Three cheese mushroom soup

This is not exactly a summery recipe, but I had some leftover mushrooms and this solution came to my mind. I used three different cheeses to go with it (making it even more filling), including French mimolette, which is a traditional cheese coming from Lille. Its distinct orange colour comes from annatto, which also gives it a slightly nutty taste. If you don't have access to mimolette, cheddar or gruyere should go well here too.

You'll need:
400-500g mushrooms (champignons de Paris)
1 medium size gold onion
1/2 carrot
2 medium size potatoes, or 1 big one
400ml broth
3-4 spoons of cream
3-4 mozarella mini balls
grana padano
mimolette (or other cheese)
a few ciabatta slices
salt&pepper
butter

1. Add chopped onion into a pot and fry over medium heat for around 5 minutes. 

2. Add thickly sliced mushrooms and a generous dose of pepper and fry for another 3-4 minutes, before adding grated carrot.

3. When the carrot is already in the pot, peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes.

4. Add the potatoes, allow to fry for another minute or so, and then add the broth. I used beef broth, but you can use any kind of broth. cook until the potatoes are soft.

5. Add cream and blend.

6. Grill the bread slices with some butter. You can also grill a few mushroom slices for decoration.

7. Put the mozzarella balls in a bowl, pour the soup over them and sprinkle with grated mimolette and grana padano. Serve with grilled ciabatta slices and grilled mushrooms.

Buon appetito!

French onion soup

After getting soaked in the rain yesterday, I decided to prepare this French classic soup to warm me up, it works magic (and not just because it has white wine in it)!

You'll need:

3 medium size golden onions

100ml white wine

250 ml good quality broth

baguette or other bread to grill

cheddar cheese (or other strong flavoured cheese, classicly Gruyere is used for this recipe)

butter

rosemary

nutmeg

laurel leaf

black pepper seeds

freshly ground pepper

a pinch of sugar

garlic (optional)

1. Start off by chopping the onions into thin slices. Soften them up in a pot with some oil and melted butter (no French recipe can do without butter). TIP: be careful  not to add to much butter or oil, so as not to make the soup oily afterwards. Add some water to avoid burning the onion. Cook it over small heat for some 10 minutes until it softens and then add a pinch of sugar to caramelise it (again be careful not to add too much, to avoid making the soup a dessert, the onion is already naturally sweet). The secret is in slow cooking over low heat.

2. Add the wine and allow to simmer for 2 minutes. 

3. Add the broth, together with rosemary, nutmeg, black pepper and laurel leaf. Cook some more. At this point the smell is simply divine.

4. In the meantime prepare the bread. Cut some small slices, cover them with butter, add some finely chopped garlic (optional) and cheese on top and put in the oven set to a grill option. 

5. Transfer your soup into a bowl, add some freshly ground pepper, and serve with a grilled piece of bread on top.

 Bon appétit!

Vellutata di ceci

...or chickpeas cream. With this recipe you can enjoy Tuscan flavours within minutes. It really needs a generous dose of fresh rosemary to do the trick, do not replace it with a dried version. Luckily, I can pick up mine straight from the garden.

You'll need:
one can of chickpeas (400g)
one medium onion
one garlic clove (optional)
fresh rosemary
1 spoon of tomato concentrate
300ml broth (or half a stock cube and water for a student version)
grated grana padano (optional)
freshly grated black pepper
bread to make croutons with
herb salt

1. Chop the onion and fry it in a pot.
2. Finely chop the garlic and rosemary and add them to the onion.
3. Add chickpeas and fry everything together for a moment before adding broth.
4. Add tomato concentrate and stir.
5. Allow the soup to simmer while you prepare the croutons. Cut the bread and fry it on hot oil (do not add too much or they will become oily) seasoning it with herb salt.
6. Let the soup cool down a bit before blending it into a velvety cream.
7. Warm it up again before pouring into a bowl.
8. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top, grate some black pepper over it, add the croutons, e voila!

Bon appétit!

Pappa al pomodoro

 

You have some leftover stale bread? This typically Tuscan recipe comes to the rescue! Never again will you be faced with the problem of having to get rid of stale bread. In fact, this primo piatto (first dish) is so yummy that you might want to put some fresh bread aside just to make pappa al pomodoro again :)

You'll need:

500g stale white bread

400ml tomato passata or 4 fresh tomatoes

1 medium onion

1 garlic clove

olive oil

salt & pepper

1. Warm up some olive oil in a pot and fry some previously chopped onion on it. Once the onion starts to turn golden, add garlic and fry for 30 seconds more, being careful not to burn it. 

