What to do with a tin of unsweetened chestnut puree:

After a little break- and don't think for one moment I haven't been eating- in fact I have been eating, drinking, as well as being my normal jolly self during the festive period. It's important to keep smiling- no matter what life dishes out. And to keep cooking. I cook when I am happy, I cook when I am sad. It relaxes me if I am stressed. It is the stability in my life.
I hope to get back on track with one or two postings in the next few days. I have lots of notes, photo's and now just need to find the time. Coming up: salmon tartare, Panforte (Italian cake), truffle risotto, cheats Christmas pudding. But for now Chestnut soup.
For a whole year (since Christmas 2009 to be exact) I have had a tin can of chestnut puree with no plans to use it. OK the date did not expire for some time to come but who wants to be left sitting on the shelf! Anyway how long should you have a product taking up precious space in an already overfull kitchen cupboard?
When I have leftovers I often opt for soup This occasion it was no different.

I made this soup in the week coming up to Christmas. The Chestnut puree was the Clement Faugier kind- the unsweetened one. The snow was on the ground and the scene was set.
It is a festive soup with an earthy wholesome taste.
I was inspired by the Chestnut and goats cheese soup I ate in a restaurant in Amsterdam last year and I wanted to replicate it. It will be no surprise to hear I ended up going my own way. It is quite unusual, but none the less quite delicious.
Here is what I came up with:
Chestnut soup with goats cheese:
1 tin pureed chestnut ( 439gr)
oil for frying
2 onions, chopped
2 potatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 sticks celery (you can also use the green tops)
100ml evaporated milk (I used ‘koffie melk’)
approx 11 chestnut mushrooms
5cm piece galangal, finely chopped (or tinned)
5cm piece ginger, finely chopped (or use ground)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander, ground
chicken stock cube
knob of butter
120gr goats cheese & crispy bacon
2 cans water (volume of the tin can)
Serves 4-6


Heat the oil and fry the onion and celery. Add the ground spices, the roots, garlic, potato and mushrooms. When it starts sticking add a little of the water. Cook until tender.
Add the chestnut puree and remaining water, stock cube, and evaporated milk and bring up to the boil. Mash or puree as desired. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Add a large knob of butter.
Because the chestnut is quite solid it does remain together which results in the occasional mouthful of chestnut taste which certainly adds to ones enjoyment, bringing out the flavour.
Serve with goats cheese and crispy bacon.

Cider and cheese soup / Mulled cider

This is another double blog- perhaps it reflects my personality quite well- easily side-tracked?
I also had to laugh at this blog, there I was feeling a bit overindulged- and came up with a boozy, creamy soup and some mulled cider- is it the Nigella in me?! Well the two recipes do share a common denominator- CIDER.

If you didn't realise already I love good food and drink- but believe me too much of a good think can be bad. In fact it can be very bad leaving one very worse for wear- and we still have Christmas to look forward to! I have been guilty of overindulging, which has resulted in a (temporary) loss of inspiration and appetite.
Yesterday I didn't quite know what I fancied, and decided to eat absolutely nothing but a few Kettle Balsamic vinegar crisps. We don’t have the real salt n vinegar crisps here sob sob. But a person has to eat 'proper' food so after careful consideration I opted for soup- one I made at school to be exact, must be a sure case of hungering for comfort food. Cheese and cider soup.
The only problem was I didn't actually have a recipe. No worries- with Google everything is possible- isn't it?
I had suggested making this soup several times before, only to let hubby put a dampers on it. He just couldn't see it working- we are talking about a man that used to throw a wobbly at seeing pieces of pinapple on a pizza- what does he know! The sweet and savoury thing was absolute taboo- but gradually he is opening up to the idea. And in any case he wasn't here to talk me out of it this time- and if he is hungry he eats (nearly) anything.
But another reason for waiting so long to make this soup was that cider just wasn't available here in Holland. Sob sob. In fact I was quite excited to see in the shops. First Savanna Dry at the Sligro, Dutch food wholesaler. And then a little over a year ago, Jillz and Strongbow Gold on the shelves of my Albert Heijn supermarket. Thank you Heineken.
Strongbow Gold is slightly different to English cider- I can't quite put my finger on it (I do enjoy this kind of research mind). I checked out the labels and it seems that the English Strongbow contains artificial sweeteners while Strongbow Gold does not. English Strongbow is also a little more alcoholic 5.3% vol opposed to the Gold 5% vol.
Jillz is a fruity cider-beer alcoholic beverage that incidentally does not contain 'hops' (that give beer it's bitter taste) It's aim is obviously to tempt the female beer drinkers amongst us.

