The approaching winter brings to mind a
log fire, glass of good red wine and a bowl of delicious, warming soup. Nothing
is nicer on a wet, cold night.
There is nothing easier than making a
good hearty soup. It does not need special techniques or expensive ingredients
yet, except for the student population, the art of making soups at home is dying
out.
The secret of good soup is simplicity,
fresh ingredients and a good stock. Yes, in emergencies, one can use stock cubes
but those do not have either the texture or the flavour of fresh, well balanced,
carefully prepared home made stock. I know that mentioning stocks put a chill up
the spines of many cooks but domestic stocks are not difficult to make.
Vegetable and fish stocks take only 30 minutes to cook, with the help of a
pressure cooker, meat stocks do not take much longer, and they are well worth
the bother.
I usually make my stocks in large
quantities. Sealed and refrigerated they will last, in winter, for up to 2
weeks. Stocks freeze very well but should not be frozen for more than 3 months.
For convenience, I freeze my stock in 250 ml amounts to use in stews or sauces and
1 litre as a base for soups
If you are addicted to the monosodium
glutamate of the stock cube and still insist on using one, doctor it first. To
do so: dissolve the cube in the recommended amount of water and bring to the
boil, add half a chopped onion, some carrot and a fresh bunch of herbs. Simmer
for about 20 minutes. Discard the vegetables and use as required.
The following are a few of my favourite
winter soups. Light the fire, pour yourself a drink and enjoy those warming,
comforting dishes.
CLEAR
VEGETABLE STOCK
By
changing the combination of herbs in your bunch of herbs you can create
different flavoured stocks. According to demands of the dish I am
making, I will include herbs like lemon grass, shredded ginger, orange
peel or lemon verbena or even mint which make the stock more fragrant.
Using
stock is especially important when cooking vegetables so please do not
emit.
The
recipe below makes about 1l stock and it will keep for up to two weeks,
covered, in the refrigerator.
1
large onion, sliced into rings
100 g carrots, washed well and sliced
100 g pumpkin, peeled and cubed
2-3 celery stems, sliced
1 large ripe tomato, cut into quarters
Bunch of herbs made from 4 sprigs of parsley, 4 sprigs of coriander
leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme and 2 strips of lemon peel tied with string
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly milled
1.5l water
Place
all the ingredients into a large pot. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat
and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain.
QUICK
CHICKEN STOCK
The
resulting stock is not as clear or as refined as traditionally made,
therefore it can’t be used for clear soups or sauces, but it has
enough body and flavour to be a base for thick soups and stews.
Do
not attempt to make stock from a roasting chicken the results will be
insipid. Get an old boiler, those are still available at many
traditional butchers. Or buy a good free-range chicken; ordinary
supermarket chickens are much too bland for this. Be careful not to over
cook otherwise the stock will have a pronounced “bone” flavour. The
cooked chicken although bland, when cold can be made into a chicken
salad using a few apples, capers, fresh herbs and an accompanying garlic
sauce.
1
medium chicken (about 1.5 kg), cut into 8 portions
2 large carrots, washed and coarsely chopped
1 large un-peeled onion, washed well, roughly sliced
3 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 small tomatoes, halved
100 g/4oz/1/2 cup of pumpkin or 1-2 courgettes
A herb bunch made with a few sprigs of thyme, parsley, 2 bay leaves and
a small strip of lemon or orange peel
4 cloves
½ teaspoon peppercorns
2.5 cm piece of cinnamon stick (optional)
water to cover (about 1.5l)
Place
all the above ingredients in the pressure cooker, cover with water and
bring to the boil, being careful not to exceed the manufacturer's
recommendation. Cover tightly and bring to pressure (15lb gauge). Reduce
the heat and simmer, under pressure, for 25 minutes.
Remove
the cooker from the heat and reduce the pressure under cold water.
Strain the liquid. The stock, covered and refrigerated, can be kept for
up to two weeks.
RED
LENTIL SOUP
This
bright golden yellow, warming soup is ideal for a cold winter night. Red
lentils have a pleasantly mild, earthy flavour and when cooked turn
golden yellow. They cook very fast and when cooked disintegrate to a
course pulp. Normally they will cook in 30 minutes. In a pressure
cooker, the process takes less than ten.
