tbsp sunflower oil
6-8 chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks work best)
2 medium onions roughly chopped
500g butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 3-4cm cubes
1 large aubergine, cut into cubes 3-4cm
6 new or baby potatoes cut in half
400ml can coconut milk
300ml chicken stock
1 tbsp tamarind paste
3 bay leaves
FOR THE SPICE MIX
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 hot chilli – fresh or in vinegar
1 tsp sea salt flakes
TO FINISH
juice of a lime
1 tbsp of rum
mango or papaya cut into chunks
Grind the spice mix in a mortar and pestle until a smooth paste.
In a large flameproof pan, heat the oil and brown the chicken on all sides, in batches if necessary. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions; cook until soft. Add the squash, aubergine and potato and cook until slightly softening. Now add the spice mix and stir constantly for a few minutes until the aromas are released. Add all the other main ingredients, including adding back the chicken. Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer and cover. Cook like this for 30 minutes then remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes to thicken the sauce. Finish with any combination of the finishing ingredients; if using the fruit, cook until the fruit is hot through. Serve with boiled rice.
Category Home, Recipe Index | Tags: Caribbean,cat,chicken,coconut,curry,main meal,main meals,spices | No Comments
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January 16, 2014 by sarah
So here is the first recipe in a series of forty on spices. This time we are looking at star anise, that pretty star shaped spice with a hidden powerful punch.
Star anise, or Chinese anise, is the star shaped dried fruit (and seeds contained within) of an evergreen tree (Illicium verum, part of the Magnolia family) native to Vietnam and Southwest China, so it is not surprising that it is widely used in the cooking from these countries. It imparts a deep and warming licorice flavour to dishes, like the Vietnamese soup Pho, and is an essential ingredient in Chinese 5 spice mix. But perhaps more surprisingly, it is the flavouring in several liquors such as Sambucca and Pastis and even, until relatively recently, used to manufacture antivirals such as Tamiflu!
I like to use the spice whole, partly because it is so pretty and partly because it is easier to control the flavour level and pick out the bits after. You can buy ground star anise but be very careful with how much you add to a recipe as it is very pungent and will easily overpower any other flavours in the dish. I like to add a star or two to poaching fruit such as plums or pears and I add it my mulled cider recipe (but not to my mulled wine – I like to taste the wine).
Ox Tail Stew with Star Anise
Recipe from ‘River Cottage Everyday’ by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall with a few of my own additions. Serves 4. Tastes even better on the second day, like most curries. Although it contains spices other than the star anise, the later is the star of the show and the predominate flavour but not over powering.
1kg oxtails, cut into thick slices (get the butcher to do it so you don’t chop off a finger trying)
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
2 medium onions, finely sliced
4″ cinnamon stick
3 star anise
2 bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
thumb sized bit ginger, finely grated
up to 1L of good quality beef stock
couple of squares of dark chocolate (70% cocoa minimum)
salt to taste or a splash of soy sauce
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based casserole and brown the meat all over, doing it in several lots so as not to overcrowd the pan and end up stewing up. Remove the meat to a plate and turn the heat down to low and add the onions and a sprinkle of salt. Cook until soft and translucent.
Return the meat to the pan and add all the other ingredients and enough beef stock to just cover the meat.
Bring to a slow simmer and then let is cook very gently for about 3 hours. If easier, you can do this in a low oven (120 C) or a slow cooker.
After this cooking time, remove the meat from the sauce with a slotted spoon and pick out the whole spices and bay leaves. Leave to cool so the fat rises and you can skim it off with a slotted spoon and some paper towel. Reheat the sauce and boil until slightly thickened. You can either add the meat back in as it is or remove from the bones with a couple of forks (may be a good idea to do this for ‘fussies’). Stir in the chocolate.
When you want to serve, heat through thoroughly and serve with mash. It was even better the second day.
Category 40 Spices, Home | Tags: main meals,spice,spices | No Comments
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January 12, 2014 by sarah
Yesterday, I made myself go for an almost proper walk and I am glad I made the effort. I almost wasn’t going to go; I’d been in the garden all morning cleaning out the chicken run and putting a fresh coat of wood preservative on the coop and run and really didn’t feel like more exertion. But I am so glad I did. These pictures were taken at Wendover reservoirs just outside Tring on my new compact camera, a gift from my husband.
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January 10, 2014 by sarah
I bought this lovely merino wool tunic/jumper in a charity shop a few months ago and I fell in love with the colour. I didn’t see at the time it had a hole near the bottom hem, but as it was a bargain and the money goes to charity when shopping in such shops, I didn’t feel hard done by. But I was wandering what I could do with the tunic until I flicked through a couple of books on embellishing clothes, a form of up-cycling. And this is applique in wool felt is what I ended up doing; half an hour of work and I have a totally personalised and cute top to wear! I am now tempted to embellish a few other slightly worn items…
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