Cauliflower and Cannellini Bean Soup

The weather is finally starting to cool down a bit here, after a very long and above-normal temperature Summer and Autumn.  I actually made this soup in Spring, in October, but here we are at last.  The recipe calls for pancetta, but as Mr P. and I do not eat pig, I decided to whack in some mushrooms instead.  Definitely not foraged!  Hehehe ... You will get this reference if you're an Aussie, and if not, check out 'The Mushroom Killer'! 

This recipe is from Slow Cooking:Wholefood Recipes, by Olivia Andrews.  I made it for Cookbook Club last year, while the weather was still a bit doubtful as to its primary function in Spring :=)  And then we got the continuous, endless Summer!  Anyways, Winter is kind of a-coming at long last ...  (22C today, and I have a T-shirt and over-shirt on, and long pants and socks!)

thick and warming

Serves 4:

ingredients:

For the mushroom garnish:

1 Tbs EV olive oil

1 Tbs butter

150g./5.5 oz white or brown cup mushrooms, chopped  (I used white cup)

1 Tbs tamari or soy sauce

1-2 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1-2 tsp dried herbs - oregano/chives/parsley etc - your choice

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

one guess? :=)

For the soup:

another Tbs of EV olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 large brown or red onion, finely (or roughly!) chopped

1 small cauliflower, chopped up, stem too!    see Notes

1.25 litres (44 oz) chicken stock  (or vege. stock)

2 x 400g./14 oz tins of cannellini beans   see Notes

cannellini

cauliflower

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan, add the mushrooms, and stir for a few minutes over medium-low heat

Stir in the tamari, maple syrup, smoked paprika, herbs, salt and pepper

Once the mushies are tender, take them out of the pan, and put aside

Now for the soup:

Heat up the oil in the saucepan, add the garlic and onion, and stir for a few minutes

Now add the chopped cauliflower and stock, and simmer till the cauli is tender - 25-30 minutes maybe?  Add some water here if it's too thick for your liking

In go the cannellini beans to heat up; simmer for a few minutes

When everything is cooked and tender, turn off the soup, and let it cool down for a few minutes till you grab your stick blender, and whizz away till as smooth as you like it

Add more salt and pepper if you please, throw on the mushies and some chopped parsley or chives if you fancy

Serve with some thick, buttered bread

I love me some butter!

Notes:

If you like pancetta, you sauté 12 slices in 1 Tbs EV olive oil (with some sage leaves) for the garnish

(I added some left-over zucchini to the soup too)

My cauliflower was about 815g./29 oz, and once stripped of the outer leaves, it came down to 620g./22 oz

Olivia's recipe uses dried beans.  She uses 200g./7 oz dried beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed, which she then adds to the saucepan with the sautéed garlic and onion, and 750 mL/26 oz of water.  This is then cooked for 30 minutes before adding the cauliflower and stock, and cooked for another 1.5 hours!  Nope, no can do!

ingredients gathered

tender, fragrant mushrooms

in goes the cauli!

simmer away

I must have blitzed it already ...

there might be some chicken in here :=)

I scribbled down 110g./4 oz cooked chicken on the bottom of my notes, so maybe I added some chicken to this soup ...

very tasty

Kotopoulo Kapama AKA Greek Chicken Stew with Tomatoes and Cinnamon

I have to confess I made this in our Autumn - in April!  Sure, it's hearty but so delicious, you can eat it all year round.  This is from The Complete Middle East Cookbook by Tess Mallos, a well-known Greek/Aussie cook and writer.  I've made many of her recipes over the years, but this one was a first for me.  I love chicken and I love cinnamon, (tomatoes not so much), but I can handle them in a dish like this.  

Tess calls this Kotopoulo Kapama - braised chicken, but I just call it Greek Chicken Stew!  She cooks it on the stovetop, but I decided it was much easier to give it a short simmer, then whack it into the oven till deliciously tender.  I also added more herbs and seasonings (and the red wine vinegar) than she decrees.  

tender, herby chicken with potatoes and veg.

Serves 6:

ingredients:

1 kg./2.2 lb chicken thighs   see Notes!

