Three little pigs

For the last week or so, the wind outside has been blowing fiercely, bringing to mind the big, bad wolf from the 'Three Little Pigs'. "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in." Today, the wind is howling in defeat. No doubt it will try again. Rain has been swooping in every time the wind laid down to gather its strength. Cold pinpricks of icy water steadily falling down to soak everything, only relenting when the wind picks up again. Grey, ominous looking skies. Every morning for the past week. Temperatures are dropping lower every day and people are donning hats, gloves and warm, woollen scarves to complement their warm, woollen coats. Winter is fast approaching.

'The novelty of numb fingers', 'clothes that are more water than fabric', 'gale-force makeovers' and a 'wind that blows you backwards'. 'Umbrellas making their great escape', 'puddles that lie in wait under wobbly slabs, just waiting to pounce up your leg' and 'tidalwaves from errant cars'. A romantic description from Heinz (yes, the one from the soup advert). But the novelty wears off after about thirty seconds and it takes forever to get warm and dry. I could curse any driver for their lack of compassion; I swear some of them see the puddle and wait for unsuspecting pedestrians... And who doesn't hate it when you have to walk for the rest of the day with soaking wet feet because of the unnoticable puddle??? But still, looking out (all warm, cozy and comfortable) to the wind playing with the leaves, rain making beautiful patterns on the windows or perhaps even snow dancing on the wind; I have to admit, I love Winter.

Part of that is that I can, finally, bring out my favourite dishes without being made to feel that I am 'weird'. Even my husband is doubtful when, in scorching heat, I tell him that we are having beef-stew-and-dumplings for dinner. But right now I can safely bring out the bread-and-butter-puddings, casseroles, warming winter soups, 'wigwams' and the aforementioned stew-and-dumplings. Not to mention cinnamon hot chocolate, devil's coffee (or chocolate), mulled wine and hot cider...

My all-time favourite vegetable is now at its prime: Brussels Sprouts. Growing up, I didn't like sprouts. At all. Bitter. Weird looking. Horrible. I did, however, like (strike that and make it 'love') 'leprechaun-cabbage mash'. Now, if you do not know what leprechaun-cabbages are, here is a picture... Yes, my mother was cruel... I remember one Christmas where the entire family was sat around the dinner table. My mother had four rules when it came to food. 1) It is absolutely normal not to like one certain food, not liking two is acceptable (if not preferable), not liking three is being fussy. 2) You have to try everything at least once (every ten years, or so). 3) No dessert if you don't finish your plate of food. 4) You will eat your number of years in those vegetables you do not like (on top on rule #1) (for instance: 5 brussels sprouts at age 5, 10 brussels sprouts at age 10, and so on). Like I said, we were sat at the Christmas dinner table and part of our meal were sprouts. I cannot remember how old I was but, for ease, let's say I was thirteen. Therefore, I had thirteen sprouts on my plate. My dad, feeling sorry for me, decided to eat my sprouts. I felt so bad for him having to eat his own sprouts and now mine as well that I decided to help him and I (sneakily) ate the brussels sprouts that were on his plate (way more than thirteen...). They were actually not that bad but, from then on in, I could never get away from a full plate of sprouts again...

But, I never planned on writing about sprouts... That was meant for another day. Today is all about one of my favourite soups. It is just the thing I fancy when the weather turns as it has: warming, rich, comforting, luxurious in feel, cheap in making, easy as can be, and always a crowdpleaser. My advice is to double the quantity; you will come back for seconds and thirds.

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of rapeseed or olive oil (or butter)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 1 leek, finely sliced (or 1 extra onion)
• 1 medium potato (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 litre vegetable stock (homemade or low-salt version from the shop)
• 1½-2 heads of broccoli (including the stem)
• 140 grams of blue cheese (Stilton is traditional but any blue cheese works)
• black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil or butter in a large saucepan and add the onions
2. Cook on a medium heat until soft
• add a splash of water if the onions start to catch
3. Add the celery, leek, (potato), and the tablespoon of butter and stir until the butter is melted
4. Cover with a lid and allow to cook for 5 minutes
5. Remove the lid and pour in the stock and the stalk of the broccoli and cook for 10-15 minutes until all the vegetables are soft
6. Add the rest of the broccoli and cook for a further 5 minutes
7. Carefully transfer everything into a blender and blitz until smooth
• place a folded tea towel on top of the blender (over the hole in the lid) before you start blending
• you can use a stick blender instead but be careful
8. Stir in the crumbled blue cheese and season to taste with black pepper

If you prefer to use seasonal vegetables, this recipe works equally well with cauliflower. In that case, use a white Stilton, brie or camembert and white pepper and make sure not to let your vegetables colour in the oil or butter. This way you will have a beautifully snow white soup.

If you want to 'dress' your bowl of soup, hold back a couple of small florets of the broccoli (or cauliflower) and a little of the cheese. Blanch the florets in seasoned, boiling water for about 1 minute and place on top of the soup with a little of the cheese.

Serve with warm, crusty rolls and butter or buttered toast.

