Broccoli Soup with Cream of Horseradish

I am surprised at quite how often broccoli nearly goes to waste in my home, but always rescued from finding its way to the compost bin in the form of a bowl of soup. 

It has been welcome, especially as the temperature has dropped and the rain came drenching the soil. The plants and trees that I see outside my window are looking much better for it - truly lush and dare I compare and say that some even  look like broccoli heads sitting comfortably on the horizon. I will have to take a picture to show you what I see.


We have had this Broccoli Soup with Cream of Horseradish twice.  Firstly as is - just Broccoli and Lemon, the second time I remembered to stir in the creamed horseradish.

According to the cookbook and my pencil scribbles, I noted that I had made a variation of this soup in 2004 with shallots and lemon. The original recipe uses lime and fresh horseradish, but I have used horseradish from a jar, hence why this is not vegan. 

Whilst flicking through the cookbook, I wish I had also spotted this Broccoli and Ginger Soup recipe to make, well maybe next time.

I am sharing this Broccoli Soup with Cream of Horseradish with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Broccoli Soup with Cream of Horseradish
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
Zest of a lemon
250g or thereabouts broccoli, chopped
800ml vegetable stock
2 teaspoons horseradish
Salt and pepper to taste
2-4 tablespoons chives, chopped
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan, and saute the onions until translucent, then add the potatoes, lemon zest and cook for 5 minutes without colouring.  
Then stir in the broccoli and the vegetable stock.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Turn off the heat, allow to cool before blending either with a hand blender or in a liquidiser.
Reheat season to taste and stir in the horseradish and chives, gently reheat before serving.
Adapted from New Covent Garden Soup Company's Soup and Beyond. The original recipe can also be found in their publication A Soup for Every Day: 3665 of our favoruite recipes

Red Yellow Green Macaroni Pasta Salad

We haven't had much of an appetite really, as we not expending much energy, but yesterday was different having spent much of it in the garden continuing with the digging and weeding that we had worked up an appetite.

I took me less than 30 minutes to put this dish  together and much of that was cooking of the macaroni pasta and lunch was served:  a big bowl of Red Yellow Green Macaroni Pasta Salad. 

The macaroni pasta is combined with colourful peppers, spring onions, black olives and then smothered in a Dijon Mayonnaise.  It really was one of the easiest lunches to put together and eat.  I served up and took my bowl outside to eat out in the sun, and I am not even a sun person. I am coming to appreciate my outdoor space a lot more than I have done so in the past. 

D enjoyed Macaroni Pasta Salad so much that he went back for a second helping.  I made a big batch that will serve us both for lunch today as well as tomorrow. I am sharing this  Red Yellow Green Macaroni Pasta Salad with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen.

Swiss Chard Paneer

Next weekend will be the weekend when we will turn our thoughts to the festive season.  Its the weekend we will also bring down the Christmas tree and decorations from the attic.. but this weekend is a lazy weekend.  So lazy that I have nothing of interest to share, I feel zapped and lacking both energy and enthusiasm.  I hope the festive season injects some pizazz into me! 

I made this Swiss Chard Paneer early this month.  Its an adaptation of Saag or Palak (Spinach) Paneer that you often find at South Asian take-aways and restaurants.

The rainbow chard came from my garden.  There is still plenty to harvest.  

The pan roasted paneer made for a change.  I normally just throw it in the dish and let it warm through, but fancied being a little bit naughty.  You can see the brand of paneer cheese I used if you visit my In My Kitchen blog post.  This was a gorgeous dish to eat with rice, the chard had softened so much that it coated the paneer like silk.  

So this recipe is my contribution to the last edition of  Eat Your Greens challenge that I co-hosted with The VegHog.  There is still time to join in if you want.  Follow this link on how to participate. 

Recipe below

Black chickpea and sweet potato frittata bites

I made these Black Chickpea and Sweet Potato frittata Bites over the festive period. 

I had some friends coming over for a few hours, so wanted to make some light bites and nibbles for them which included these Black chickpea and sweet potato frittata, which was sliced into bite size pieces.  Its both sweet and savoury.  You can see the studded black chickpeas and orange sweet potato chunks with a flicker of red here and there from a red pepper.  It was nice to nibble. 

As usual, I made way too much of this Black chickpea and sweet potato frittata bites. I wanted to give some to my guests to take home, but they were on their way somewhere else, so I ended up giving it to D to take into work the following day for his lunch at work.  He very much enjoyed it.  

