Cook Your Life

Borlotti Bean & Pancetta Soup

January = Borasic, broke, pot-less, skint, penniless, strapped.

Unless you're lucky enough to be carrying a black Am-ex in your back pocket, most of us spend the first month of the year eking out store-cupboard leftovers and searching out value products in the supermarkets.

The upside of this enforced poverty is that we can feel safe in the knowledge that the almost universal resolution of exorcising our over-indulged holiday appetite is helped along by only being able to afford vegetables.

Being a little warped, I find a perverse enjoyment in serving up dishes that cost very little and taste like they were paid for using the black Am-ex I mentioned earlier.

This soup recipe is luxurious, comforting and above all cheap. To get really silky smooth results, you can pass the liquid though a sieve before serving.

 

Borlotti Bean & Pancetta Soup

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 10m
Cooking Time - 30m
Beverage Suggestion -  Chablis

Ingredients

400g or 5 Cups Borlotti Beans, pre-cooked
150g or 1.5 Cups Pancetta, diced
10g or 1/3 Cup Sage, finely chopped
10g or 1/3 Cup Flat Leaf Parsley, finely chopped
1/2 litre or 2 Cups Chicken Stock
1x Carrot, finely chopped
1x Celery Stick, finely chopped
1x Garlic Clove, finely Chopped
1/2 Leek , finely chopped
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*Optional*1 tsp Balsamic Truffle Oil for drizzling (optional)
Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste

Directions

1. Fry the bacon and vegetables in the oil until soft
2. Add the beans, stock and herbs
3. bring to the boil and simmer for 20m
4. Blend, and pass through a sieve
5. Season to taste
6. Serve, drizzled with the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic truffle oil (if using)

Pumpkin & Smoked Duck Soup

The last time I thought smoking was cool was in my teens, when a Marlbro Red and bottle of Jack were de rigueur accessories for any hairsprayed, leather-jacketed rock god.

These days, the only smoking I think is cool is the sort that wraps hickory flavoured goodness around hunks of protein.

Smoking meat and fish as a way to preserve it has been around since we were sat round ugging, clubbing and getting more than a little excited by fire. It preserves the meat through dehydration and imparting chemicals into the meat via the smoke itself.

You can smoke almost any type of meat, and by using different types of wood pellet, you can impart either subtle, or smack-you-round-the-face character to your flesh of choice.

This dish uses Mallard duck breast smoked over some cherry wood. These particular chips lend a candied tobacco essence which compliment the mellow, silky seasonal pumpkin soup.

 

Pumpkin & Smoked Duck Soup

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 10m
Cooking Time - 25m
Beverage Suggestion -  Californian Chardonnay

Ingredients

1/2 Pumpkin, sectioned
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste
1 tsp Allspice
500ml or 2 Cups Vegetable Stock
30g or 1/3 Cup Smoked Duck Breast, chopped
1x Garlic Clove, finely Chopped
1x Shallot, finely Chopped
1 tbsp Double Cream

 

Directions

1. Drizzle the pumpkin with olive oil and sprinkle with the allspice, salt and pepper
2. Roast at Gas Mark 5/375f/190c for around 40m until the pumpkin is soft
3. Sauté the garlic & shallot for 5m
4. Scrape the Pumpkin from the skin
5. Blend using a little stock
6. Add the rest of the stock, cream & simmer for 10m
7. Season to taste
8. Serve with Chopped Smoked Duck on top

Butternut Squash Macchiato

The scent of smoky, fired meat on a BBQ, wrapped in the chill of quickly darkening evening, means Autumn is well and truly settled into its pipe and slippers for 2010.

This is my favourite time of year for food. Rich game meats, smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, cosying up to mugs of steaming chocolate topped with bourbon (oh, that could just be me!) and even more reason to spend my weekends over a hot stove all add up to a happy Fall.

Butternut Squash is an Orange Winter Squash, with a sweet pulp that can be roasted, pureed or even used as a sweet pie filling. Spicy fall flavours are it's best friends, and this soup is smooth and silky. The light froth made using salty ricotta cheese add a subtle tang and turn a humble veloute into a special dinner party indulgence.

Butternut Squash Macchiato

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 10m
Cooking Time - 25m
Beverage Suggestion -  Californian Chardonnay

Ingredients

1/2 Butternut Squash, peeled and diced
1 tbsp Olive Oil
15g or 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste
100 ml or 1/3 Cup Double Cream
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1x Garlic Clove, finely chopped
500ml or 2 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 tbsp Ricotta Cheese

Directions

1. Place the shallot, squash and garlic in a heavy bottomed pan with half the butter and olive oil
2. Fry gently for around 10m until the squash is soft
3. Add a splash of Stock, blend into a puree
4. Sieve
5. Add the rest of the stock, stir though
6. Simmer for 10m
7. In a seperate pan, mix the cream and cheese
8. Stir over a low heat with a little extra salt to taste for around 5m
9. Season the soup to taste
10. Pour the soup into bowls
11. Whisk the cream cheese mixture with a cappuccino frother/whisk until bubbles are produced
12. Spoon the froth over the soup to serve

Phở

It's right about this time of year that the inevitable lethargy sets in. I start to 'lose my stoke' so to speak.

I start getting sad that we see more cloud than sun, worrying about the state of my ever-red bank account and long for some foreign money in my pocket and sand beneath my toes.

To try and counteract this maudlin' frame of mind I've thrown myself into some hardcore workouts, post-muscle-sweat pampering, and most importantly good old fashioned healthy, comforting and smile inducing grub!