2. It is best to add fresh ripe tomatoes at this point and cook everything until the tomatoes reach a saucy consistency, but if you want to speed things up you can take a shortcut and add a tomato passata.

3. Cut the bread into small cubes and add to the pot. Add also some water and stir. Let the bread absorb the liquids and dissolve into a gluey smooth consistency. Add some more water as you go along if need be.

4. Season with salt and pepper for taste and add fresh basil leaves (these should be added only towards the end of the cooking as otherwise basil will loose its colour and characteristics).

5. Sprinkle some extra vergin olive oil on top before serving, decorate with a basil leaf, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Mulligatawny soup

This curry flavoured soup originates from Indian cuisine, but this particular Anglosaxon version probably doesn't resemble much its oriental original. The name derives from Tamil words for pepper water, but this version is more sweet than anything else, especially with the addition of apples. This recipe was inspired by one from Hairy Bikers with some modifications. Mulligatawny soup is usually thickened by rice or lentils, but the way I prepared it, it was already quite dense, so I left it as it is. If you want to add rice, then I would suggest adding more broth. This soup can be easily turned veggie friendly if using vegetable broth. Equally, meat lovers might want to add some meat chunks to it (I suggest chicken).

You'll need:

4 medium sized carrots

2 potatoes

4 celery sticks

1 apple

1 onion

2 spoons of tomato concentrate

2 garlic cloves

bouillon 

curry powder

sour cream

coriander, parsley or dill for decoration

freshly ground black pepper

butter 

oil

1. Preparation: peel the potatoes and cut them into 2cm cubes. Cut the carrots and celery. Finely chop the onions and garlic. 

2. Melt the butter with oil on a deep pan/ in a thick walled pot and add the onions, potatoes, carrots, celery and garlic. Stir-fry over medium heat for around ten minutes or until they start to brown.

3. In the meantime peel the apple and cut it into cubes. Stir it in towards the end of the frying.

4. Add curry powder and stir.

5. Add the bouillon and tomato concentrate, bring to the boil and then allow to simmer for around 30 minutes or until the vegetables become soft.

6. Put it aside and allow to cool, then blend. If it's too dense after blending, add some more broth.

7. Warm it up again, transfer to a plate, add some sour cream, sprinkle with coriander and pepper, et voila!

Bon appétit!

Asparagus and leek cream soup

Yet another way to enjoy the delicate taste of asparagus!

You'll need:
10 green asparagus shoots
1 medium leek
1/2 medium size onion
5 medium size potatoes
thyme
0,5l bouilion (it's ok to use a vegetable cube)
sour cream
croutons
salt & pepper
olive oil

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Carefully clean the leek and cut it into thin slices. Chop the onions.
2. Fry the onions, potatoes and leek on olive oil with thyme for about 5 minutes in a deep pan/thick bottom pot. Add some salt and pepper for taste.
3. Add bouilion and boil for another 10-15 minutes until soft. 3 minutes before it's ready add the asparagus (cut into 3-4cm bits).
4. Remove the asparagus heads for decoration.
5.Wait until the soup cools down and then blend it.
6. Warm it up again and transfer into a bowl.
7. Decorate with sour cream, asparagus heads and croutons, et voila!

Bon appétit!

PS. This soup also tastes very good if served with chicken.

Mint zucchini soup

Coming back in big style with something vegetarian for a change!! This is a slightly modified recipe from kwestiasmaku.com. A great combination of flavours. I liked it so much, that I made it four times in a row.

You'll need:
3 or 4 medium size potatoes
1 medium zucchini
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 glass of boulion (can be replaced by a cube)
a handfull of freshmint leaves
balkan/natural yoghurt
pepper
butter and oil
bread to toast

1. Chop the onions and garlic. Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes. Cut the zucchini into similar size cubes. Everything will be blended in the end so no need to be too careful about sizes.
2. Take a pot with a thick den. Put some butter in and let it melt. Add some oil and fry the onion until its nice and golden. When it's nearly ready, add garlic. I didn't add the garlic at the beginning, because if it is fried for too long it turns bitter. Allow it to fry for 30 seconds or so, and then add the potatoes and zucchini.
3. After two minutes start adding boulion.
4. Let it simmer until the potatoes are ready.
5. Chop the mint leaves. Leave a few for decoration.
6. Add the mint to the soup around 2 minutes before it's ready.
7. Leave the soup to cool down and then blend it (a blender looses its sharpness if used for blending hot stuff).
8. Once the soup is mixed into a cream form, warm it up again and transfer into a bowl. Add some yoghurt and bread toasts, et voila!

Bon appétit!