I would like to add this is perhaps one of the easiest recipes to veganize by substituting the eggs for chickpea flour.  In fact, I may do that one day. 

By the way have you noticed that the food on my blog this week has been mostly burnished brown colours?!  

Sweet Paprika Mushroom Strogonoff

This is not the prettiest of pictures, in fact its a little hazy (in other words blurry) but I sill share it as it was delicious to eat. 

It is Sweet Paprika Mushroom Strogonoff that I made in December after work in the evening, another reason why its not well lit. The sweet paprika made a wonderful change form the smoked variety.

The Hungarian Paprika Mushroom recipe comes from Entertaining Vegetarians by Celia Brooks. Celia's recipe is made with Chanterelle mushroom, but it is not easy to find them fresh in my part of the world, so I used some dried chanterelle mushrooms in the cupboard and rehydrated them.  I also added some mangetout to the pot as I felt it needed a bit of crunch and colour, but once it was served up I realised the mangetout was not necessary and the burnished red tones imparted by the paprika gave it a warming glow that only made me feel happy eating it.  

Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander

The weather is so changeable at the moment, its gone all warm again.

I came home a little earlier than usual and wanted to eat something quite light, hence this Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander.

Of course, this was not going to be enough as a meal for two, so alongside the Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander, I made a Tomato Tarte Tatin.  It made for a nice change.  The feta here is optional, I used it as that is what I had in the fridge, but you could substitute it with halloumi cheese or if your going for a vegan or dairy free option, perhaps smoked tofu.  I think you need a soft texture with the nutty black chickpeas and the fragrant herb brings it all together.

What I like about this salad too, it that it is quite seasonal in colours - going all autumnal, but also a perfect salad to knock up for a Halloween feast if you are planning a vegan or vegetarian Black Food Menu.  

Please don't worry too much if you can't find black chickpeas where you are, just substitute it with the traditional kind, but  do try and find them - You will always find them in South Asian supermarkets or greengrocers and they are sold as Kala Channa.  However, I have noted over the past couple of years, even supermarkets are selling Indian brands labelled as Kala Chana and they are reasonably priced, you can get three tins for a pound in some places (see here), and in a time of austerity - every pound matters.  You can even find the dried variety too, but that takes a little more forward planning.  

I am sharing this Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander with Souper Sundays hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. I mentioned before, I don't always get to join in, but it is a pleasure when I do.  Thanks for hosting Deb; and also #EatYourGreens Vegetarian and Vegan Blog challenge hosted by me this month.  Eat Your Greens is also co-hosted by The VegHog.  Please do join in.  For those of you who have not participated before, please Follow this link on how to join in . 

Etsis Turlu - Rich Summer Vegetable Stew

I've been cooking quite a lot of Middle Eastern recipes recently.  It started with the  Iranian Pearl Barley Soup known as Ash-e Jo or Ash-e-Jow  early this year when we had freakish snow and with the unusual hot weather continuing, now I have Etsis Turlu.   

According to the cookbook author this Etsis Turlu comes from Turkey.

With the rain over the weekend, it was the perfect excuse to make a stew more suited for autumnal days and colder evenings, but i have lots of summer vegetables including courgettes, marrows and green beans coming from the garden that I wanted  to make the most of it, even if it is the height of summer.

This stew will last us good three days of the working week and we intend to eat it with couscous, bulgar wheat, rice or crusty bread.  

I am sharing this  Etsis Turlu Stew with Souper Sundays hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Buttery Marrow and Fenugreek Curry

The first of many homegrown marrows and because the accepted stereotype of South Asian girls is that 'we' all make a mean curry, I thought I would not disappoint. But the truth is, everyone these days claims to make an awesome 'curry'.  I am honestly not one of those people. 

I have made a vegan Marrow Curry with Chickpeas in this past, but this one is rich and buttery, that even my mother would approve. 

I love fenugreek and when I saw it being sold at the market, I could not resist its distinct fragrant.  I am pleased I picked it up as it enhanced the plainness of the marrow curry. 

I am sharing this with The Veg Hog  who is hosting #EatYourGreens Vegetarian and Vegan Blog challenge this month, please do join in there is plenty of time.   For those of you who have not participated before, please Follow this link on how to join in.   

One Pot Curried Red Chard, Butternut Squash, Chestnut Mushroom with White Beans

April weather has been teasing us - a peek of sunshine, followed rather quickly by a burst of rain - I know its not called 'April Showers' for nothing.  The point is, its still not very warm and we are still tucking into autumnal coloured food.  In fact, let me forewarn you in advance, this week my blog will feature food that is mostly orange in colour.   