Back on track. My Google search was not very yielding so I would have to improvise. Hmm what do I remember of my vintage soup- that it contains cider, cheese, onions, potato and milk/ or cream. Did I really make this at school? Alcohol on school premises seems quite unlikely? Maybe my memory is failing me- everyone knows cider is alcoholic, don't they? Well actually NO- one of my best friends didn't realise and had a very good evening 'cider tasting' (but a very bad morning after) I mention no name.
If anyone has a recipe I would be so pleased to hear.
Here is what I came up with.

Cheese and cider soup:

2 onions, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, finely diced
3 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
oil for frying, olive or arachide (peanut) oil that I generally use these days
300gr vegetables (I used a packet of mixed vegetables- leek, carrot, celery leaf, cauliflower)
2 small celery sticks, finely diced
1 liter cider (I suppose you could use apple juice)
1 small carton 200ml cream (I used UHT)
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
stock cube (since we are using no liquid stock)
125gr cheddar cheese, grated
large knob of butter
little water

Fry the onions in the oil for a few minutes. Add potato and garlic and cook for several minutes.
Stir in the coriander, cumin, nutmeg. Add the vegetables, stir and add a little water (the potatoes will be sticking slightly.
Braise the vegetables until tender. Add the cider and a stock cube and heat until almost boiling point. DO NOT BOIL- the alcohol will evaporate!
Add cream, salt and pepper and puree if desired ( I usually opt for half as I like a bit of a bite) with an immersion blender.
Add cheese and a knob of butter and stir until melted increasing heat as necessary. Do not boil or this will toughen cheese.
Alternatively you could add cheese in individual soup dish.
I nearly added bread and cheese à la French onion soup style but quickly remembered my hubby detests French onion soup.
BTW he did enjoy his cider and cheese soup!

After last week’s mulled wine, and with cider on my mind (I think I am recovered) I decided to make some mulled cider or hot cider punch- whatever you care to call it.
My friend Breda made this for us at a Halloween gathering a couple of years ago and boy was it good! It warms the cockles of your heart and makes your whole house smell delicious.

This was roughly the recipe- she is, like me a cook that tweaks everything.

Mulled Cider

1 liter cider
sugar brown/ white or honey whatever you prefer, start with 3 - 4 tbsp.
2 Clementine’s, sliced
1 tsp all spice berries
1 piece cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
100ml whisky (or spirit of your choice- rum, brandy)
marmalade, 1 tbsp approx (optional)

You could also use other ingredients like fresh ginger, star anise, even whole peppercorns!

In a large pan add everything except the whisky and heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved. When steam is rising turn it down. DO NOT BOIL.
Turn off heat and allow to 'mull' for a minimum of an hour so all the flavours of the spices can infuse in the liquid.
Reheat just before serving. Add whisky, Serve with a slice of orange.
Cheers!
For anyone living locally, Tucker Box, Leiden offers a wide selection of ciders and other drinks.

