Soup inspiration

There's an autumnal chill in the house, and that makes me dream of generous bowls of warm, comforting soup... so of course I've been browsing the interwebs for inspiration, while the courgette soup from the freezer is thawing. :-)

- cashew corn chowder
- white velvet soup

Quinoa sushi

I'm curious to try this recipe for quinoa sushi. I love sushi and I like quinoa as a friend, so they might just make a cute couple.

Baked eggs

Boy this looks like a good breakfast! Recipe from Olivia James.

Green veggie soup with egg

Another recipe from the wonderful Simon Rimmer veggie cook book, a clear green soup that can be made as hearty and filling or as light as you want.

Ingredients:

• oil, for frying
• 6 spring onions, finely chopped
• 3 celery sticks, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 350g potatoes, peeled and cubed
• juice and grated zest of 1 lemon (I use half a lemon, Simon's recipes generally turn out too lemony for me)
• 1,5 litres of vegetable stock
• 100g shelled broad beans (I used one glass jar of white beans)
• 1 head of 'little gem' lettuce (no idea what that is, I just used watercress)
• handful of baby spinach (which I also substituted with watercress)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• grated pecorino cheese, to serve
• watercress sprigs, to garnish (jeej)

Heat some oil in a saucepan, add the onions and celery and fry until soft over a low heat. Add the courgettes, potatoes and lemon zest. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add the stock and bring to the boil. Add the beans, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the lettuce and spinahc and simmer for a further 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked. Season to taste.

Beat the eggs and lemon juice together, then stir into the simmering soup. Cook for just 1 minute, then ladle the soup into bowls. Scatter some cheese on top and garnish with sprigs of watercress.

Goat's Cheese and Onion Tart

The veggie cookbook by Simon Rimmer I got from my friends last year is proving to be a treasure trove of yummy recipes. Upon request, here is the recipe for the goat cheese & onion tart that has been a success at dinner parties so far.

Ingredients:

• mille-feuille pastry (I just get ready-made pastry from the supermarket, but you can make your own of course)
• 50g butter (or a few spoonfuls, the precise measurement doesn't matter)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 large onions or 5-6 smaller ones, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks
• 150ml double cream
• 100g goat's cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C for an oven with a fan). Grease a 20cm tart tin (or just use the baking paper from the store bought mille feuille pastry, natch). For the filling, heat the butter and oil together in a saucepan, then add the onions, garlic, sugar and seasoning and cook over a low heat for about 20 minutes, or until golden.

Whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and cream in a clean mixing bowl (or use your Tupperware Shake-it, like me!). Mix with the onions and pour into the pastry in the tart tin. Scatter the crumbled cheese over the top.

Bake for 20 minutes until the filling is set firm and golden brown.

Fig and goat cheese pastries

I concocted this recipe as a dessert for a family dinner, and it was very well received (especially by the boyfriend, who is an avid fan of figs).

Ingredients:

• 6 sheets of filo dough
• 4 figs, sliced
• 150g of goat's cheese, sliced
• a handful of chopped walnuts
• syrup

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Fold each sheet of filo dough in half, then fill with a slice of goat's cheese, a few slices of fig and some chopped walnuts. Drizzle with syrup. Fold the dough into little packs, if needed securing the top with a toothpick (don't forget to remove it later!)

Bake in a preheated oven for 5-10 minutes, or until the filo dough starts colouring. Serve drizzled with some more syrup. Can be served as a dessert, but also as an appetizer with a salad.

peppered mushroom and blue cheese pie

I've already made this recipe by Simon Rimmer a couple of times, and it's been a hit every time. Hearty wintery warmth for cold winter days. Also nice to serve as individual pastry puffs for an appetizer.

Ingredients:

• millefeuille pastry (I like to use readymade, I'm lazy - nay, I have a full time job)
• 500g mushrooms
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp green peppercorns in brine, drained
• 250ml vegetable stock
• freshly ground black pepper (don't overpepper like I always do... the peppercorns are spicy already)
• 100g blue cheese

Fry the onion and the mushrooms in the olive oil until soft. Add the tomato puree and cook for 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, the stock and the peppercorns, and let boil on moderate heat until the liquid has reduced by half. Season to taste (don't overseason, stock and soy sauce are salty and the peppercorn is spicy!).

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C (if you have a fan oven - for a regular oven, heat to 200°C). Spread a little bit of olive oil in an oven dish, and roll out the pastry to an appropriate size for making an evelope of more or less 20x25cm. Put the pastry in the oven dish, pour in the mushrooms and sprinkle with the crumbled blue cheese. Fold the pastry into an envelope and put in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Simon Rimmer suggests to serve this pie with mashed potatoes and green beans, but every time I've found just the pie more than enough by itself.

summer salad idea

I know, I know, it's January, and hardly the time of year to be thinking up summer salads. I stumbled across this salad in the ready-made aisle in the supermarket close to work while looking for a quick lunch, and I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was (for a ready made salad, you know). This seems like a nice combination to serve at a summer barbecue, with a piece of grilled salmon or tuna.

Ingredients:

• spirelli (or whatever other pasta shape takes your fancy)
• mayonnaise
• yoghurt
• cucumber
• dill
• pink peppercorn
• strips of smoked salmon (optional if serving with grilled salmon)

Boil the spirelli. Make a creamy but ligher sauce by mixing the mayonnaise and the yoghurt and toss with the strained and cooled spirelli. Toss in cubes of cucumber, chopped dill and a tablespoon of pink peppercorn, and the strips of smoked salmon.