Parsnip, Chorizo and Chestnut Soup

I make no secret about the fact that I just love parsnips. Boiled, roasted, fried, mashed . . . I'll take em any way that I can get em!!

It's been so cold here. In fact today we had our first frost of the year, which seems a bit early to me, but then . . . it is December and that is to be expected. At least the rain held off today. I'm afraid that one does get quite, quite sick of rain over here . . . I'd ruther have snow.



Along with the cooler temperatures, comes the desire to eat warm and comforting foods. . . foods like this tasty soup.

It's thick and rich, and oh-so-delicious! Full of the sweet flavour of parsnip, carrot, and chestnut, and the lovely smokey flavours of spanish chorizo sausage. It's also very filling, so it makes a meal in and of itself.



All you need to go with it, is a crusty loaf, warm from the oven . . . with sweet butter to gild it's crusty edges.



The chorizo and the hot pepper flakes give it a tasty bite, that warms the cockles of the heart.



This be comfort food, plain and simple.



*Parsnip, Chorizo and Chestnut Soup*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

This is a rich and full flavoured soup. Just perfect after a chilly winter walk. It's quite heavy and rich so a little goes a long way. Serve hot with some crusty bread for the perfect
light supper.

125g raw chorizo, peeled and chopped
1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 stick of celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
200g peeled, cooked chestnuts
(fresh or vaccum packed)
1 litre of hot vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the chorizo into a large saucepan and heat gently for several minutes, until the oil is released from the chorizo and it becomes slightly crispy. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Keep warm. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and parsnips to the pan, stirring to coat them with the oil. Cover and let sweat over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the chili flakes and cumin. Stir and cook until quite fragrant. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Add the hot stock and the chestnuts. Cover and simmer over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables and chestnuts are very tender. Puree with a stick blender until smooth, or in a regular blender. (with care) Ladle into warmed soup bowls and scatter some of the crispy chorizo over top of each to serve.

French Onion Soup

Back in the mid 1970's, during my University Days . . . I had a friend named Julia. She always seemed extremely exotic and daring to me.

For one thing, she came from the big city of Montreal . . . whereas I had grown up in small town nowhere.

For another thing she was living with her boyfriend . . . something else I would never had dared to do back then. Just the thought of it would have killed my mother . . . really.



She eschewed bras, shaving under the arms, and wore halter tops, and she spoke with a very posh Canadian Accent . . . not the small town Nova Scotian Accent that I had . . .



She loved to cook. Wonderfully exotic dishes . . . things I had never heard of in my lifetime, or tasted. Cooking was art to her and . . . while I loved to cook too . . . I had a very narrow repertoire, my sole experience having been based on my mother's simple country cooking and what I had been taught in Home Economics and the few Madame Benoit shows I'd managed to catch on the Take 30 show on weekday television.

This was way before Yan Can Cook, or the Galloping Gourmet!! Or at least before I had ever heard of these chefs . . . (Yes, I was very naieve and innocent!)



Julia introduced me to such exotic dishes as boeuf bourginon and poulet saute a l'estragon . . . I thought she was ever so sophisticated, and I devoured all of her ideas and recipes.




To this day, I never ever cook French Onion Soup without thinking of Julia. I remember thinking this simple soup was a little taste of heaven the first time she made it for us at a little soiree she threw. I remember watching her make it very carefully. She used tinned beef consomme, Campbells if I remember correct and then she used mozzarella and parmesan cheeses . . . the Parmesan pre-grated and from a green cardboard cylinder and the mozzarella also from a hard block and grated. I can remember there being so much mozzarella cheese that we almost choked on it. I think the idea was to have so much Mozzarella that it really strung out when you dipped it out of your bowl.



I have come a very long way since then . . . and I would never use tinned beef consomme . . . I'd also never use cheese from a green cardboard cylinder or mozzarella . . . my cheese of choice being freshly grated Parmesan and sweet and nutty freshly grated Gruyere . . .

I expect that Julia would never use them anymore either . . . I often wonder what happened to her. I imagine that she is the lady in residence of a beautiful country home or the wife of a Canadian Diplomat . . . or maybe she is just like me . . . a card carrying foodie, that just can't get enough . . .

of what else . . . but . . . food, recipes, and . . . French Onion Soup.



*French Onion Soup*
Serves 4 to 6
(Depending on how greedy you are)
Printable Recipe

Sitting down to a hot bowl of this delicious soup, one might imagine that they are sitting in a little Bistro in the middle of Paris, instead of in a windswept and wet cottage in the middle of Kent. Ahh . . . perchance to dream . . .