Broccoli and basil soup / Carrot, orange and thyme soup

I hate waste. I rarely throw anything away. Having said that I love eating fresh ingredients. So what do I do with that piece of broccoli that has been left in the fridge for a few days? Well I make soup of course!
In the summer I love salads but once the weather changes out comes my soup pan. Practically every weekend I will have a pan of homemade soup ready at hand. The nice thing about most soups is they can be made in the time it takes to locate a can opener! (since mine is usually jammed up in my overfull kitchen drawer) And think of all that added salt not to mention all the other additives found in tin soup! I admit on occasions I do eat tin soup- but even then I just can't leave it alone- a dash of olive oil here- for great looks, a few chopped fresh tomatoes there- for a fresh taste!
Soup is great way for using up vegetables that are just past their best, as was my broccoli- don't worry, if the broccoli has turned yellow I DO throw it away!
I have a large American side by side refrigerator and sometimes there can be a few 'lost' veggies lingering. Perhaps not quite enough left of any one vegetable to make a complete dish for a family of four, a leek, a few carrots, a piece of cauliflower, a few tomatoes- but ideal to contribute in making a vegetable soup.
There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of steaming soup and a chunk of Focaccia on a cold day. My favourites include mustard, lentil, pumpkin or butternut squash, carrot, and broccoli. The soup I least care for is tomato soup! And I know the Dutch are crazy about tiny meatballs in their soup- but I'm not!
I'm not great at food presentation but I love my soups to look pretty. Toppings include fresh herbs, croutons, a drizzle of flavoured olive oil, or a swirl of crème fraise these all make a difference to appearance as well as taste. These two soups are fairly simple and a splash of flavoured oil really help to lift them.

I eyed my piece of broccoli, I wanted to make a quickie soup. It is often paired with (blue)cheese, mainly Stilton- nothing wrong with that but I wanted something different. I still had some fresh basil in my kitchen and I picked what was left of my home grown basil in the garden and went to work to make my delicious and very healthy soup. Broccoli is vitamin rich (A, B, C & K complex), contains nutrients like potassium, magnesium, iron, and calcium, is high in fiber and even has anti-cancer properties. Combined with basil it produces a fragrant but delicate tasting creamy soup.

Broccoli and Basil Soup

Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 large potatoes
Broccoli
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
Approx 750ml water or stock
200ml cream, I used UHT cream which I always have on hand.
large bunch of Basil
small bunch parsley
pesto
salt and pepper
croutons
olive oil or basil flavoured olive oil ( available at AH- Excellent)

Preparation:
Peel potatoes and chop them into cubes. Chop onion and garlic (don't bother to crush it because the soup will be pureed anyway). Chop the broccoli stalks in cubes and make florets from the broccoli. Boil a kettle of water.



Method:
In a large pan heat some olive oil (approx 2 tbsp.) Add the chopped onion and fry for a few minutes. Add garlic and potatoes. Cook slowly for about 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and stir fry for a few minutes. Add approx 3 mugs of boiling water (or stock). Stir and bring to the boil, then simmer until the broccoli is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat, add the roughly chopped basil (reserve some whole leaves for garnish), parsley and cream. Blend with the immersion blender. Add pesto to taste (couple of table spoons) Re-heat but do not boil. Serve with a few croutons, basil leaves, a dollop of pesto and a dash of basil/ olive oil. You could add a sprinkling of parmesan and a few pine nuts.

Another all time favourite in our household is carrot soup- you know you are on a winner when you get requests for carrot soup!
I grew up hating carrots, we're not talking about those lovely sweet little carrots like I buy now a days- I mean those big strong 'tasting monsters that are even unpleasant to eat raw!
Because I loathed carrots so much and we were always 'encouraged' to finish our plates, I introduced my own children to small portions. I would offer them each a carrot to eat raw while I was preparing dinner. Later they started expecting one- I was on the right track!
It obviously worked because not only do my two eat their 'greens' they actually enjoy them.
This soup is sweet and fragrant. Cumin and thyme are perfect with carrots. I quickly made it as part of testing out MY NEW Magimix- yes I finally did it! (A Magimix blog will be coming soon) so it is a simple no fuss soup but lovely none the less. Unfortunately my camera let me down on this day so I apologise for the poor quality pics.
I have Thyme in my herb garden. It is a perennial, so winter hardy. It is available all year round, obviously it is at it's best in the summer months. It does stop growing in the colder monthsso should be only harvested lighly.

