Creamy Spiced ‘Marigold’ Soup

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Posted by catherineevans63 in Food and Drink

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Food, Ginger, Recipe, Soup, spices, Vegan, Vegetable Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian

A bowlful of goodness

My Creamy Spiced ‘Marigold’ Soup isn’t made with any flowers at all but its attractive orange hue reminds me of the pretty African Marigolds growing in our front garden as a young girl growing up in Zambia. We lived there while my father carried out his two-year contract at the University of Lusaka and my mother was Secretary to the Bursar there. We returned to the UK in June 1971 when political and social unrest was beginning to make life increasingly difficult for the expatriate community.

This soup recipe is easy and packs a punch, taking around 15-20 minutes to prepare depending on how large or small you chop your root vegetables and using hot stock will also help things along. I have used carrots, turnip and sweet potato but you could substitute the sweet potato with squash or pumpkin, for example, as they belong to the same family of vegetables. If you avoid spicy food or are making it for people who have plainer tastes or who are unwell, you can still make this soup but omit the spices. For extra creaminess try adding a splash of coconut milk instead of cream and keep it vegan!

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tbsp coconut or other oil
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small white turnip, peeled and chopped
1 celery stick, diced
1 white onion, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
1 tsp curry powder (optional)
1 tsp cumin (optional)
1 tsp turmeric (optional)
2 cm piece root ginger, chopped
a good pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
1 litre vegetable stock, or vegetable water (eg left over from steamed vegetables)
1 bay leaf
Sea salt and pepper
Splash of single cream or coconut milk (optional)

Method

Scoop one tablespoon of coconut oil into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and when it has melted, turn the heat right down and add the diced onion and celery adding a little sea salt and sweat them down for a few minutes. Be careful not to let them brown, they only need to be softened. Add the chopped garlic and stir through to combine.
Add the curry powder, chilli flakes and other spices (if using) and stir quickly through the softened onion, garlic and celery, then add the other vegetables, stirring everything together to thoroughly combine.
Turn up the heat a little and pour in the hot vegetable stock or vegetable water and the bay leaf and bring to the boil, then simmer until all the vegetables are cooked through, adjusting the heat if necessary.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool slightly, remove the bay leaf and then whizz with a stick blender until smooth.
Return to a low heat, add a good splash of cream or coconut milk to your liking and check and adjust the seasoning with a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper if necessary.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a sprinkling of fresh chopped parsley or coriander and perhaps a small swirl of coconut milk or cream and serve with crusty bread.

Bon appetit!

COOK’S NOTES

Omit the garlic if you do not like it
You can make this soup with pre-cooked root vegetables or leftovers, which will speed up the cooking time.
If you love coriander, add a teaspoon of ground coriander seeds at stage 2.
If you do not have any root ginger, a teaspoon of ginger powder or dried galangal will work just as well.
If you do not like spicy soup, make it without some or all of the spices but try adding 1 tbsp tomato puree or tomato ketchup
If the soup is too thick, add a little water at stage 5.
For the stock, if you are not using homemade stock then it may be made with water and a stock cube or 1 teaspoon of vegan Vegetable Bouillon. Use no more than 1 tsp Buillon to 1 litre of water as it is very salty.

CREAM OF WILD GARLIC SOUP

06 Wednesday Apr 2022

Posted by catherineevans63 in Food and Drink

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April, Coconut Milk, Cream, Food, foraging, May, Recipe, Seasonal, Soup, Springtime, Vegetables, Wild Garlic, Wild Garlic Soup

In the UK, the wild garlic (allium ursinum) or ‘Ramsons’ season is a short one: these pungent plants are usually ready for picking around the beginning of April until the end of May or early June, though it is normally at its most prolific from April until the beginning of May. Wild garlic plants have pretty white blooms and coat the shady floors of woods at springtime. Although it may also be found in scrub and hedgerows, it prefers the damper conditions of woodland and chalk soils.

Other names for wild garlic include ‘buckram’, ‘broad-leafed garlic’, ‘gypsy’s onions’, ‘wood garlic’, ‘bear leek’ and ‘stinking Jenny’. Its leaves are long, oval and pointed with untoothed edges which grow from the base of the plant and the bulb. They are sometimes confused with lily of the valley when not in flower but you will know it is wild garlic from its strong garlicky smell if you crush some of the leaves in your hand, and lily of the valley flowers are bell-shaped. Lily of the valley is poisonous so make sure you know what you are picking if you are out foraging. The flowers of the wild garlic are small and white with six petals on a thin stalk and around 25 flowers make up each rounded flower cluster on a single, leafless stalk.

Wild garlic reproduces through bulbs, bulbils and occasionally from seeds which are 2-3mm long and are black and quite flat on one side. They scatter when the parts of the plant above the ground die down. It is important not to over-forage wild garlic, which would badly affect regrowth and availability in the following year. Unfortunately, as this plant has become a highly-prized gourmet ingredient this practice is becoming a major problem in certain areas of its habitat. The whole point of foraging is to take only what you need with a respect for nature and mindfulness of its bounty, and not with ruthlessness or for large-scale material gain.