Here is my One Pot Curried Butternut Squash, Red Chard, Chestnut Mushrooms and White Beans.  Food that glows and food that warms the belly.

I really dislike using the word 'curried', as its used so lazily these days, but this One Pot Butternut Squash, Red Chard, Chestnut Mushrooms and White Beans recipe is actually curried.  The recipe is also inspired and adapted from Anjum Anand.  It was surprisingly quite good.  

Smoked Cheddar Cheese Nut Roast

I have lots of flavoured cheddar cheese in the fridge from Christmas and the New Year.  We have been snacking on them in the evening with crackers, but I have also decided to incorporate some of it into our cooked meals.

This is a Smoked Cheddar Cheese Nut Roast that I made to accompany Sunday Veggie Roast Dinner. 

D is never excited by nut roasts.  So to please him I told him he would also get some mock meat slices on his plate (left over from a previous meal).   This Smoked Cheese Nut Roast recipe comes from Green Gourmet Giraffe.  Johanna's version is vegan. 

Wow this was a flavourful nut roast.  

It was very textual too. I changed it just a little, but they are not worth mentioning really.  Adding a red pepper for colour and upping the smoked paprika and Smoked cheddar cheese and finally because it just seemed right, I had to use the Outback Spirit Tasmanian Pepper Salt seasoning that Johanna sent me last year all the way from Australia.

Red Tomato, Fenugreek, Paneer Coconut Curry

Over the weekend, we cleared the greenhouse and harvested the last of the ripe red tomatoes and some of the green, the rest were removed and burned.

Courgette Marrow Aubergine and Spicy Ground Chorizo Pizza

I made this Courgette Marrow Aubergine Spicy Ground Chorizo Pizza a few weeks back.  It is a little reminisce of Lahmacan. dubbed in the English speaking world as the Turkish Pizza, but of course this one is vegetarian as it is made with soya mince in place of minced meat.

I really, really loved it.  

The base is not traditional tomato, but spicy ground chorizo made with soy mince and all the flavours associated.  It was a little old fashion way of making vegan chorizo, but it was delicious and I will make it again . The courgettes in this recipe were bordering on becoming marrows, hence the reason that I have named the recipe so.  

The spicy ground soy mince chorizo base recipe comes from Mo Wyse and Shannon Martinez of Smith and Daughters in Australia. I was recommended the cookbook Smith and Daughters That Happens to Be Vegan by the Green Gourmet Giraffe.

Creamy Avocado Soup with Tortilla Cheese Topping

Although I have tinkered with the recipe a little bit, here is another vegetarian recipe scratched off the bookmarked list.  I've had this Creamy Avocado Soup recipe bookmarked for a vey long time, in fact ever since I got Celia Browns cookbook Entertaining Vegetarians in 2004.  

Avocado in soup may sound a bit strange, perhaps not to those of you who have been tucking into trendy smoothies made with the Avocados - anyway think Mexican guacamole flavours!  This is not a steaming bowl of soup and nor is it a cold soup, its warm, barely warm in fact as it is flashed under the grill for the cheese to melt and then served up immediately.   No waiting around.  

I have actually made this Creamy Avocado Soup twice in last two weeks.  Once with soured cream and the second time with coconut cream left over from Christmas and Boxing Day cocktails and mocktail Pina Coladas - oh no I've said too much.   D declared the Creamy Avocado Soup as delicious.  Its a blanket of green velvet lushness.  I wasn't sure if I would like this luke warm Creamy Avocado Soup, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Not only did I like it, I loved it. 

I wanted to serve it with some fancy blue maize tortilla chips, but D had a few days back opened a packet of Doritos that I found tucked away in the bread bin, so I used them.  I am sharing this with Creamy Avocado Soup with Tortilla Cheese Topping with Eat Your Greens challenge that I co-host with The VegHog;  Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen;   Elizabeths's Kitchen for No Waste Food Challenge; as the tortillas were beginning to soften and crisped up within moments under the grill and No Croutons Required hosted by Tinned Tomatoes and Lisas Kitchen. 

Winter Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin

This Winter Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin is perhaps something best served around Halloween when loud bold colours seem more acceptable on the dinner plate, though I must add orange is the real colour of Halloween, not Gothic blood wine colours.  

