Gazpacho with Brie and Olive Focaccia

Stephen Stills, of Crosby Stills Nash and Young fame, wrote the song : "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you with." It's rather mercenary for a love song, and certainly not the words I would want my lover to proclaim, should we be separated for any length of time.

It does however play well when it comes to a holiday in Spain I would love to have. Since I can't be in Spain for the holiday I want, I'll still love their food in place I'm in.

My inspiration for a Spanish meal came from Jeanne at Cook Sister, who just had a holiday in Spain. Be sure to click the links to her blog to see the beautiful photographs she took while enjoying the Spanish sunshine.

Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighbouring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its cold temperature and acidic bite.

   Gazpacho
Serves 2

1 Tin chopped peeled Tomatoes
½ Cucumber peeled and seeded
1 Green Chili
1 Slice of White Bread Moistened
3 Garlic cloves
15ml Olive Oil
1 Red Pepper, grilled and skin removed
Juice of ½ a lemon
10 Fresh Basil leaves
4 Ice Cubes
10ml Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Place in a bowl and chill for at least 2 hours.
Serve cold. garnished with small dice of cucumber, cherry tomatoes and fried basil leaves.

I made this Brie and Olive Focaccia to have with our soup.

Brie and Olive Focaccia

500g White bread dough (shop bought is fine)
10 Olives pitted and torn in half
3 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped
100g Brie Cheese, sliced thickly
Sea Salt
Olive Oil

Pre-heat your oven with a pizza stone to 250ºC
Roll out your dough to about ½cm thick
Once the stone is hot, place dough on the stone and top with garlic, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Return to oven until cooked and starting to brown.
Place the olives and brie on the focaccia and bake until cheese has melted.
Serve warm.

Ready Steady Cook - Start

Ready Steady Cook hosted by Add to Taste

This challenge has taken me almost 3 weeks to get to the start! It's been more like reading Jodi Picoult than Leon Uris! 

With the ingredients I have left to make my starter, you might understand why I've been at odds and ends starts. I have yet to use my dates, chilli and 2 leeks (used some in the main).

So after 2 weeks of procrastination I went through the store cupboard ingredients and fell back on one which is never missing from my pantry - canned tomatoes.

Lucky for me today was chilly enough to attempt a something which has had me stumped almost everyday since I first got my ingredient list.

Tomato Leek and Date Soup

1 large Tin of Whole canned Tomatoes
2 Large Leeks washed and finely sliced.(White part only)
1 Clove of Garlic
10 Fresh Dates (stones removed)
10ml papricka
1 Green Chilli
Oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning.
Garnish : A small piece of leftover leek and thinly shredded and deep fried until golden brown

In a pot, fry the leeks, garlic, chill and dates until the leeks are softened.
Add the rest of the ingredients with about 350ml water and simmer for about 1 hour.
Check the seasoning and adjust to taste.
Purée the soup until smooth.
Serve hot, garnish with a drizzle of  olive oil and fried leeks.

How good is this soup? Very good, just look at the bowl...yummy!

Viva la France

As you might know, I am a Tour de France junkie. I do not follow cycling generally and only pay attention to cycling news with regard to how it will effect "Le Tour". It is a wonderful winter tradition in our home to watch 198 fit young men in tight shorts (all with wonderful legs) battle their way through the French countryside. France in summer must be one of the most beautiful places on earth, especially while we endure the cold winter months in Cape Town and did I mention the Lycra shorts and great legs?

Yesterday was Bastille Day in France, which traditionally brings out the competitive spirit in all the French riders (with wonderful legs in Lycra shorts). Unfortunately for the French, they were once again upstaged, but c'est la vie, life goes on and I am sure the French are getting used to drowning their sporting sorrows.

I made my attempt at French food last night, although it was a local take on a classic French dish, as we are not big fans of butter - which is a big problem when creating French food. I am sorry that the soup didn't photograph very well, it was steaming up my lens and I was in a hurry to eat (wanting to get back to Lycra shorts and great legs). It really is a deliciously easy meal to make.

French Onion Soup

4 Large Onions (thinly sliced)
45 -50ml Olive Oil
2 Litres GOOD Beef stock (I only use Nomu Fond)
Black Pepper and Salt

Fry the onions on low heat with the lid on for about 20 mins,until the are very soft and caramel colour.
Add the stock and the black pepper and boil for 45 minutes.
Check the seasoning and adjust to taste.
Serve hot.

To make a slightly different meal and rather not have the traditional cheese bread toast floats, I made these wonderfully cheesy puff pies.

Cheese Puff Pies

1 Roll Ready made Puff Pastry
Any Strong Hard cheese (a mature cheddar is great)
1 Beaten Egg
Sea Salt

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C
Roll the puff pastry out slightly.
Cut disks about 9cm diameter.
Place a small block of cheese in the middle, egg wash the sides, fold in half and crimp to seal.
Here is a nifty little pie crimping tool I have

Do not be tempted to put too much cheese in the puff, or it will just bake out.
Brush the pie with egg, sprinkle on some sea salt and bake for about 25-30 minutes until golden.
Serve with your soup or as a great afternoon snack.

Beetroot Soup Winter Warmer

Winter has arrived in true Cape Town style - yesterday was beautifully sunny and then this morning it's cold and pouring with rain. So it's time to start making soup and comfort foods again.

I like beetroot, although I seldom make the effort to cook it. It's messy and takes time to cook, but once you have got through all the mess and the stains, it is worth it.You have to wear gloves when you peel them, otherwise you'll look like an extra from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Roasting retains much more flavour, you also need to keep the root and stalk intact while cooking or you'll end up loosing all the intense redness and nutrients.

