Spiced carrot and butternut squash soup

The carrot and squash start to break down after half an hour’s cooking and, together with the starch from the pasta, will thicken the soup without the need for a blender. This is great for a hungry family.
The chilli is optional!

Serves 4

1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 or 2 large carrots, peeled
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and deseeded
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped, or ¼ tsp dried crushed chillies
1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
75g dried spaghetti or small pasta shells
Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

1 Sweat the onion and garlic in the oil over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes until soft. Chop the carrots and butternut squash into 1.5cm dice and add to the pan. Season and cook for another 6-7 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.

2 Stir in the thyme leaves and the fresh or dried chilli, then pour in the stock. Stir and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until the carrots and squash are soft and beginning to break down.

3 Break the spaghetti into small pieces into the soup or add the pasta shells. Stir well and return to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked and the soup has thickened slightly. Check for seasoning and ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.

Spicy roasted parsnip soup

Just the thing for an autumn day

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
½tsp coriander seeds freshly ground
½tsp cumin seeds freshly ground, plus extra whole seeds to garnish
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp mustard seeds freshly ground
2 sprigs fresh thyme. Leaves stripped and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
500g parsnips, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1.2L vegetable stock

Method
Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. In a bowl, mix together the oil and spices. Add the parsnip chunks, peeled garlic cloves and the thyme leaves and mix well. Spread over a heavy baking sheet, then roast for 30 mins until tender.

In a pan gently sauté the onion in some olive oil until soft but not brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for a minute or two.
Add the roasted parsnip chunks give a good stir, then turn the heat up and add half the stock. Bring to a simmer.

Put into a food processor or liquidiser and process until smooth, adding more stock as necessary. Pour back into the pan with any remaining stock, season to taste, then heat until barely simmering. Remove from the heat and serve. Garnish with whole cumin seeds.

Slow-cooked courgettes on toast

Cooked this way they lose most of their moisture and become a thick, fragrant, chunky mass. They can be used as a pasta sauce (just add a little cream) or the base for a lovely soup (blend with a little stock and/or milk). They also make a great toast topping/ bruschetta, which is my favourite.

Serves six.

3 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1kg courgettes, finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the toast/bruschetta
6 slices of coarse country bread
1 garlic clove, cut in half
Extra-virgin olive oil, or butter
Parmesan, or other grateable cheese (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the garlic, courgettes and a little salt. Cook gently, so the courgettes soften without browning. As they release their water, turn up the heat to bubble it off. When they become more concentrated and pulpy, turn it down again. Stir whenever they begin to catch on the pan, and do not allow them to brown more than a shade. Keep cooking until they are rich and oily, but not watery. Check seasoning.

Grill the bread, rub each side with garlic, and trickle with olive oil or melted butter. Pile a mound of the hot courgette mixture on top, grate over a little cheese, if you like, and serve.

(First published Thursday, November 20, 2008)

Silly Film Titles

My favourite is

"Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness".

I went to see it in 1969 just because of the unusual title!

What's your favourite silly/whacky/unusual film title?

Ben Foster 4th May 1985 - 27th April 2008

Do not weep,
I am not asleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the softly falling snow
I am the fields of ripening grain
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circling flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Where tranquil oceans meet the land
I am the footprints in the sand
to guide you through the weary day.

I am still here;
I'll always stay.

(Read by Mark at the funeral of his nephew, Ben Foster, on 3rd June 2008)

A Mother Speaks

The mother of murdered Bath shop worker Ben Foster paid tribute to her “much loved and treasured” son after his killers were jailed on Monday.
Clare Wallace, whose son was stabbed to death in Ringswell Gardens, told how her son’s “willingness to do things for others without considering the risk” had led to the tragedy.

"In his 23 years Ben had grown into a loving and principled young man, protective of his family and friends.
He had decided several years earlier that his life would be better without alcohol and drugs and other stimulants. He had stuck to his resolve and did not judge others for their lifestyle choices.
His willingness to do things for others without considering the risk put him in Ringswell Gardens that fateful Sunday.
As a family we have to live with the dreadful consequences of that day.
I can only hope that other young people realise they are not invincible.
Ben was not perfect but believed in the innate goodness of people and could calm every situation with his gentle approach.
Now he has been deprived of the future that was his right and I would not wish that any family would have to go through the pain and devastation which we have experiences since his death.
I once believed the world was beautiful, just and perfect. This belief has now been shattered.
We would like to thank the police for handling the investigation so professionally and for their support, kindness and guidance.
It was only right that John Claydon and Kieran Thomas should be deprived of their liberty. However our lives will be without our much loved and treasured Ben, and no sentence will ever bring him back to us.”

