SPICY TOMATO AND RED PEPPER SOUP

I seem to be on a mission at the moment to find soup recipes with both 'bowl and taste appeal'. Lots of recipes disappoint me, and in the past I have had more than my fair share of failures. This winter has been unusually cold, and a bowl of homemade soup with freshly baked bread is the ultimate in mid-day comfort food.

Maybe, if you have thought about making soup, but the thoughts of buying fresh soup from the supermarket holds more attraction - I hope these following two soup recipes will help change your mind.

Lightly seeded bread straight from the bread machine was a perfect accompaniment.

Hot Food is a great cookery book and every recipe is accompanied with a photograph. It's always helpful and much more user friendly to look at a beautifully styled photograph.

There are recipes for most of us in this wonderful book. Chapters on soup, spicy, rice and noodles, hearty and pasta. Recipes such as asparagus soup with Parmesan crisps - lamb kofta curry - tamarind beef, bean and noodle stir-fry - Welsh lamb pie and for rainy day cooking - pasta with lamb shank, rosemary and red wine ragu.

HOT FOOD

ISBN 1740452259 - Page 65

Serves: 4-6 people

This is the slightly adapted recipe:

You will need: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 finely chopped red onions, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 2 teaspoons paprika, 2 diced red peppers, 90g tomato puree, 250ml dry white wine, 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes, 500ml chicken or vegetable stock, 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, 4 tablespoons chopped coriander.

1. Heat the oils in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the red pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and the wine, simmer for a couple of minutes, or until reduced slightly. Add the tomato, stock and 500ml water. Season and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Puree most of the soup along with the herbs. Add the remainder of the soup mix to the puree. Enjoy!


My next success story is Tomato and Basil Soup taken from Olive Magazine, a link to this recipe can be found here on the BBCGoodFood website.

The recipe states that it cooks in 15 minutes, but I found it took a good 30 minutes to cook all of the vegetables. If the soup gets too thick, just thin it down a little.

Another soup to enjoy with some good crusty bread!

PORCINI AND SPINACH RISOTTO

In the February 2009 Olive Magazine on page 48, they are giving suggestions for, 7 meals for £35.00.

1. Chicken hotpot
2. Thai burgers with salsa and sweet potato wedges
3. Lamb dhansak
4. Beef, mushroom and red wine pies
5. Skinny pizza
6. Porcini and spinach risotto
7. Herb and pea fishcakes

All of the recipes read really well, and I have already lined up the lamb dhansak, to make this coming week.

I never feel the need to eat meat every day, and this vegetarian risotto was a winner. In fact, delicious.

It took about 20 minutes for the rice to absorb most of the stock. If you like your rice to absorb all of the stock, then another five minutes or so should take care of this.

If you don't have any dried porcini, it doesn't mean that you can't make this recipe - just leave it out!


I used Riso Gallo Organic Arborio Risotto Rice, which I bought from a large Tesco Supermarket.

To serve 2 people:

You will need:

25g dried porcini, 50g butter, 1 small finely chopped onion, 1 clove garlic crushed, 200g sliced chestnut mushrooms, 150g risotto rice, a glass white wine, 750ml vegetable stock (kept simmering), 100g washed spinach, a few shavings Parmesan.

1. Soak the porcini in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid through a sieve to remove any grit and keep for the risotto. Roughly chop the porcini.
2. Heat the butter in a wide shallow pan and cook the chopped onion and garlic until softened. Add the chestnut mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, add the porcini and risotto rice and stir until coated.
3. Pour in the wine and bubble until it is all absorbed. Gradually add the simmering stock and porcini soaking liquid stirring until the rice is tender but still has a little bite. Stir through the spinach until just wilted.
4. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan shavings.

LEMON TART BRULEE

'You Challenge Gordon Ramsay' is a new series in Olive Magazine where a reader challenges Gordon Ramsay to see if their recipe against his, in a blind test by three members of the Olive Magazine reader panel, matches up to Gordon's. Of course Gordon won, but only by one point!

The lemon tart has melted dark chocolate brushed over the cooked pastry case and this is then allowed to cool before adding the lemon filling. I chose not to use the chocolate because I wasn't too sure about messing about with a classic recipe. The purpose of the chocolate, although not written about in the recipe, is I presume to keep the pastry base from going soft. Next time I make the tart though, it will definitely be with the chocolate base!

The pastry can be made in the food processor, a quick whizz and it's done. The pastry is quite sticky and I decided to roll the pastry out between two sheets of cling film to make life easier.

If you decide to have a go at making this tart try not to over cook the filling, but leave it at the wobble stage in the centre.


When the tart had cooled I dusted it with icing sugar and then my husband ran an industrial blowtorch over the surface to give a brulee effect! You don't think I'm going to use that thing, do you?!!! If you scan down to the end of this posting you will see him having some brulee fun.

The filling had lots of lemon flavour and not too sweet, the pastry was very similar to shortbread. I'll definitely be making this again - but not this side of Christmas!

OLIVE MAGAZINE - October 2008 Page 61 The tart serves 8.

MINI MASCARPONE AND RASPBERRY TRIFLES

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm guessing most of you would rather have a drink in a shot glass
in the lead up to 2008, but I used some of the glasses for these mini trifles.

The original recipe says to use Madeira cake but you could use a couple of trifle sponges and substitute the Cointreau for Disaronno an amaretto liqueur.
A couple of comments about the recipe. It is best to beat the mascarpone well before putting a dollop into the glasses. Also, I wouldn't leave them hanging around too long before serving, otherwise they will start to look a little tired!

I nearly forgot to say - one shot glass of this trifle is more than enough and they taste wonderful.

Olive Magazine - January 2007

Serves: 4

8 tablespoons mascarpone, 1 tablespoon icing sugar, cut 2 slices Madeira cake into small chunks, 100g fresh or frozen raspberries, 1 tablespoon flaked almonds.

1. Beat the mascarpone, icing sugar and 1 tablespoon of the Cointreau in a bowl. Divide the cake between 4 small glasses then drizzle over the rest of the Cointreau and spoon in a layer of mascarpone.
2. Gently crush the raspberries (save some for decoration) then divide between the glasses. Spoon the rest of the mascarpone over.
3. Decorate with raspberries and almonds.

MARINATED RED ONION, SPINACH AND PINE NUT SALAD

Although at this time of the year we turn our thoughts to comfort food, I try to eat some lighter meals midweek. Christmas is only a few weeks away and I start to think of all of those extra calories eaten over such a short time. If the pounds pile on now in the run up to Christmas, then the problem becomes greater over the festive period.

If I eat sensibly then I don't have any weight issues, but unfortunately, that isn't the case with my husband, who just has to look at food and seems to be able to put on the pounds!

After cooking Pasta with Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes I had lots of spinach left and so this salad was made and I served it with a savoury tart.


OLIVE MAGAZINE - August 2007

Serves: 4

Marinating the onions gives them a lovely sweet and sour flavour and takes away some of the rawness.

1 red onion (halved and sliced), 1 tbsp caster sugar, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 100g young spinach, 4 tbsp toasted pine nuts, olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 150ml natural yoghurt .

1. Put the red onion in a bowl and toss with the sugar and vinegar. Leave for 10-15 minutes to soften. Put the spinach in a large serving dish. Drain the onions then scatter over the spinach with the pine nuts.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the cumin seeds. When they start to pop, take off the heat and stir into the yoghurt. Drizzle over the salad and serve.