This a dish that was made from scratch, from peeling and cooking the beetroot (which were from my own garden plot) to making the sauce, the only shortcut I used was horseradish sauce from a jar.  I have seen fresh horseradish root in the city of Cardiff, but its very expensive and I would only want a tablespoon or two, not the whole root - so its from a jar, no shame in that.  

You could make this grating completely with beetroot, but I thought it might be too overpowering and alternated it with sliced potatoes.  This recipe is vegetarian, but it can easily be made vegan.

I served the Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin enjoyed it with Cauldron Lincolnshire sausages which I prefer to the other supermarket brands.  I find the Cauldron ones are a lot more succulent and flavoursome, many others vegan and vegetarian sausages are just shaped like a sausage and taste of nothing. 

The Beetroot Potato Horseradish Gratin was surprisingly quite nice,  I say this as I still consider myself a convert to the beetroot club, I never liked it when I was a child.  The gratin was sweet and earthy, a little punch in the mouth from the horseradish - so make sure its good horseradish and the colour is something you just have to accept and you will, if you like beetroot. 

Black Bursa Figs Mozzarella Pizza Tart

It's a a pizza kind of day.

 Except this is not a pizza, its more of a tart.  

I made this a few weeks back with what is a luxury fruit in our home: fresh Turkish Black Bursa Figs.  

I was a little unsure when D picked these Black Bursa Figs, as we had plums falling in our garden, but he said he wanted something different fruit to eat for a change from the usual apples, bananas and oranges.  I then thought fair enough we don't eat fresh figs much, only if we go overseas to places like Turkey or Cyprus.  

The figs are squat like in shape and much darker in colour, deep purple and nearly black in places. They made for a nice change, but we had way too many and they were super ripe and fragile to the touch.   I decided to make a pizza like tart.  I spread a little green basil pesto on the base, topped it with slices of figs then dotted it with some mozzarella balls (you can use a vegan alternative if you want).  Then it went into the oven for around 20 minutes or so, until golden.  As this Black Bursa Figs Pizza Tart can be sliced into many little bite size pieces, I am sharing it with Tea Time Treats as the theme is Savoury Foods hosted by Lavender and Lovage, Travels for Taste and Jo's Kitchen. 

Lemon Velvet 'Marrow Cream' Curd

Wondering what to do with those monster marrows other than stuffing them with brown rice, quinoa and other grains.  Here's something that will last in your kitchen larder (if your fortunate to have one); or if your heart desires share with family, friends and Besties.   It will compliment toasts,  crumpets and even croissants.  

If you have not heard of it, let me introduce you to a different type of curd made without eggs Marrow Cream.  This is is no ordinary Marrow Cream, this recipe was bestowed to me (and other fellow bloggers but I won't say that too loudly) by one of my long term friend Nic from Nip It In The Bud who I met through blogging.  We started blogging around the same time and I have watched her and her husband grow from a loving couple into a blossoming family, first there was little Euan and now there is Luca.  

A few years ago, when I was a lot more proactive in the allotment garden, I would make a lot of homemade jam, preserves and chutneys.  One day myself and Nic decided to do a jam jar swap. You can read about it here.  I loved it, but sadly I never got round to making my own Marrow Cream then, until now when I bagged myself some marrows. 

Unlike Nic's Marrow Cream, my jar of Lemon Marrow Cream Curd is a little darker in colour which makes me think perhaps I should have called it Golden Marrow Cream Curd.  The reason it is much darker is that I used golden caster sugar, but if you want to achieve that buttery yellow colour then I would strongly advise you use white sugar.  I think this recipe can easily be made vegan by subbing the butter with a vegan alternative, but I followed the recipe this time round.  

So what does it taste like.  Like lemon curd, but not as sharp and not as super smooth,  even though I used my Froothie blender, but that does not matter, really - its adds  a bit of texture, a bit like Lemon Velvet, hence my use of it in the blog header.  Nic describes the texture in her blog post like that of pureed stewed apples and I would have to agree. 

I am sharing this Lemon Velvet Marrow Cream Curd with Inheritance Recipes co hosted by Solange at Pebble Soup and Coffee and Vanilla as this recipe comes from someone who I am proud to call a friend, not just a blogger friend and her recipe will now indeed be in my home recipe book If you have not visited her blog, please do its called Nip It In The Bud, its down to earth, honest and family oriented.  It can only warm your heart. 

As well as Nic's Marrow Cream , here are some other Curd recipes
Clementine Curd
Lemon Curd vegan from Wallflower Girl
Pink Grapefruit and White Chocolate curd by Clouds of Dream 
Strawberry Curd