Ben Foster, my late nephew

On March 9th 2009 a judge at Bristol Crown Court heard how John Claydon fatally stabbed Ben Foster in Bath last year.
The 28-year-old defendant, of Surbine Road, Battersea, pleaded guilty to a charge of murder and was told he would serve at least 20 years behind bars before the Parole Board considers his release.
Kieran Thomas, 29, of Corbet Close, Wallington, Surrey, pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and was jailed for 10 years.He will serve half the term in custody before he is released on licence.
Jailing Claydon, Mr Justice Field told him: “For the offence of murder there’s only one sentence and that’s a life sentence.“You stabbed Benjamin Foster with a long bladed knife in circumstances where he was completely defenceless..
“Nothing I can say will bring any comfort to Benjamin’s family. He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him.”
Ben was described by friends as “the most gentle person you could meet”.
One of three brothers, he grew up in Batheaston and was educated at Ralph Allen School.
At the time of his death he had been working at the Threshers off-licence in Fairfield Park and as a part-time labourer/bricklayer to pay for the flat he was renting.
He had hundreds of friends in the local area and further afield after spending time travelling in Thailand and New Zealand.
He was a keen basketball player and also practised tai chi.

Stating the Obvious

The other day my fan mentioned to me that my recent blogs were a succession of recipes.

Thank you for pointing out something of which I was totally unaware, as I blog in a somnambulistic state and am amazed on waking to find that there is a new blog entry!

So while you wait for the next blog entry that isn’t a recipe, perhaps you’d like to catch up with this and this from my archive.

French Onion Soup

I made this last night, much better than wearing an extra pullover in these freezing temperatures!

Serves 6

Ingredients
1½ lb (700 g) onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 oz (50 g) butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
½ -1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
2 pints (1.2 L) vegetable or beef stock.
10 fl oz (275 ml) dry white wine
2 tablespoons Cognac (Optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Home made chunky croutons.
Grated cheese.


Place the saucepan on a high heat and melt the oil and butter together. When this is very hot, add the onions, and sugar, and stir them well from time to time until the edges of the onions have turned dark – this will take approx 6 minutes. Then reduce the heat to its lowest setting, add the garlic and leave the to carry on cooking very slowly for about 30 minutes, by which time the base of the pan will be covered with a rich, nut brown, caramelised film.

After that, pour in the white wine, bring to the boil, add the stock, then stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the base of the pan well. As soon as it comes back to simmering, turn down the heat to its lowest setting, then leave it to cook very gently, without a lid, for about 1 hour. Season as required.

If it's extra-cold outside, add a couple of tablespoons of Cognac!

Spoon into bowls, add chunky croutons, grate cheese over the top and put under hot grill until the cheese has melted slightly.

Serve. Remember it will be VERY hot!

Puy Lentils with Sprout Leaves

I’ve adapted this from Thomasina Miers’ recipe.

This is a very different way to use Brussel sprouts and might even convince entrenched sprout haters to try it!

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients
300g Brussels sprouts
350g Puy lentils
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion or 5 shallots, finely chopped
2 small carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, green inner shoot removed and finely chopped
½ - 2 bay leaves
1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil and parsley to serve

Method

1 First prepare the sprouts, or, if you can get them, use sprout tops. With a small paring knife, slice a few millimetres off the base and discard. Then cut two or three thin slices off the base of each sprout into a bowl. The leaves will then start to come away from the core. Do this with the knife and add to the bowl. When you come to the core, slice in half or into quarters.
The aim is to have a bowl of wispy, thin sprout slices and leaves that you can add to the lentils. I found this a bit fiddly, but it’s worth persisting with.

2 Put a saucepan of lightly salted water on to boil, add the lentils and allow them to cook for approx 10 to 15 minutes until the lentils are just tender but still have a nice bite to them.

3 In another pan, add a slug of olive oil and sweat the shallots or onion gently until soft and translucent.

4 Add the carrot, celery, garlic and bay leaves and cook over a low to medium heat until the vegetables are soft (about five minutes). Add the sprout leaves and thyme and stir-fry for a few minutes before adding the drained lentils and stock.

5 Cook together for about five minutes until the stock has been absorbed and the sprout leaves have wilted. Take off the heat, (add lemon juice, zest and chopped parsley, all optional), and drizzle with your best-quality olive oil. Season to taste and serve.

Pea and Broad Bean risotto

The quantities are enough for 2 reasonable portions.