50g unsalted butter
1 TBS olive oil
3 large spanish type of onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 TBS plain flour
1 litre of well flavoured beef or chicken stock
600ml dry white wine
1 fresh bay leaf
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 baguette, thinly sliced
200g freshly grated Gruyere cheese
4 to 6 TBS of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Heat over medim heat, until the butter is melted and beginning to foam. Add the onions, reduce the heat and cook over low for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for several minutes until very fragrant. Stir in the flour and cook for another minute. Add the stock, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then immediately reduce the heat and simmer on low, very gently for 20 to 25 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Turn out the heat and allow it to stand for about half an hour to an hour.

When you are ready to serve, gently re-heat the soup until it is hot. Pre-heat the grill to high. Place the baguette slices on a baking tray and brown under the grill until lightly toasted on both sides. Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls and place the bowls on a baking tray. Top each bowl of soup with a few baguette rounds and sprinkle evenly with first the Gruyere cheese and then the Parmesan. Place under the grill and cook until browned and bubbling. Serve immediately.

Spicy Parsnip and Leek Soup

It's just bucketing it down today. I don't think I've seen it rain so hard in a long time. When I walked home from the big house for my dinner break today, I was completely soaked through by the time I got to our cottage . . .



The wind was blowing so hard the rain was drifting horizontally . . .



Desperate weather, calls for desperate measures . . .



Yes . . . this is a soup day.



Soup, the perfect food for a wet and dismal day when you are chilled right through to the bone.
Nothing warms you up better, don't you think?



*Spicy Parsnip and Leek Soup*
Serves 6 to 8
Printable Recipe

This soup is sweet and spicy. Adding toasted cumin and black onion seed at the end gives it a delicious twist!

2 TBS butter
1 large spanish onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 cups chicken stock
2 medium leeks, the white and light green parts, trimmed, washed and sliced into 1/2 inch thick thick coins
750g bag of parsnips, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick coins
750g of floury potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 TBS olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black onion seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally over medium heat until softened and lightly browned. Add the leeks, parsnips and potatoes. Cook and stir to coat with the butter. Cook, and sweat for 10 to 15 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the chicken stock, tumeric and cayenne pepper. Season to taset with some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until very soft. Using a stick blender, puree the soup, then pass through a sieve if desired. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the cumin, onion and mustard seeds. Cook and stir in the oil until the seeds begin to pop. Carefully stir the hot oil/seed mixture into the soup. Taste and add more cayenne if desired. Serve hot.

Tomato and Chick Pea Soup

Some days I am sincerely lacking in time. Days when I have extra work on up at the big house that I cook in, and then have the shopping to do for work as well . . . and yet . . . we still have to eat here at home.

I still have to feed my husband and myself.



Those are the days when I rely on a well stocked larder.

A well stocked larder that I can go to at a moments notice and rustle up a meal in quick time.



A meal that is not only filling, but delicious.



A meal that is easy, quick, delicious and pleasing to the eye . . .



When you have a husband that hates pasta . . . it can be a real challenge.



This tasty soup fits the bill perfectly.

It's quick. It's delicious. It's filling. Not only does it use some of my favourite ingredients, but it uses things I always have in my larder.



Necessity is the beautiful mother of invention . . . don't you think? With some crusty bread on the side, this was very . . . very satisfying.



*Tomato and Chick Pea Soup*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

A store cupboard recipe that goes together in a flash and uses things that most of us have on hand in our larders. Tasty and filling. Don't overdo the smoked paprika . . . you only want a hint of the flavour . . .you don't want it to take over.

a spash of olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 stalk of celery, minced
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 14-oz tin of chick peas, drained
1 14-tin of cherry tomatoes, undrained
1/8 tsp of smoked paprika
1 bay leaf broken in half
2 cups vegetable stock
salt and black pepper to taste
1 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, celery and rosemary. Cook and stir for several minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and stock. Stir in the bay leaf and smoked paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Discard the bay leaf. Using a stick blender, blitz it a few times to crush some of the peas, but you want a lot of texture and some whole peas, so don't overdo it. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required. Stir in the parsley and serve in heated bowls.

Cheese Crusted Tomato Soup

I think my favourite comfort supper of all, especially on a cold and rainy day, has got to be tomato soup with a toasted cheese sandwich.

The soup all rich and full of ripe tomato flavours . . .




The Sandwich all crisp and buttery and filled with oodles of meltingly rich cheddar cheese . . .

I got to thinking about that at work today . . . the rain pelting down on the windows was so miserable and I was longing for comfort . . . and then I had the thought . . .



what if you combined the two . . .

You know . . . like onion soup . . .



the rich tomato soup laying beneath a toasted crouton covered in lucious cheese, all melted and bubbling on top.