It is the leaves of the wild garlic that are eaten, with the bulbs left intact in the ground, and the taste is quite mild, similar to that of chives. It is best picked before the flowers appear, but in any case it is best to try and avoid picking stalks that bear flowers to ensure the survival of the plant in following years.

Wild garlic leaves can be eaten raw or lightly cooked; they are very versatile and can be used in a wide variety of recipes. Make sure you wash and drain them thoroughly. Some recipes might also ask you to blanch the leaves for a few minutes in boiling water. Wild garlic can be stirred into risottos or omelettes, added to lasagnes and bakes, soups and stews or used in sauces such as pesto or gremolata, or in salads and dressings. In a soup or stew they are best added at the last moment to wilt down, rather like watercress or spinach.

I particularly enjoy making wild garlic pesto which I use in salads or to smooth over my homemade pizza base before adding toppings. I also enjoy the taste of wild garlic soup so I am sharing with you one of my recipes which is prepared in a slow cooker. If you like, use coconut milk instead of double cream to finish to keep it vegan. Please see the cook’s notes at the end of the recipe for other variations.

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 3-4)

1 medium potato, peeled and cut into small chunks

1 clove of garlic, chopped finely

Large handful of foraged wild garlic leaves (or a small packet), larger stalks removed

1 onion, roughly chopped

500 ml vegetable stock (or enough to cover)

Double cream or coconut milk to finish

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD

In the crock of a small slow cooker place all the ingredients except for the wild garlic leaves and add enough cold vegetable stock to cover approx 2.5 cm above the vegetables. The stock can be made with water and a teaspoon of Swiss Bouillon granules or you can use reserved water from steamed vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Place the lid on the crock and cook on high for 1 hour, then cook on low for a further 1-1.5 hours or until vegetables are tender. If you prefer to use hot stock, please remember to switch on your slow cooker to high to heat up 30 minutes before you add ingredients and hot liquid as the crock is heat sensitive and may crack.
Meanwhile prepare the wild garlic leaves, removing any flowers and larger, thicker stalks, place in a colander and rinse thoroughly in cold running water, leave to drain.
When the vegetables are tender add the wild garlic leaves to wilt down for 30 seconds or so with the lid on and switch off the slow cooker, leave the soup to cool down a little.
Blend soup thoroughly until smooth with a stick blender, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Stir through a swirl of double cream or coconut milk, check and correct seasoning again and gently reheat on the low setting. Serve with a few garlic croutons and a chunk of good bread.

COOK’S NOTES

If you prefer your soup to have a milder flavour, replace the onion with a small finely sliced leek.

Try adding some finely chopped chives or parsley to the blended soup.

A stick of lemongrass cooked with the vegetables might add an Asian twist if you are finishing the soup with coconut milk. Remember to remove the lemon grass before blending.

Meat eaters might like to garnish the soup with a scattering of pan fried bacon bits or some crispy pancetta.

If you don’t have a slow cooker, just use a saucepan as usual. Cook the vegetables in the stock until tender. Once tender, remove from the heat and quickly add the wild garlic leaves and allow to wilt down in the residual heat. When the soup mixture has cooled slightly blitz with a stick blender, adjust seasoning, add cream or coconut milk, adjust seasoning again if necessary and gently reheat before serving with garnishes as you like.

If you have neither cream nor coconut milk, just add a splash of milk before reheating or simply reheat with its bright green colour, ladle into a warm bowl and perhaps add a dollop of natural yoghurt or creme fraiche.

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CULLEN SKINK

18 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by catherineevans63 in Food and Drink

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Aberdeenshire, Chowder, Coast, Cullen Skink, Fish, Fish Soup, Haddock, Milk, Moray, Ramsgate, Recipe, Scotland, Scottish, Scottish Soup, Smoked Haddock, Soup, traditional

Earlier last month, Dan and I attended the International Women’s Day lunch at The Ramsgate Tandoori, in aid of local MENCAP services. We were all invited to dress up in our national costume (I don’t have one) and bring along a dish to share.

The dish I chose to prepare was Cullen Skink, because my paternal grandmother was Scottish, and fish and vegetables in their many forms are also my favourite things to eat. Okay, it might have been more convenient to pop down to my local Waitrose and buy a tin of Baxters’ Cullen Skink but although it has a wonderful flavour, it is never quite the same as homemade.

Cullen Skink is a thick Scottish soup similar in look and consistency to a chowder but with a gutsier flavour. It usually comprises smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. Traditionally, a Cullen Skink uses finnan haddie, but one may use any other undyed smoked haddock – and let’s face it, if you live south of the border, undyed smoked haddock is probably the best and closest you are likely to get to the real thing. On no account should you used the bright orange-yellow dyed fish often found in the supermarket, as the ‘smoke’ and the flavour are artificial and bear no resemblance whatsoever to the real thing.