1-2 Tbs EV olive oil

1/2 Tbs butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed

385g./14 oz (c. 3) fresh tomatoes   see Notes

30 mL/2 Tbs red wine vinegar

3 bay leaves

1 heaped tsp dried oregano

1-2 tsp honey

1 Tbs tomato paste

125 mL/4 oz dry white wine  (aka 1/2 cup)

2 pieces of cinnamon bark

1/2 tsp sugar

sea salt, to taste - 1/2 tsp, more or less as you fancy

freshly ground black pepper

1/2-1 cup chicken stock, if you need/want more liquid (125 mL-250 mL) - I did!

fresh parsley (or other herb), for serving

tomatoes!

        yep!  Bay leaves

Method:

Heat up the EV olive oil and butter in a large frypan or saucepan, brown the chicken pieces all over, then remove onto a plate

Turn down the heat, add the onion and garlic, and fry gently till tender (keep an eye on the garlic, or add it a few minutes in)

Now add all the other ingredients, whack on the saucepan lid, and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes  (20 mins. if planning to cook on the stovetop the whole time)

Then either return the browned chicken pieces to the pan, and simmer for another 45 minutes till tender (that word again - hehehe) OR spoon/pour the tomato-y sauce into a large baking dish (with a lid) and bake (lid on) in a 170C/340F oven for about 40 minutes - you've guessed it! - till tender :=)

Serve with veg. of your choice - I baked (or fried?) some potato slices, and steamed up some veg.

honey!

Notes:

Tess says to cut up a 2 kg chook/chicken, but I preferred to use skinless, boneless thighs, but you do as you please: use a whole, chopped chook, or thighs with skin and bones - up to you, my friends!

Okay, use 3 or so fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped - or throw them in the food processor - and zap away!  I sometimes just grate them, as the skin comes off easily   (No need to peel if zapping or grating!)

ingredients gathered

chop or zap those tomatoes

rest the browned chicken pieces till the sauce is ready for their return:=)

fry up the onion and garlic till tender!

throw in your tomatoes et al.

simmer your sauce

and add the chicken

into a lined baking dish @170C/340F for about 40 mins.

juicy!

add some veg. or maybe some rice or couscous (?)

Just for a funny aside, Mr P., myself and some other Committee members of our Historical Society gave a talk to 100 school children last weekend.  Wow, 8 year olds are so canny these days :=)  I talked about using phone directories as toilet paper back in the good old days!  They had never seen a phone book, to begin with ...  

I mentioned how one house we lived in had a toilet underneath the house, with a big gap at the top - where possums used to sit and watch us do our thing.  I didn't mention the feral chooks when we were children; you had to have a sibling guarding the door as you used the facilities (on the dunny can/toilet seat - hehehe) ; otherwise the mad chooks would rush in and peck (and claw) you!!

guess?  yep - a brown onion, of course :)

Abdoogh Khiar AKA Chilled Cucumber And Yoghurt Soup

My flatmate of years gone by (who now lives in the UK) was staying here with us recently.  She and I used to make a chilled cucumber soup with loads of garlic (beware, all vampires)!  This version has none (I reckon a clove or two wouldn't hurt), and is a marvellously refreshing meal on a hot summer's night.  Which it was when our Persian friends came for dinner.

They are very charming people, with an adorable 3 year-old son, who always asks: 'where is Sherry?' when they drop in.  He and I play with his trucks, and check out his other toys when at his home.  Oh, the excitement of being 3!  And finally, in my autumn years, boys are after me :=)  

I made this for Cookbook Club, from the book Salamati by Hamed Allahyari with Dani Valent.  Our reviews were a bit of a mixed bag as there seemed to be some errors (or omissions) in some of the recipes.  For instance, in this one, he doesn't list iced water as an ingredient, whereas every other version I've found lists it as a primary ingredient.  