The idea of it was all I could think about the whole morning through.



I could hardly wait to get home so that I could make it.



It was gorgeously scrumptious, comforting and . . . very . . . very . . . moreish.



*Cheese Crusted Tomato Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Tomato soup and grilled cheese has to be the epitome of soulful comfort food. I have combine the two here in a delightfully delicious combination. This has real wow factor.

For the soup:
2 TBS butter
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
24 ounces chicken stock
3 ounces tomato paste
1 400g tin of chopped tomatos
1 heaped TBS dried basil
salt and black pepper to taste
For the Cheese Crouton:
2 large crusty rolls
6 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
chopped fresh parsley to garnish

First make the soup. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until very fragrant. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, tomatoes and dried basil. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt and black pepper to taste. It is at this point where you can blitz it with a stick blender and make it really smooth if that is what you like, or you can blitz it just a little bit so that it is still a bit chunky.

Heat the grill to high. Cut the ends off of each of your rolls and then cut the middles into two thick slices. Toast them on both sides under the grill.

Place four heavy soup bowls on an oven tray. You want bowls that will be safe under the grill. Ladle the hot soup into the bowls, dividing it equally amongst the four dishes. Float a slice of toasted bread on top of each, then sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese evenly over top, again dividing it equally amongst the four dishes.

Slide the tray with the filled soup bowls under the grill and grill until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove from the grill and serve immediately with a garnish of chopped fresh parsley on top of each. Enjoy!

Note - Warn your eaters that the bowls will be hot!

Potage Crecy

For the last two weeks my veggie box has contained a huge bunch of lovely carrots. I love carrots, and not just because they can help you to see in the dark!

What's that you say? My mother was lying??? Say it ain't so!!!



Anyways, I digress . . . Carrots are one of my favourite vegetables, right up there with potatoes, which by the way they have had in the box as well.

I do have quite a lot of carrots that need to be used up and so yesterday, as the weather was kind of cool and breezy (what happened to July?), I decided to make us a tasty soup for our supper, which used up a good lot of those carrots and some of the potatoes and onions too!



This was lovely and full of flavour, quite unlike any other carrot soup I have eaten in the past. In fact, if I hadn't known there were carrots in it because I made it myself, I would have been hard pressed to define exactly where that elusively delicious flavour came from . . .

Note, if you use vegetable stock in this, it becomes Vegetarian.



*Potage Crecy*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Crecy is a small town northeast of Paris, where the carrots are said to be some of the tastiest in the world. Make sure you use a strong chicken or vegetable stock for this tasty soup!

2 TBS butter
1 medium onion, peeled and coarsley chopped
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 small potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cups sliced carrots
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup basil leaves shredded
2 1/2 cups of Chicken or Vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
dash of Tabasco sauce
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 TBS fresh lemon juice



Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sweat over low heat until nicely softened, without browning. This should take some 5 minutes or so. Add the carrots, potato, tomatoes, and basil. Pour the stock over and add the salt. Season to taste with some pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat at the end of the simmering time and puree with a stick blender, or if you don't have one, puree very carefully in very small amounts in a regular blender. Add the Tabasco sauce and lemon juice. Serve hot.

Baked Bean Soup

It got rather chilly yesterday. Spect it was the rain. Funny how a little rain can do that. We had to have the fire on for a time to warm things up in here. Rainy days are soup days. Soup has always equated warmth and comfort to me. Perhaps it's all those Campbell's Soup commercials I grew up with. There was always a child walking home from school in the rain, all cold and wet, only to be greeted by his mum at the door with a hot bowl of Campbell's Soup waiting on the table, usually chicken noodle. But . . . I digress . . .

I accidentally took a package of home baked beans out of the freezer the other day, thinking they were chicken in sauce. Yesterday with all the cold and rain I decided to turn them into a delicious soup. This really was wonderful and filling and oh-so-very-comforting.

The recipe is from my Fanny Farmer Cooking School cookbook. (I call it Old Reliable) That Fanny Farmer sure knew what she was doing.

*Baked Bean Soup*
Makes 8 cups
Printable Recipe

This is a truly delicious soup, using simple ingredients. Quick to make, and very simple, you can have it on the table in about 35 minutes or so. I have never tried it with tinned baked beans but I expect they would taste pretty good done up this way as well.

4 cups baked beans
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 1/2 cups tinned tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp mild chili powder
6 cups water
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Put 3 cups of the baked beans, the onion, celery, tomatoes, chili powder and water into a large pot. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered for about 30 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree until smooth. You can also use a potato masher for a slightly coarser texture. Add the reserved baked beans. Reheat, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Serve ladled into hot soup bowls for a delicious lunch time treat.