Finnan haddie is also known as Finnan haddock, Finnan, Finny Haddock or even Findrum speldings. It is cold-smoked haddock in accordance to a regional method of smoking in the north-east of Scotland, using green wood and peat. Its origin is not entirely certain. Some believe that the delicacy comes from the hamlet of Findon, or Finnan, near Aberdeen, whilst others insist that the name represents a distortion of the name of a village, Findhorn, which lies at the mouth of the River Findhorn in Moray (which today encompasses the Highlands and Aberdeenshire). This dispute is rooted in the 18^th century but with little trace, as adherents refuse to acknowledge even a grain of possibility of the alternative view. An early 20^th century cookbook gives testimony to a fire in a fish-curing house in Portlethen, very close to Findon. Whatever the truth, Finnan haddie may have been a popular Aberdeenshire dish since the 1640s.

However, despite its popularity in Scotland, the dish took much longer to catch on south of the border and only caught on in London during the 1830s. In the old days, due to the light smoking of the fish, it only had a short shelf life of between one and three days. Therefore, although the fish might travel from boat to the Aberdeen table within 12 hours of being caught, the distance to London made it almost impossible to avoid the fish spoiling and so began its debut in London only once it could be shipped by mail coach and then more widely available once the railway link between Aberdeen and London was constructed in the 1840s.

The authentic preparation of Finnan haddie is to roast or grill whole pieces of fish over high heat, but it is often served for breakfast lightly poached in milk until just opaque. It is also an important ingredient of kedgeree and omelette Arnold Bennett, as served at the Wolesley in Piccadilly.

Cullen Skink is a popular starter at formal Scottish dinners – which perhaps might be complete with tartan, bagpipes and haggis and more than a few ‘wee drams’. The dish is a popular everyday meal across the northeast of Scotland but can also easily be found in some of the Edinburgh eating houses and pub restaurants. A few years ago, my friend Lorraine and I travelled to Edinburgh on a family history research expedition, and on our last evening we dined on a wonderful Cullen Skink followed by a calorie-busting Cranachan.

Like many local recipes, there can be several slight variations. Some cooks use milk instead of water and others add single cream. Traditionally, Cullen Skink is served with a good bread, but it can be eaten just as it is; at the March event we ate ours with curry!

Curiously, the word ‘skink’ derives from the Middle Dutch ‘schenke’ meaning ‘shin, hough, knuckle’ Over time, of course, the word has developed the secondary meaning of a soup, especially one containing meat – although there is no meat in a Cullen Skink, only fish!

I locally sourced my undyed smoked haddock from Cannons fishmongers on Ramsgate Harbour. The family have two boats and have been in the fishing trade since 1887 and their produce is always fresh, of high quality and very reasonably priced. Their cod and haddock cut through like butter and are easy to skin. The piece of haddock I used in my recipe cost around £9 for well over a pound in weight. If you don’t like skinning and boning haddock then ask your fishmonger to do it, but I undertook all preparation myself. Mine is a lower fat version of the original.

INGREDIENTS

500g fillet natural smoked haddock, skinned and boned
500ml semi-skimmed milk
A few peppercorns
Small knob of butter
2 leeks, finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
700ml vegetable or fish stock
3 large white potatoes, cubed
Splash of dry white wine (optional)
Bay leaf
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Squeeze of lemon
Good handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 spring onions (scallions) or chives, finely chopped

Place the smoked haddock in a large pan with the milk and the peppercorns and lightly poach over a low heat until just opaque. Carefully remove haddock and set aside, also retaining the poaching juices.
In a separate large pan, heat the knob of butter taking care not to burn it and add the diced potatoes and the onions and leeks and cook until softened. This is best done over a low heat and a piece of tin foil placed directly on top of the vegetables, allowing them to sweat rather than colour and prevent any charred bits.
Add the garlic right at the end and stir for a moment or two and then add the stock, the reserved milk, bay leaf, wine (if using) and chicken stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf and then season the soup with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir through and set aside. You may, if you wish, put the soup through a blender and then through a sieve to thicken before returning to the pan but I keep mine rustic! Some of the liquids will have reduced down in the cooking process so the soup shouldn’t be very runny. If the soup is a little runny and you don’t have a blender, simply mix a tablespoon of cornflour with a drop of milk and stir it through the soup over a low heat, to thicken. Add the cornflour mixture little by little until the soup has the consistency you require.
Meanwhile, carefully skin and flake the fish, removing any bones, and season with lemon juice. Finely chop the parsley and the spring onions or chives.
Add the fish to the soup pan, return to the heat and reheat for a few minutes until piping hot. Sprinkle over the parsley and spring onions or chives and serve immediately with some good soda bread or sourdough.

OPTIONS:

You could if you wish lightly poach a few free-range eggs or quails’ eggs and lay one atop each bowlful of soup, to serve.

If poaching and skinning haddock feels like too much of a chore, try using ready-cooked kipper or smoked mackerel fillets but do try to remove the skin and any visible bones before flaking. It’s not authentic but will still be delicious.

As for the fundraising event, it was a great success and we raised £500 for local MENCAP services!

Catherine.