Waste not, want not – I

10 July 2014 ~ Fiona ~ 7 Comments

Both my parents grew up in the UK in the Second World War: Mum in Oxford, where her mother took in evacuees and then later also billeted soldiers. Dad grew up in Glasgow, and with his sister, Belle, evacuated to a poultry farm . Consequently, we grew up constantly hearing, “waste not, want not”. Little was thrown away.

So, last Friday, I was making quiches. One of the fillings was broccoli and blue cheese. Having cut off the florets, I was left with this beautiful, thick broccoli stem.

Too good to put into the compost bucket, I thought; and it was a cold, cold day.

Soup is always a good lunch during winter, and a vegetable soup relatively quick to make. So, why not turn the stem into broccoli soup?

Here’s what I did: chopped an onion and sautéd it in a little butter, and then added about a table spoon of flour (you want the soup to have a bit of body). Covered the chopped stalk with vegetable stock and allowed it to boil. Simmer until the vegetables are soft; liquidise and then add some cheese (because I had some, I used Camembert) and liquidise again to ensure the cheese is well distributed. Re-heat and serve with sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.

Tips:

I use Ina Paarman’s vegetable stock powder – it’s a useful standby, and is neither too salty, nor has too many preservatives
Save some of the broccoli florets – steam them and add them to the soup when you serve it.
Of course, you can also add a swirl of cream or a dollop of Greek yoghurt to serve…

Crazy about Courgettes

18 May 2014 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

We have always loved courgettes and eat them in a host of different ways. Tom will even eat them raw, like an apple. So, this year, we have successfully grown them, and when Sannie (pronounced “sunny – because she is) Boervrou, a farmer friend of ours dropped off a box of them, I had such fun making all sorts of things courgette – including for breakfast. So, in addition to pasta carbonara, here are some other really cool ways to cook delicious courgettes – for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner!

Courgette Frittata

Regular readers of this blog know that breakfast is not usually my domain – other than public holidays – and we’ve had a few of those in the last month. The most recent was voting day in South Africa. With no need to get up early, brunch was in order, and with fresh-from-the-vine courgette, and a beautiful autumn day, I thought that a frittata might be fun. A frittata is like a Spanish omelette, but is grilled and can be eaten hot or cold.

I roughly grated one courgette and beat together three eggs to which I added a little milk, salt and pepper as well as a good chunk of butter, chopped into small pieces. In a large pan, in hot olive oil and butter, lightly sauté the courgette and then pour in the egg mixture. Swirl a little in the pan and then cook over a gentle heat until it starts to bubble. While this is happening, warm the grill. When the mixture is quite firm around the edges but “wet-ish” in the middle, sprinkle fresh, chopped origanum and a little finely grated Parmesan or pecorino over the top. Place it under the grill until the egg is firm and the top is nicely browned. A frittata can be served immediately or left to cool. I served our courgette frittata warm, with tomatoes topped with a dollop of cottage cheese and grilled.

Zupa Zucchini

Courgette and Camembert soup makes a delicious light lunch, particularly in autumn. This soup is quite special to me – the original recipe comes from a school friend who now lives in Melbourne, and whom I’ve not seen since school days – some 30-odd years ago. We have reconnected through Facebook and now enjoy cricket “together”, continents apart. So, to make this, you sauté onion and courgette (coarsely chopped) with a potato in a pot and then add stock (ratio of courgette to stock is 1:1). Bring to the boil and simmer until all the vegetables are soft. Liquidise and then season, add Camembert to taste and liquidise again to make sure that the Camembert is well distributed in the soup.

You can make this in a vegan, Kosher or Halaal form by using vegetable stock and omitting the cheese. I have also substituted the potato with a little flour which is added to the vegetables to which you then add the warm or hot stock.

Stuffed courgettes

The last idea that I’m going to share with you is a delicious side dish. The idea came from a few recipes I’ve used and the inclusion of rosemary was the consequence of a suggestion from a friend in the village.

Select nicely shaped, firm courgettes and, depending on the size, half or more, per person. (It’s easier to work with larger ones, so I’d recommend large ones). Cut in half and scoop out the centre and set aside. Pop the shells into a moderate oven, drizzled with olive oil and bake for about 10 minutes – make sure they stay firm. Then, in a pan, sauté finely chopped onion, red pepper and a clove of garlic as well as the reserved flesh. Season to taste and add a little oreganum and/or parsley. Remove the shells from the oven and then stuff, placing a sprig of fresh rosemary between pairs of courgettes – the lovely flavour gently infuses into the marrows as they cook. Put this back in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve as a side dish.

Don’t use dried rosemary, or chop rosemary and add it to the mixture – it is too strong and will overpower everything else.

A twisted Vicheysoisse, among other things…

24 February 2014 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

For the last year or so, I have been making and selling seasonal soups at our local pop-up market. A soup that I made on a whim, and which we enjoyed, didn’t take off, so I didn’t make it again. In my recollection, there had been no sales. Then, imagine my surprise, two Saturdays’ ago, a regular, who has been stocking up on soup, said, “What about that one you made with spinach and sweet potato?”

So, at Jean’s request, I made it again – this time in the height of summer. Consequently, we tried it chilled: it was as delicious cold as it was hot. So, this is my twisted Vicheysoisse:

Roast the sweet potatoes – with onion and garlic if you like – for about 45 minutes. Add to a large soup pot and then add roughly shredded spinach (including all the stalks – why waste them when you’re going to puree the soup anyway?), followed by vegetable stock to cover the sweet potato. Bring to the boil and simmer for about half an hour, until all the vegetables are soft. Puree with a hand blender and season to taste. Serve with a swirl of plain yoghurt and a grating of nutmeg.

And, of course, the soup-making was accompanied by more seasonal quiche fillings – this time, with the addition of beautiful peppers from the garden. Two different fillings – first, leeks with red pepers and then roasted vegetables (butternut, sweet potato, garlic, baby tomatoes, onions and peppers).