Enjoy

Back to the Past

One of my favourite things to do on a cold, but dry, crisp winters day is to go out for a walk in the woods. The best thing about it is, probably, coming back home into the warmth and wrapping myself in a blanket on the sofa and my hands around a steaming bowl of fresh soup. But even now in summer, with temperatures soaring, I do like a bowl of soup. Fair enough, the bowl of soup contains different ingredients but the principle is the same: stock, vegetables, protein, starch. Perhaps a noodle soup with ginger, spring onions, bean sprouts, chili and chicken. Or maybe a chilled pea soup with lovage and creme fraiche (I know, mom, who ever thought I would eat pea soup...) or a light fish soup with haddock and sweet corn.

What ever soup it is I am making, I do prefer to make a soup with homemade stock. Using a stock cube might seem a like good, quick and easy option but I find they usually lack flavour and just add a lot of salt. Of course, there is something to be said for low-sodium, free-range stock cubes but they are more often than not very expensive.

It used to be common for people to make their own stocks but these days people think it is difficult and time-consuming. But it doesn't have to be. In principle, making your own stock is not more difficult than bringing a pan of water to the boil and letting it simmer and not more time-consuming than cooking your average meal. The benefit of making a big pan of stock is that you can freeze it. It does lose some of its taste but not massively so and if you reduce the stock to concentrate the flavour it is actually a very handy thing to have in the freezer. Besides, stock will last three to four days in the fridge, after which time you can bring it back to the boil and keep it for another 3-4 days, practically indefinitely.

There are various options for stock but the two main categories are: Fond Blanc (white stock) and Fond Brun (brown stock). For white stock you use raw bones and for brown stock you use... You guessed it, roasted bones.  Chicken bones are mainly used for white stock and veal or beef bones are mainly used for brown stock but Fish and Vegetable stock are also white stocks. (Bones,) vegetables and water in a pan + simmering = stock. The vegetables you use for making stock is called mirepoix and consists (usually) of onion, leeks, carrot and celery but for a white stock you would mainly use the white parts of vegetables.

The most time consuming of all the various options for stock is brown stock as the bones need roasting and are then simmered for several hours to get the deep brown colour. The quickest to make are fish and vegetable stock as they only need about 20-25 minutes. 

Brown Stock

Ingredients:

• 500 gram beef of veal bones
• Mirepoix
• 2 chopped carrots
• 2 diced onions
• 2 chopped celery sticks
• 1 tablespoons tomato paste
• Enough water to cover the bones
• Bouquet Garni (herbs and spices tied in a cloth for ease of use)
• Dried thyme
• Parsley stems
• Bayleaf
• Peppercorns
• Cloves

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C
2. Place the bones in a heavy bottomed roasting pan. Drizzle them with a bit of vegetable oil if you like
3. Roast the bones for about half an hour
4. Add the mirepoix to the roasting pan and continue roasting for another half an hour
• Toward the end of the roasting, add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste or dilute the paste with a little water and brush the bones thinly with this before you start roasting them
5. When the bones are thoroughly browned, remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the bones to a heavy-bottomed stockpot
6. Add enough cold water to the pot to completely cover the bones, about 1 litre per 500 gram bones
7. Bring the pot to a boil, then immediately lower the heat to a simmer
8. Skim off the scum that rises to the surface with a slotted spoon
9. Add the roasted mirepoix to the pot along with the Bouquet Garni; tie the sachet string to the stockpot handle for easy retrieval later
10. Continue to simmer the stock and skim the impurities that rise to the surface
• Liquid will evaporate, so make sure there's always enough water to cover the bones
11. After anywhere from 4 to 6 hours, once the stock has developed a rich brown colour, remove the pot from the heat
12. Strain the stock through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. Cool the stock quickly, using an ice bath if necessary

Some hints and tips when making brown stock:

• The best bones to use for making stock are ones with a lot of cartilage, such as the so-called "knuckle" bones in the various leg joints. The bones of younger animals also have more cartilage, which is why veal bones are so desirable
• Always start with cold water when making stock. It will help extract more collagen from the bones, which will produce a stock with more body
• Don't let the stock boil, but rather keep it at a gentle simmer with bubbles just breaking the surface. Also, don't stir the stock while it simmers. Just let it do its thing. All you need to worry about is skimming the scum off the top, and possibly adding more water if the liquid level drops too low

Glace de Viande

Glace de Viande is the fancy name for brown stock that has been reduced to an almost syrupy consistency and is used to fortify sauces. A spoonful of glace de viande is a great way to add flavour to other dishes. It stores well in the freezer, so in a pinch you can add water and turn the glace back into stock again.

Here's how to make it:

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the stock (see above) to a boil and then lower the heat to medium
• As the stock simmers, you may see scum or other impurities rise to the surface. Skim these impurities off with a ladle
2. Once the stock has reduced by a little over half, pour it through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a smaller pot
3. Lower the heat a bit and continue reducing, skimming as needed
4. The glace is finished when the liquid has reduced by about three fourths and the glace is thick and syrupy
• When you stir it, the glaze should coat the back of your spoon
5. Let the glace cool, transfer it to a container with a lid and refrigerate or freeze

It might seem all a bit daunting, but I promise it is well worth having stock to hand like this. Whether it is to make a soup or light broth, a sauce or as a base for a stew, stock is versatile. Whatever you use your stock for:

Enjoy!