150
g split red lentils, washed well
1l vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves of garlic
1 large carrot peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
3 medium tomatoes, halved, de-seeded and grated
1 small lemon washed and sliced into fine rings
4 tablespoons chopped dill or coriander
Salt
Good olive oil for sprinkling
Place
the washed lentils in a large pan, cover with stock or water and bring
to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer half covered for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile,
put the onion, garlic and carrot into the food processor and process at
high speed, starting and stopping the machine until finely chopped but
not puréed.
Heat
the oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan. Add the cumin seeds fry on high
heat until cumin starts to pop. Add the chopped vegetables and continue
frying, for 5-8 minutes until the vegetables start to brown.
Add,
together with the grated tomato, to the simmering soup and continue
simmering until the lentils are ready.
Just
before serving, add the dill, lemon slices and the salt, reserving a few
slices for decoration. Boil once and switch off the heat.
To
serve: pour the soup into individual soup bowls, float a thin lemon
slice over each portion, sprinkle with a few drops of olive oil and
decorate with a sprig of dill.
I
like the rough texture of this soup but if a smoother texture is
required, strain the soup through a sieve. Put the content of the sieve
in a food processor and process at high speed for 1 minute. Return to
the pot together with cooking liquid and bring to the boil. Simmer for
2-3 minutes and finish as above.
AUBERGINE
SOUP
Aubergines
are not normally associated with soups but do try this recipe. It makes
a delightfully piquant, pale pink soup. Serve
with chunks of fresh bread and butter.
2
medium aubergines
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 medium tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 teaspoons tomato purée
1L/2pts/4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt & freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons basil leaves, roughly chopped
Heat
the oven to maximum 250°C, 475°F, gas mark 9. With a fork, prick the
aubergines in a few places and bake them for about 25-30 minutes or
until very soft.
Heat
the oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add the onion and garlic and fry over
high heat for a few minutes or until the onion starts to change colour.
Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, stock and lemon juice and bring to the
boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes.
When
the aubergines are ready remove from the oven, cut in halves and scoop
the flesh carefully (they are very hot) into a food processor and
process to a smooth purée.
Add
the purée to the simmering soup and continue to simmer for a minute or
two. Add the basil and serve hot. Some yoghurt or cream could be added
just before serving.
BEAN
SOUP
Bean
soup is one of the bonuses of winter. You can make it light and clear
with just a few vegetables and soft, plump, melt in the mouth
combination of beans, which is ideal to start a winter meal. Or like I
do – thick, rich and comforting; served with a chunk of good bread and
butter it constitutes a complete and balanced meal.
Traditionally
this soup, which is based on Southern Italian recipe is made with smoked
ham bone stock. If you do not use pork products use smoked turkey, duck
or goose to get the original smoky flavour.
I
must confess that I sometimes do a quick version using tinned beans
instead of dry. Baked beans, especially those with Jalapeno flavour, are
excellent for this recipe.
An
important thing to remember, when cooking beans, salt is added only
after the beans are soft – if added at the beginning the beans would
not soften.
250
g dried beans soaked overnight in cold water
1.5l stock or water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
100 g smoked bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
Bunch of herbs containing a few sprigs of thyme a piece of lemon peel
and a bay leaves
100 g vermicelli
salt
for
the herb paste:
3 cloves of garlic,
mashed
4 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
grated peel of 1 lemon
1 or more red chillies, finely chopped or chilli powder, flakes or paste
to taste
Put
the beans in a large soup pot and cover with stock or water. Bring to
the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 1½ hours or until
the beans are almost soft. Heat the oil in a frying pan; add the caraway
and fry for a minute or so until the caraway starts to pop. Add the
bacon and continue to fry until the bacon starts to brown. Add the onion
and carrots and go on frying until the onion has softened. Add this
mixture to the simmering beans and go on cooking for 20 minutes or until
the beans are perfectly tender. Add the vermicelli and the salt and cook
for 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked.
Mix
the paste ingredients and serve separately for each dinner to mix in
their soup.
For
details on Oded Schwartz, consultant, food historian and author of the highly
acclaimed book 'Preserving', see
FLAVOURS
OF CITRUS where
he shares his bittersweet bounty of winter's treasured fruits and
SUMMER
BERRIES with
SHOWCOOK.
Oded is giving classes
and demonstrations on preserving and other specialized subjects.
For more information, please contact Oded at odedschwartz@cybersmart.co.za
or (021) 426-2397