Vegetable stock approx 750ml - 1 Litre. I used Knorr vegetable stock cubes (hangs head in shame!!)
White Wine (optional)
25-50g butter
Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 medium or small leek finely chopped
3 shallots finely chopped (or half an onion)
170g Arborio rice
Fresh or frozen small broad beans, about 5 tablespoons worth
Fresh or frozen peas 50-100g
Clove of garlic finely chopped
Parmesan cheese (or whatever cheese you fancy)
Salt and pepper

Put the stock in a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Then turn down the heat and keep it on a very low simmer.

Heat the butter and a dash of oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the leeks and shallots/onions and cook for 1-2 (or more) minutes until soft but not brown. Add the garlic and stir well.

Add the rice and stir, using a wooden spoon, until the grains are well coated and glistening (about a minute). Add a glass of white wine now if you wish and stir until absorbed.

Add the stock a ladle at a time and stir until absorbed. After 15 mins or so add the broad beans and peas. Continue to add the stock at intervals, as before, until the rice is tender (about 18-25 mins in total).

Grate in some Parmesan (or cheese of choice!) and season. Mix well and remove from heat. Spoon into bowls and add some more Parmesan (or your chosen one!) to finish.

Christmas Bubble and Squeak

Christmas Bubble and Squeak

This is a great idea for leftovers from your Christmas Dinner. The chestnuts add that extra “Christmassy” touch, but they aren’t essential. Use about 60 percent potato to get the right consistency, then whatever vegetables you like - carrots, Brussel sprouts, swedes, turnips, onions, leeks or savoy cabbage.

1 ½ pounds floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 ¼ pounds mixed winter vegetables such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, swedes, turnips, onions, leeks or savoy cabbage, peeled or trimmed and chopped into equal-sized chunks
Olive oil
1 knob butter
200g package vacuum packed chestnuts

Cook the potatoes and mixed vegetables in a pan of boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes. When they're cooked right through, drain and put aside. Heat a glug of olive oil and a knob of butter in a large frying pan and add the chestnuts. When they start to sizzle, add the potatoes and vegetables. Mash the vegetables up in the pan, and then pat the mixture into a thick pancake shape. Fry on a medium heat for about ½ an hour, checking it every 5 minutes. When the bottom turns golden, flip it over bit by bit and mash it back into itself. Pat it out flat again and continue cooking until really crisp all over.

If it still hasn't browned, put it under a hot grill for a few minutes.

Merry Christmas Everyone

I hope you don't deserve this!

Clementine & Almond Syrup Cake

I was going to include a photo, but the cake didn't last that long!

Clementine & Almond Syrup Cake

This cake has a great, light texture and will keep, covered, for at least a week. You'll find, though, that you'll go back to it every few hours for "just another sliver".

200g unsalted butter
380g caster sugar
4 clementines, zest grated, and juiced
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
280g ground almonds
5 medium free-range eggs, beaten
100g plain flour, sifted
1/8 tsp salt
Orange zest, cut in strips, to garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Lightly grease a 24cm spring-form tin, and line the sides and base with baking parchment.

Put the butter, 300g of the sugar (the remaining 80g is for the syrup) and citrus zest in a large bowl, and use a wooden spoon and/or spatula to combine. Do not work the mix too much or incorporate much air. Add half the ground almonds and continue mixing to fold through. Add the eggs gradually, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go. Add the remaining almonds, flour and salt, and work until the mix is smooth.

Spread the cake batter inside the tin and level with a palette knife. Bake for 50-60 minutes - a skewer should come out a little bit moist.

When the cake is almost cooked, in a small pan bring to the boil 80g of caster sugar and up to 120ml of the citrus juices, then remove from the heat at once. The moment the cake comes out of the oven, brush it all over with the hot syrup, making sure it all soaks through. Leave to cool down.
Serve it as it is, (or garnished with orange strips optional), store in an airtight container.

The End of a Chapter

It's been a fabulous, exciting 10 years since my brother took up the sport of motor racing.

Testing at Donington Feb 2008.


I've followed him through the highs and lows (and a couple of scary high speed smashes), and visited every major racing circuit in the UK on many occasions.

I've supported him through torrential rain and blistering heatwaves, often cooking for the team and making endless cups of tea to sustain them through the long hours of preparing/repairing the car.

But, it is no more.
The racing car has been sold, the motorhome is up for sale, and I'll have to find something new to occupy my summer weekends.

I'm In Love with My Car.

Beauty

I love the simplicity and beauty of this video. The music by Max Richter is both gentle and slightly haunting.

A Knock on the Door

Well, it wasn’t exactly a knock.

It was the sort of crashing that I imagine a police swat squad makes as they force their way into a crack house. (In fact if I’d known in advance I’d have sent them down the road to Number 103.)