We all found this soup very thick, and it definitely needed to be watered down, especially as I had used a thick Greek yoghurt.  'Twas great when the ice cubes melted finally :=)  I found lots of recipes for this soup, with so many variations in the amounts of yoghurt and herbs, but this one turned out well.

garnished with glee (and walnuts and rose buds)

Serves 6:

ingredients:

500g./18 oz Lebanese cucumbers, diced into small chunks

2 green apples (I used Granny Smith), cored and diced

1 cup (20g./0.7 oz mint leaves, finely chopped - see Notes

1 cup (50g./1.8 oz) basil, finely chopped

1 cup (50g./1.8 oz) dill and/or chives, finely chopped

1 cup/100g./3.5 oz walnuts, zapped in a food processor

170g./6 oz sultanas or raisins

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp sea salt

1 kg/35 oz plain yoghurt (I used Greek)

lots of ice cubes!!  Hamed says 6-8, but more is better :=)

1 Tbs dried mint, for garnish

iced water - maybe half a cup to a cup? - to thin it down

1/2 cup dried rose petals, for garnish (maybe less)

extra walnuts, crushed, for garnish

flatbread, grilled, to serve

Method:

Grab a large mixing bowl; add the cucumber, apple, herbs, walnuts, sultanas, salt and pepper

Give it a good stir; add the yoghurt and ice cubes, and iced water

Ladle some out into bowls, and garnish with the rose petals, mint and extra walnuts

Serve with warm, toasted flatbread

Notes:

I confess I didn't use this much of these herbs!  Not a huge fan of basil or dill so I used a lot less of those and I used chives instead.  Plus I just didn't like that amount of herbs so I used less of all of them, and I zapped them altogether in the processor

Add whatever amount of iced water you prefer; it did need some (as our Persian friends politely informed us).  Mr. Persia also told me it was fabulous, and tasted just as it should - phew!

ingredients gathered (no idea why that rogue lemon is there)

zap or chop the herbs

put everything into a large bowl

start stirring ...

slather on the youghurt

throw in the ice cubes

garnish and serve with warmed flatbread

one gorgeous Persian (Iranian) family, our lovely friends

c. Sherry M.    (a lemon? Why?)

(Sharing with Marg from The Intrepid Reader and Baker for Weekend Cooking)

Suet Dumplings, Chicken Sausages And Chicken Soup - A Sorry Tale

This is the sad and sorry story of suet dumplings and chicken soup.  Once upon a time, Sherry decided to make dumplings just like her mum used to make.  Her mum always used a packet of suet mix, just like her mum did.  Okay, you get the picture :-)  So this is more of a story than a recipe but here goes:  I bought two packets of suet mix just to be safe.  I thought I'd be clever and stuff those little beauties with chicken sausage filling.  So I bought chicken sausages.  The saga begins.

First I had to work out how much flour to suet, so I read the instructions on the side of the packet.  I grabbed a huge mixing bowl, and turfed it all in.  And I thought - 'let's double the recipe' - so I chucked in another packet of suet.  A scream ensued as I realised I had totally screwed up the amounts.  I'm no mathematical genius, so I got Mr P. to bring his brain to the party, which was no help at all :-). 

There was no fixing this baby, so we jumped in the car and hared off to the supermarket for more suet.  Finally after much searching of shelves, with packet in hand, we drove home.  Foolishly I decided to rectify the mistake by re-calculating the amounts already weighed out.  Instead of starting over, I used the mixture in the bowl.

Then I made the dumplings, or tried my damnedest (is that a word?).  First I squeezed out the sausage filling from their cases.  Is there any better feeling than that?  Squishy, moist filling oozing out in your hands ...  I made up a small ball of filling, then tried to encase it with the dumpling mix.  My friends, it was like herding cats.  The dough wanted to become one with my hands.  Mr P. threw in heaps more flour, and more flour ...   

We gave up; there was no saving these babies.  So I turned the whole, soggy, sorry mess into chicken soup with chicken balls.  Hilariously, somehow it ended up with a few large balls of soggy suet dumpling (without filling)!  Dunno how they snuck in.  

check out the big chicken meatball!

ingredients:

500g./1.1 lb herby chicken sausages, filling squeezed out of their skins

1 cup -ish (you may need more) panko breadcrumbs

1.5 L/51 fl oz chicken stock

1 cup of frozen veg. (I used peas, corn and capsicum)

1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce - or your fave sauce

1 tsp gochugaru - feel free to use your fave chilli powder/flakes

1 Tbs hot sauce - your choice

salt and black pepper to taste

a big handful of parsley and chives, chopped roughly 

The Next Night:

(We had it for dinner the next night too, so I added chopped mushrooms, zucchini, spring onion, etc.):

Two big mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 small zucchini, diced

