Cauliflower soup with smoky bacon

Tags

appetiser, appetizer, bacon, cauliflower, comfort food, Soup, starter

I recently made this soup for a weeknight dinner for Stuart and myself and posted a photo on my Instagram and Facebook pages.  By the following morning, I was inundated with requests for the recipe and thus begins my return to blogging.  It is so easy to make but looks like you spent hours slaving over a hot stove.  Perfect starter to a fancy meal or just dinner for two with some crusty bread.  Prep takes about 20 minutes and cooking time 40 minutes.
Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 slices bacon
400g/14oz potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large cauliflower, broken into florets
1 branch of celery, sliced thinly
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 leek, white part only, cut into thin slices
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Parsley
1 bay leaf
80g/3oz freshly grated parmesan
3 tablespoons thick crème fraîche
1,5L/3 pints chicken stock
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 pinches nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat
Add the celery, onion, leek and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, do not let it colour
Add the potatoes, 3/4 of the cauliflower, stock, bay leaf and nutmeg
Bring to the boil, lower heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes until veggies cooked
Remove the bay leaf
Add the crème fraîche and parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste and keep warm
Place the remaining 1/4 cauliflower on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Roast for 15 minutes
Add the bacon, cut into small pieces, to the hot baking sheet and return all to the oven for 5 minutes
Using a stick blender, purée the soup for a few minutes
Pour the soup into preheated soup bowls, add a few pieces of roasted cauliflower and some crispy bacon to each bowl
Add parmesan, sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with olive oil

Bon appétit ! 

Stuffed courgette

Tags

baked vegetables, courgettes, lunch, mince, stuffed vegetables, Veal

These stuffed courgettes are typical fare in France and especially in the South of France. There are numerous recipes for these famous stuffed vegetables, but this is one of my favourites. As we enter summer here in the northern hemisphere, we are starting to see all the typical summer vegetables start to arrive at the local weekly markets and courgettes are one of the most abundant and my favourites. I have used round courgettes here but you can use large beefsteak tomatoes, onions and aubergines too, it’s sometimes nice to stuff an assortment of vegetables this way, so your guests have a choice of which vegetable they prefer.

I made the stuffing in advance, assembled it all and popped it in the oven for 45 minutes once my lunch guests had arrived.

I used veal mince but you can use beef, pork sausage or ground chicken or even if you are vegetarian, omit the meat and add some cooked rice or quinoa in its place.

Serve these delicious stuffed vegetables with a green salad and a crusty baguette to mop up the juices and a glass of wine. voila – perfect, simple summer lunch.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 round courgettes
1 tablespoon olive oil
400g / 15oz ground veal
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 red or yellow pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180C / 360F
Cut the tops off the courgettes, keeping them to use as lids and using a pointed spoon, hollow out the centres of the courgettes and keep the flesh
Place the courgettes in a baking dish and set aside
Heat some oil over medium heat in a sauté pan
Add the onions and peppers and cook until soft and translucent
Add the garlic, courgette flesh, tomatoes and meat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes
Add salt, pepper, cumin and herbs
Spoon the mixture into the courgettes and place the tops back on top of the courgettes Drizzle a little olive oil over and around the stuffed vegetables and bake for 45 minutes, or until well browned and the vegetables are soft, but still holding their shape
Serve hot or at room temperature
Enjoy!

Tomato soup with gnocchi

Tags

gnocchi, Pasta, Soup, tomato

Winter is fast approaching here in the Dordogne and the days are much shorter and cooler. It does not snow here, at least not very often. The last decent snow was about 5 years ago according to the locals and that was real snow, 5 days where many could not leave home, no power, no heat, due to the lines down. We do not get snow here so when we do, we are not quite prepared to deal with it. Very different from the time I lived in Denmark for 18 months. But, I like to think my pantry is well stocked to withstand me not being able to leave for at least 10 to 14 days; my husband would argue that it is stocked to keep us going for at least a month. But, I would need heat and gas and electricity.

One of the meals that I might make is this soup. Great tasting and easy. Plus the gnocchi gives this soup some real substance. In a very comfort-food-like way. Which also helps with the cold. Now, all I need is snow….

Serves 4

Ingredients:

soup
30 ml / 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
Tomatoes, 2 x 410 g cans of chopped tomatoes
5 tablespoons tomato paste or 1 x 80 g can
100 ml dry white wine
1 tablespoon sugar
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon, preferably organic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Basil, about 1/2 cup, fresh and roughly chopped
500 ml vegetable bouillon
Parmesan, freshly grated

gnocchi
500 g / 1 lb floury potatoes, baked and cooled (see below)
30 g / 1/4 cup flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Preparation: 

gnocchi
To bake the potato, using a fork, prick the skin of the potato all over
Wrap the potato in foil and bake at 175 C /350 F until tender, about 1 hour
Cut the baked potato in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; discard the skin
Using a fork mash the potato and salt together until smooth (better yet, use a potato ricer) you want it to be as smooth as possible
Mix in 3 tablespoons of the egg (reserve the remaining egg for another use or discard)
Sprinkle the flour over the potato mixture
Stir until the mixture forms a dough
Knead until smooth, about 1 minute
On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces
Roll each piece between your palms and the work surface into a 1 cm / 1/2″ diameter rope (about 50 cm  / 20″ long)
Cut the dough into 2 cm / 1″ pieces
Roll each piece of dough over a wooden paddle with ridges or over the back of a fork to form grooves in the dough
Set aside

tomato soup

Heat the oil, over medium heat, in a large casserole or pot
Add the onion and cook until soft but not coloured
Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, sugar, lemon rind and juice
salt, pepper, basil and bouillon
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes
Allow to cool slightly then purée it using an immersion blender (or a food processor for a smoother texture)
Return the soup to the heat
Add the gnocchi to the soup and cook until they rise to the surface of the soup (this will indicate that they are cooked)
Ladle the soup in warmed soup plates or bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan
Enjoy!