Carrot, Orange and Thyme Soup

Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 small carrots/ Dutch worteltjes (Approx 400gr)
2 small red onions
olive oil
1 red pepper (capsicum)
2 garlic cloves
200ml orange juice
1 tbsp. ground cumin
a shake of chili flakes
salt and pepper
2 tsp honey (or sugar)
several sprigs of thyme
small bunch of parsley
approx 750ml water/stock
large knob of butter
Olive oil/ chili oil ( AH excellent) to serve


Method:
I grated the two red onions and garlic in the Magimix You could of course chop manually. Hear the olive oil in a large pan and add the onions/garlic.
Grate the carrots and grate/slice the red pepper. After a few minutes add this to the pan together with the cumin, chili flakes and thyme- stripped from their woody stems.
Add your sweetener (honey or sugar), the water/stock and bring up to the boil. Simmer the carrots until tender- they won't need long because the carrots are grated.
Turn off the heat, add the orange juice and roughly blend with an immersion blender- I personally like some bite in my soup. Bring up to the boil, add the chopped parsley (gives a fresh taste), a large knob of butter, seasoning and serve with a sprig of thyme and a drizzle of (chili) olive oil.

Albert Heijn 'Excellent' flavoured olive oil.
These flavoured olive oils are an excellent addition to any dish; risotto, soup, pasta, omelette, or simply over vegetables. Available in bottles of 250ml.

Thai Inspired Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkins are relatively new in Katwijk where I live. I remember several years ago, cycling around searching for a pumpkin to carve but to little avail, just when I had given up all hope I spotted one in the window decoration in a florist shop! The lady was very surprised at my request but nonetheless very accommodating and I excitedly went home to do the dirty deed!
I used to remove as much flesh as possible and incorporate this in a soup or a pie, however not always with good results. I was clearly making a big mistake, in my opinion there are fundamentally two types of pumpkin (but many different sorts) those especially suitable for carving and those better suited for consumption. Obviously the larger pumpkins are great for carving but the flesh is generally pale in colour and watery. The smaller ones de biologische pompoen (small organic pumpkins that are readily available here) and also the butternut squash are particularly good, vibrant in colour and very sweet. The organic one can even be roasted/grilled successfully without losing its structure. It is quite delious with a mixture of spices and a sprinkling of olive oil.
Since then I have grown and harvested my own pumpkins but find they are rather overpowering in the garden and luckily they are now readily available in supermarkets.
In my opinion pumpkins are very underrated, they so much more than a Halloween prop. They are sweet and healthy and I hope you will be tempted to try my Thai inspired soup.
It is sweet and spicy. A lovely soup perfect for welcoming the colour of Autumn into you kitchen.

Thai inspired Pumpkin soup
1 small pumpkin ( or butternut).
1 large onion
Fresh red chili pepper (to taste) I used about 1/4
Thai red curry paste (to taste) I used about 1 tbsp.
1 clove garlic
Oil (olive)
Coriander (ground, to taste)
500ml stock (chicken or vegetable)
200ml orange juice
1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Serving suggestions: sour cream, creme fraiche or a knob of butter. Fresh coriander if desired but it is so delicious and vibrant in colour it needs very little.
Serves 4-5 (good sized portions)

Method:
Cut the pumpkin in slices, remove peel, (you can use a potato peeler for a butternut) stringy parts and seeds, discard. Chop the flesh in pieces. Dice the onion. De-seed the pepper and finely chop. Heat a little oil in a large pan. Fry the onion and red pepper for a few minutes. Add the curry paste. Stir and add the pumpkin, garlic (chopped) and fry for a few more minutes. Add salt, black pepper and coriander to taste. Add orange juice and coconut milk and heat through. Add stock and bring to boil, simmer for 15- 20 minutes (until pumpkin is soft, a little longer if you are using a butternut). Cool slightly and blend. Serve with topping of choice.