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1 cup cooked rice

1 tin (400g.) cannellini beans or your fave bean

more herbs of your choice

more chilli powder

more stock if needed (I did)

Method:

Squeeze out the chicken meat from the sausage casings, roll into balls (your preferred size) and then roll them in the panko

Bring the stock to the boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer

Gently lower the chicken balls into the liquid and simmer away for about 10-15 minutes till the meat is almost cooked through

Add the frozen veg., sauces, seasonings and herbs and simmer for a few more minutes till the veg. are done 

Serve with a whisper of chilli oil on top of your bowl

NEXT NIGHT:

Reheat the leftover soup gently on a low-ish heat

Add the extra veg., the rice, the beans, the herbs and chilli powder/flakes

Simmer till everything is heated through and the veg. are tender

Ladle into your bowls

Notes:

You can buy chicken mince, if you can't be bothered eviscerating the snags (sausages)

I had some leftover Thai fried rice in the fridge, so in it went

P.S. - suet is the fat which surrounds the kidneys of beef or sheep!

 

ready to squeeze out the snags

sausage meat and suet mix

ready to serve the first night

delicious and hearty soup (and balls) - see the soggy dumpling?

soup, glorious soup ... la la la!

Oh, I forgot to tell you the rest of the saga.  I was going to throw out all the mess.  So I had a packet of unopened suet mix, and a massive bowlful of suet and flour and salt.  I thought the birds and possums might like it ...  No, thought I to myself.  Be thrifty.  And I weighed it out and divvied it up and bagged it and put it in freezer bags and tagged it.  Sweat pouring down my brow, hands covered in suet-y mess, I bravely finished up my suet story.  So there it sits, in my freezer drawer, awaiting the next instalment of the dumpling sagas.

(Joining up with Marg from The Intrepid Reader for Weekend Cooking.)

© Sherry M.

Pecan Soup

Mr P. and I did the backpacking thing years ago.  We started in Greece, travelled through Europe and Britain, and ended up staying with a friend in her Philadelphia home for a few months.  We were her pet Aussies, you could say :-)  'Yes, we speak English at home; yes we have a democracy, okay yes, we sound like we come from Boston ....'  As a going away present, she gave me a book called The American Table by Ronald Johnson - over 400 recipes of American regional cooking. 

    I have often made Ronald's Shaker cornbread, and have finally (after how many years?) got around to making this pecan soup recipe.  I was inspired by seeing former food blogger Tiffin Fiona's photo on Facebook of fresh pecans from the farm.  Phew, now there's a sentence ...  I ordered a one kilo bag of pecan pieces, fresh and nutty, unlike the raggedy old things you buy in the supermarkets.  They were perfect for this soup.  (Ronald suggests buying new-crop nuts and keeping them in the freezer for later.)

© Sherry's Pickings         

an ancient edition :-)

Serves 4-6:

ingredients:

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour

1 cup (250 mL) chicken stock, heated

3 cups (750 mL) milk, scalded - i.e. just brought to boiling

1 generous cup (115g.) fresh pecans - I used 125 grams

a biiiig pinch of sea salt flakes

a dash or six of Tabasco sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 egg yolks

1 cup (250 mL) thickened cream

sour cream for serving - optional

Method:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the flour and keep stirring for a few minutes over medium heat

Tip in the stock and milk all together, and stir for a few minutes till it starts to thicken

Now pour half this milky mixture into a food processor or blender, chuck in the pecans and blitz - you want a nice, grainy consistency

Tip this back into the saucepan, give it a good stir and simmer without a lid for 30 minutes - check and stir a few times

Now add the salt, Tabasco and Worcester, and simmer for another ten minutes

Whisk the egg yolks into the cream, take the saucepan off the stove and then whisk the eggy cream into the soup

Warm it gently for a few minutes back on the heat

Serve with sour cream if using - we didn't as we thought it was creamy enough:-)

Check for seasoning - you may want to add a bit more salt, and maybe a wee bit of black pepper

  

ingredients gathered

in go the stock and milk

half the milky mixture plus the pecans get blitzed

simmer for 30 minutes

whisk the egg yolks into the cream

pour the eggy cream into the soup

and enjoy this creamy, nutty soup

artwork © Sherry's Pickings