So I ran at high speed down the stairs and leapt at the front door (which was still on its hinges), thinking that some terrible emergency had happened.
Imagine my consternation to see a man from Scottish Gas. Before it occurred to me to ask why he was so far from home, I asked him if there was a major gas leak.

“Are you the home owner sir?” “Never mind that" I said, “give me a meter box key and I’ll turn the gas off”.

It dawned on me that he wasn’t showing the sort of urgency I’d expected from the manic knocking at my door.

He was a s-a-l-e-s-m-a-n.

Because of the plague of salesmen round here who want me to buy gas and electricity at twice the price of my existing tariff, and the ones who want me to replace my very serviceable wooden framed double glazing with naff plastic double glazing; I have a large sign on the door provided by the Crime Prevention people
It says “NO COLD CALLERS”. The purpose of it is to discourage annoying twats from interrupting me, especially when (as was the case) I’m replastering a ceiling.

I pointed out the sign. The salesman said he wasn’t selling anything.

Strange that! Was he being paid to go house to house in a competition for the most disliked non-salesman of the week? Sounds like a cushy number as long as you don’t knock on Number 103’s door. They respond to unwelcome interruptions with something akin to a scene from “Apocalypse Now”.

I bade him farewell………….well perhaps I didn’t....................my second word to him was “off”.

Terms of Endearment

Calling older patients "dearie" or "love" is set to be ruled out as offensive by new guidelines from the Nursing and Midwifery Council

Congratulations to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for outlawing the human touch, in pursuit of its alignment with the nonsense brigade.

Whilst not yet qualifying as an “older person”, I am incensed that a disciplinary body has compromised the notion of individualised care, a concept that is an integral part of the practice of a registered nurse.

If I were in hospital, in pain, distressed, lonely or confused, I can think of nothing more comforting than a nurse holding my hand and saying “it’s OK love, everything will be alright sweetheart”.

But now a nurse might lose their job for showing that essential humanity and compassion.

Stuffed Courgettes

I've just made and eaten this. It's very moreish!

Stuffed courgettes

2 or 3 largish courgettes.
1½ tbsp virgin olive oil plus some for “drizzling”.
2 shallots or ½ small onion, finely chopped
1-3 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
400g unskinned fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
200-400g Cooked or tinned cannellini beans, drained.
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
½ tsp crushed chilli flakes (optional)

BREADCRUMB TOPPING
50g wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g Parmesan or Italian-style hard cheese, freshly grated

Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas 5.
Trim the ends from the courgettes, then cut them in half lengthways. Remove the soft centre flesh with a spoon or small sharp knife. Finely dice the removed courgette flesh and set aside.

Put the courgette halves in a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave for 2 minutes, then drain in a colander and arrange them, upright, in an oiled large ovenproof dish.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently cook the shallots or onions for 3–4 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the garlic, and diced courgette flesh and continue cooking over a low heat for a further 5 minutes until they are almost tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in the tomatoes, the cannellini beans, the coriander and the chilli flakes, if using, then season to taste.

Spoon the bean mixture into the courgette halves, piling it up on top.
Sprinkle the courgettes with a mixture of the breadcrumbs, cheese and a little freshly ground black pepper, if liked. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the courgettes are very tender and the breadcrumbs/cheese are crisp and brown.

Variations
When marrows are in season, use them in place of courgettes. Peel and cut a 1.5kg marrow into 9 rings, then scoop out and discard the seeds. Finely chop the flesh of 1 slice to add to the stuffing mixture, made with butter beans instead of cannellini. Stuff the remaining rings and bake as in the recipe.

A Winter Warmer for Carnivores

Sausage hotpot with beans, for carnivores .

Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes (though the longer the better)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 to 4 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
500g sausages
55g cubed pancetta, or bacon lardons
4 baby leeks, or 2 average leeks finely sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme 5
55g chorizo sausage, cut into chunky bite-sized pieces
250g butter beans, haricot beans or cannellini beans (drained)
1½ litres vegetable stock
8 mushrooms (medium flat mushrooms), sliced (optional)

1 Gently heat the olive oil in a deep pan. Add the onions and garlic and fry until softened. Add the sausages and gently brown. Add the pancetta/bacon, leeks and thyme. Put in the chorizo and turn the heat up slightly so that it sweats off some of the oil. This gives the leek and onions a lovely orange colour.

2 Add the beans, and stock.. Bring this all to the boil, turn down and leave to simmer for as long as possible, at least 40 minutes. The longer the better. Add mushrooms (optional) and cook gently.

Serve with creamy mash.

If you have time cook the sausages and pancetta first, drain well and add back to the pan with the leeks and thyme.