This is my take on tradition Borscht, which sounds more like a Russian lingerie shop, but is actually just beetroot soup. It's of Ukrainian origins and is popular in many Eastern and Central European countries.

   Roast Beetroot Soup with Smoked Paprika

750g Beetroot
2 Brown Onions (with skin)
1 Handful Fresh Thyme
3 Bay Leaves
Olive Oil
Salt
10 ml Honey
10ml Balsamic Vinegar
750ml Beef Stock 
7ml Smoked Paprika (Hot or Medium)
1 Baked potato -(optional for serving)
Sour Cream -(optional for serving)

Place the beetroot, onions, thyme, bay leaves and salt with a generous splash of olive oil in a roasting pan  and roast at 200ºC for about 60 -90 minutes until soft.
Remove the beetroot from the roasting pan, and rub the skin off (please remember the gloves).
Cut the beetroot into quarters and place in a large pot.*** (see note below)
Add the onion flesh only (no skins) .
Add the all the other ingredients and bring to a boil.
Simmer at a rolling boil for about 30 minutes.
Purée the soup to your liking, I like it smooth with a few beetroot pieces for texture.

Serving options :
***Retain one of the beetroot and cut into small dice.
Cross cut a baked potato (which you can bake together with the other ingredients) and squeeze it to make the insides puff out.
Place a serving of hot soup in your bowl, add the potato, top with sour cream and garnish with diced beetroot.
Drizzle with a little olive oil.
I served mine with pretzels, but a good rye bread would be more traditional.

Winter Bean Soup

Dear Cape Town

After much debate, Hell would like to thank you for returning its weather.

Have an awesome day now.

Regards

Climate Controller in Hell

I laughed when I received this email, since it came at the end of what seemed to be the hottest 2 weeks I have ever experienced in my life. This was only 3 short weeks ago, and now I'm making bean soup for supper - what happened?

The days are so much shorter, the nights are colder and the sun no longer beats down like it's trying to melt the earth's crust. We've tilted along the axis, so watch out Northern Hemisphere, we sending summer your way!

Saturday we had rain, it was such a wonderful sound, even if it did only last 30 minutes, it was long enough for me to rustle up a comforting bean and lentil soup/stew.

Bean and Lentil Soup Stew

  Tin Tin Soup : I use the tomato tin as my measuring "cup"

1 Tin Chopped Peeled Tomatoes (keep the empty tin to measure out the rest of the ingredients)

1 "Tin" Dry Kidney Beans

1 "Tin" Dry Black Lentils

½ "Tin" Barley

1 Onion peeled and Sliced

1 Large handful Fresh Lemon Thyme (or a dessert spoon dried thyme)

3 Fresh Bay Leaves ( or dry)

1 chopped Green Chilli

2 Litres of Vegetable Stock (You can make this yourself or use a cube or concentrate)

½ Teaspoon ground Black Pepper

½ Teaspoon Ground Cumin

Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook for 6 hours, until everything is soft.

Add water if necessary.

Check the seasoning and adjust to taste. Do not add the salt at the beginning or your beans won't soften.

You can good this on the stove top, just leave it to simmer very slowly - stirring occasionally.

 "Everybody always talks about the weather, 

but no one ever does anything"

Broken Promises

I usually don't try to break my promises. I like this old Chinese Proverb, "A broken promise - is worse than a broken bone" . A promise which is kept is simply the fulfilment of an obligation. It takes many kept promises to build up trust and one broken promise to destroy it. The value of a promise depends entirely upon how highly you value the integrity of the promiser.

So with that said, I am not going to give you the bread roll recipe I promised yesterday, but have to delay it for a few days - sorry to those who came especially to see it.

Speaking of the Chinese, they really make good soup. They don't make great cars, beer or clothing but they sure do know how to make good food and present one of a kind Olympic Games! You also have to admire their "We'll do it our way"attitude, that would make even Frank Sinatra proud.

A must have at any Chinese diner is chicken and sweetcorn soup, made so hot it burns your mouth and everything north of the knees. Recreating the authentic Chinese restaurant chicken and sweet corn soup has been one of my long term projects, and while I still can't get it to be that hot, I have the taste just right.

The secret is in the simplicity of the ingredients, this is a KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) recipe.
I do apologise for the photograph, I can't seem to get the soup shot right yet (another work in progress).


Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup
Makes for 8

400g Skinless, boneless Chicken Fillets
4 Sweetcorn on the cob (remove the leaves and hair)
Salt and White Pepper
1 Chicken Stock cube
1 pinch of Sugar
10ml Peanut Oil
10ml Sesame Oil
30ml Corn Flour mixed with cold water (use more if the soup is not thick enough for your taste)
2 Medium Eggs beaten


Boil the chicken and the sweetcorn, in about 2.5 litres of water on the cob for about 20 minutes until soft.
Drain (and keep) through muslin (or a clean tea towel) the cooking liquid into a clean pot.
Replace the cooking liquid back on the stove.
Shred the chicken and remove the corn from the cob.
Place the chicken and corn back into the pot and all al the ingredients, except the cornflour and the eggs.
Cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes and then add the cornflour and keep stirring while the mixture thickens and turns white - another 3-5 minutes.
Slowly pour the beaten eggs into the soup and keep stirring to break up and make threads.
You do not want lumps of egg.
Continue to boil for another 2 -3 minutes and serve HOT!