Pea and Roasted Garlic Soup

I first had this soup at a friends. She made it for me, telling me how lovely it was, and it certainly is, but I will also say it is a Friday night soup. It is a Friday night soup because of how garlicy it is, and how garlicy you will be after eating it. People won't want to kiss you after eating it, that's for sure haha. But it really is gorgeous with some nice crusty bread. Yum!!

What you need to make this gorgeous soup:
* 1kg frozen peas
* 4 heads of garlic
* 50g butter
* 1tbsp olive oil
* 1litre good vegetable stock
* 2 onions peeled and roughly chopped
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

How to make:
1. Wrap the garlic in foil and roast at 180°C for 40 mins or until soft.
2. Fry the onion in butter and oil for approx 3 mins until soft. Add the frozen peas and coat in the oil and butter mixture. Add the stock and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 mins.
3. Bring the garlic out of the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins. Cut the tops off and squeeze the soft roasted garlic into the pea soup then puree roughly.
4. Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche and chopped chives.

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Homemade Bread and Soup

With Winter suddenly hitting hard here in the UK, it is time to crack open the good book of soup and eat some warm and hearty foods! Having a day off I decided to treat myself and spend some time making bread and some chunky soup to welcome my man home from work (aren't I the little homemaker). I followed my previous bread recipe here to make the bread. Starting last night, because some of it needs to be done and left overnight.

Then I searched my book of soups trying to find a really nice and chunky soup. I came across Ham and Pearl Barley. Sorted!

Things you need for the soup:
* 2 tablespoons of olive oil
* 1 medium onion, finely diced
* 30g green lentils
* 30g red split lentils
* 30g pearl barley
* 2 medium carrots, diced
* 800ml chicken stock
* 250g cooked ham - I used Spam
* 200g tinned haricot beans, rinsed and drains
* 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
* 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

What you need to do:
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan (a large one), then fry the onion for 10 minutes until transparent.

2. Rinse the lentils and pearl barley, then add to the saucepan along with the carrots, potatoes and stock.

3. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Shred the ham into bite size pieces, then add the ham and haricot beans to the saucepan. Simmer for a further 30 minutes

5. Check that all the pulses are thoroughly cooked, add extra stock or water to adjust the consistency if required.

6. Season to taste, stir in the parsley, then serve. Preferably with homemade bread!! :)

Scrummy!!

Soup

Soup is one of my favourite feel good foods. When the weathers all rainy and cold out I love nothing better than sitting down with a steaming hot bowl and some chunky rustic bread! After recently finding out I am lactose intolerant I have really struggled to find foods that don't contain cows milk, its hidden in everything, and soup is no exception, all my favourites are inedible for me. So, my mum lent me her copy of the Covent Garden Food Co.'s A Soup for Every Day book, and so far I have made 2 soups completely from scratch, and I am very impressed! A couple of weeks ago I made a creamy chicken, and this week it was Butternut Squash and Goats cheese!

This book is amazing, it contains a different soup for every day of the year, some sweet, most savoury and all special days are covered! Boxing day Christmas left overs soup anyone? YUM! The best thing I love is that so far they have been so easy, and if I can get them right, anyone can! Best of all is that the recipes make between 4 - 6 portions, so if there's just two of you, or even one, I bought these soup bags from Lakeland and you just pop your soup in there and freeze it, or fridge it, and they don't spill! Grand!

Ingredients to serve 4:
2 tbsp olive oil
150g onion, diced
1tsp garlic puree
1tsp dried sage
800g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
600ml vegetable stock
100g soft, mild goats cheese, crumbled (I used Feta)

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, then cook for 10 minutes until soft
2. Add the garlic puree, sage, and butternut squash, then gently cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
3. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the squash is tender
4. Stir in the goats cheese until melted
5. Blend until smooth, reheat gently, then season to taste and serve.

Beautiful with big crusty bread and butter! Nice and warming.. :)