Today's recipe will chase away all sorts of malady, from break up blues, jaundiced job-hunting, over-indulged & inebriated insides to sniffly snouts and abusers of alliteration.

Phở is a Vietnamese dish, thought to have originated over one hundred years ago. It can be made with anything you like really; raw beef, shrimps, chicken, meatballs and chicken livers. It is usually served with noodles too, which can vary in thickness, and always delivered with a host of different bits and pieces that the diner can add at the table.

I always serve this cleansing hot and sour broth on New Years Day as part of an Asian feast to welcome the new year and chase away all the leftover booze lurking in my worn out liver.

Feel free to add or remove any meat, noodles or seafood you might like, and be prepared to sweat a little..Summer Sadness Begone!

Phở

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 15m
Cooking Time - 20m
Beverage Suggestion -  Tsing Tsao Beer

Ingredients

2x Garlic Clove, finely chopped
1/2 Leek, finely chopped
1x Spring Onion, chopped
1x Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 inch square piece of Ginger, finely chopped
1/2 Red Chilli, finely chopped
200g or 2 Cups Shiitake Mushrooms, finely chopped
300g or 2 Cups Chicken/Beef (pre-cooked)
1 tsp Pink Peppercorns
2x Star Anise
1/2 stick Cinnamon
1 ltr or 4 Cups Chicken/Beef Stock
1 tbsp Nam Pla
1 tbsp Grape-seed Oil
4x Noodle Portions (Style of your choosing)

Accompaniments
10g or 1/3 Cup Coriander, chopped
10g or 1/3 Cup Thai Basil, chopped
10g or 1/3 Cup Mint, chopped
1x Red Chilli, chopped
2x Spring Onions, chopped
60g or 2/3 Cup Beansprouts
2x Limes, quartered

Directions

1. Fry the vegetables in the oil for 5m
2. Add the protein, stock and spices
3. Bring to the boil, and simmer for around 20 minutes (dropping the noodles in based on their suggested cooking time)
4. Stir through the Nam Pla to taste
5. Serve with finger bowls of the accompaniments
6. Serve with finger bowls of accompaniments

White Bean & Chorizo Soup

Today brought beautiful sunshine, the smell of cut grass, and an inkling of spring..for those with triskaidekaphobia it brings the happiness of surviving another fateful Friday the 13th with (hopefully) no ill effects. 

Unlike Airlines; Lufthansa, Continental & Air France, who don’t include a 13th row, or most large Hotels devoid of a thirteenth floor, I love Friday the 13th.

I think there’s something mysterious and very special about it, akin to most of those in the tattooed world, where this day and number are seen as very lucky indeed.

Many Ink aficionados' have had numerous 13‘s from a tattoo gun, my husband got his first one on his hand this year, and next time one comes around, I will be picking a suitable piece of skin for my lucky number too.

The weekend also marked my husbands birthday, so, in his honour, I cooked the first of two special birthday meals...None of which burnt, split, soured or spoilt. 

This soup would’ve made Jason Vorhees put down his machete and tuck in!

White Bean & Chorizo Soup

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 5m
Cooking Time - 25m
Beverage Suggestion -  Pinotage

Ingredients

400g or 2 Cups Cannellini Beans, cooked

14 slices Chorizo, 6x chopped and 12 left whole

500ml or 2 Cups Vegetable Stock

1 tbsp Double Cream

1x Red Onion, finely chopped

1x Garlic Clove, finely chopped

10g or 1/3 Cup Flat-Leaf Parsley, chopped

1 tbsp Vermouth

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste

Directions

1. Sauté the vegetables in olive oil for 5m

2. Add the chopped chorizo and cook for 2m

3. Add the beans

4. De-glaze the pan with vermouth

5. Add stock and simmer for 10m

6. Blend and sieve, return to pan

7. Add the cream and simmer for 5m

8. Season to taste

9. In a separate pan fry the whole chorizo slices for a 2m each side couple until crisp

10. Set aside the oil from the chorizo pan

11. Serve the soup garnished with chorizo oil, crispy slices and parsley

 

Truffled Artichoke Soup

This time of year many peoples thoughts turn to romance, they want dishes that will delight, seduce and entrance their loved ones. Recipes that inspire them to light candles, fluff pillows, and scatter rose petals.
Well, this is one such soup. Served at the start of your special meal, their hearts will melt just as soon as the silky truffled cream is brought to their lips. 
The best part is that it's seasonal and simple to make. Give it a try, I promise your partner will thank-you for it.

Truffled Artichoke Soup

Serves 4
Preparation TIme - 10m
Cooking Time - 45m
Beverage Suggestion - Chardonnay

Ingredients

500g or 2 Cups Jerusalem Artichokes, peeled and chopped (Place in acidulated water until ready to use

1x Garlic Clove, finely chopped

1x Shallot, finely chopped

2 tbsp White Wine

2 tbsp Double Cream

500ml or 2 Cups Vegetable Stock

Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste

15g or 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter

100g or 1/2 Cup Pancetta, diced 

1 tsp White Truffle Oil

30g or 1/3 Cup Parmesan, grated

Directions

1. Fry the pancetta Lightly fry Pancetta for 3 minutes

2. Add the garlic, shallot and artichokes

3. Sauté for 20m until the artichokes are tender

3. De-glaze with the wine

4. Pour in Stock and bring to the boil

5. Simmer for a further 15m

6. Blend and sieve

7. Return to the pan and add the cream, parmesan and season to taste

8. Serve with a drop of truffle oil on top