Golden Vegetable Soup

My parents were great soup-makers.  Being Scottish, hearty broths were part of their DNA, and I make them myself as often as I can.  Their repertoire was limited - Scotch Broth, Chicken Broth, Lentil and Ham Broth, and something my old Dad called 'CIA Soup' which meant, 'Chuck It All in', a bit like minestrone.  But my siblings and I never tired of them, they were so healthy and delicious.  Strange, then, that my parents also LOVED packet soup, particularly Golden Vegetable.  These were essentially milk and MSG in powdered form with little pieces of dehydrated carrot and pea that never, and I mean NEVER, rehydrated when the soup was made.  Gah!  But as a fresh soup made with simply masses of slowly simmered chunks of carrot, swede, leek, celery, and whatever else you have to hand (yesterday's version also had courgette, parsnip, Jerusalem artichoke and celeriac) and of course the obligatory frozen peas, it is a wonderful hearty soup.  You get the slight golden colour by extracting about a third of the soup and blending it, returning it to the pot, which thickens and colours the entire pot.  Thin it with a little milk to give some creaminess and add some finely chopped parsley, and there you have it - better than anything out of a packet and no MSG. 

Roast Vegetable Toad-in-the-Hole with Red Onion and Redcurrant Gravy

This recipe arrived with the Riverford Seasons Veg box yesterday and I knew we had to have it - as well as using up a lot of leftover root veg, it was a great meat-free main course.  For 2, simply roast some root veg, about a kilo in total - I used carrot, parsnip and swede, and also added a leek, an onion, a big mushroom, and the remains of a red pepper and some butternut squash.  About 40 minutes in a hot oven with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and fresh thyme.  Pour over a batter made with 75g plain flour, 1 large egg, 100ml of milk and 25ml of water.  Season well and pour the batter over and around the roasted veg, and bake for 30 minutes until puffed and crisp.  I served this with an onion gravy made by slowly sauteeing a large sliced red onion in a little oil, with a teaspoon of sugar.  When soft, add a teaspoon of flour, then stir in about 250ml of veg stock.  Bring to the boil, add a splash of soy sauce, some red wine if you have it, and a good teaspoon of redcurrant jelly.  Serve with the toad. 

A Soup of Roasted Summer Vegetables [#105]

It turned a bit blustery and chilly today, so I decided on Nigel's soup of roasted vegetables, with a lovely mix including carrots, fennel, courgettes, onions and tomatoes. I diced them quite small and roasted them until they started to singe a bit at the corners. Then they simmered in some Marigold veg stock with a shot of tomato puree, and I also added some tinned cannellini and borlotti beans and orzo pasta. Some shredded spinach went in at the end, and it was served with a big dollop of pureed basil olive oil and toasted pine nuts. Lovely soup, and well worth the initial roasting for a marvellous depth of flavour.