Cauliflower Soup

There is only one week until spring! I haven't minded this winter at all, though everyone I speak to says it has been the worst they can remember, but i'm starting to notice that people say that every year, without fail. But i am definitely looking forward to warmer weather, picnics, sitting outside at night, and not having to wear tights everywhere. I had meant to make a lot of new soups this year but got stuck on two favourites, pumpkin and cauliflower. The Kurrawong Organics stall at the markets specialises in brassicas and they have the most beautiful brussels sprouts, cabbages and caulis. I usually get a cauli once every couple of weeks and make a big pot of soup. I pinched the idea of adding ground nuts from Chocolate and Zucchini, it adds texture and a a little more complexity to the flavour. Apparently it's a great soup for dieting, but don't let that put you off. It's super tasty and simple and pretty cheap as well, a hat trick! Which reminds me of cricket, one of the few things about summer that i hate. On that note... 

Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:

olive oil

20g butter

1 Large cauliflower

2 brown onions, roughly chopped 

1 garlic clove

around 1 litre of vegetable stock 

2-3 small waxy potatoes, scrubbed and chopped 

large handful of almonds 

Salt n' pepper 

Method:

In a hot oven, roast the almonds until golden, set aside to cool. Peel away the leaves from the cauli, wash and chop roughly, you can use the stem, if you wish. Heat the olive oil and butter in a soup pot over a medium heat, add the onion, a pinch of salt and pepper, and sweat until transluscent. Add the cauli, potato and garlic clove, stir to coat in oil and butter. Add the stock until barely covering the veggies. Bring to the boil then cover and turn down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or so until the veggies are quite soft. Process the nuts to a course meal. Blend the soup with a stick blender or leave to cool and then whiz in food processor or blender, stir in the almonds. Season to taste. 

Caramel Slice

When i first started to get interested in cooking I made a lot of caramel slice from a book called, the Beginner's Cookbook, which also contains a killer fudge recipe. It became my signature dish and invariably every BBQ or picnic I would bring some along. That honour now goes to my hummus but caramel slice is still a sure fire crowd pleaser. I had a can of condensed milk in the pantry and as every other ingredient is stuff you'd generally have on hand, i decided to make a batch for a friend who has just moved out. What i love about CS, particularly when I first started making it, is that it seems almost impossible to stuff it up. I have, at various times, doubled the amount of butter in the base, left the slice in the oven far too long during the second stage of cooking, and accidentally omitted various ingredients. It just doesn't seem to matter, even when i had to peel off a layer of burnt caramel it still tasted good. This is no doubt largely due to whats in it, it would be hard to make a combination of condensed milk, butter and chocolate tastse bad. This slice is highly addictive to an alarming extent. It really demonstrates the power of our primitive caveman craving of fat and sugar, and as someone who values self control, this can be rather unerving. If i wanted to sabotage someone i would just lock them in a room with a few slabs of slice. So, I don't make it much these days, but when i do it disappears rapidly. Its an oldie but a goodie and great for first time home cooks. 

Ingredients: 

Base: 

1 cup self raising flour

1 cup desiccated coconut 

1 cup firmly packed soft brown sugar

125g butter

Filling:

30g butter

2 tblsp golden syrup/treacle 

400g can sweetened condensed milk

Topping:

200g dark chocolate

30g butter 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line 20 x 30cm tin, extending paper over sides to allow for easy removal.

Mix together the flour and coconut, make a well in the centre. Place the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and melt over a low heat, stirring until combined and the sugar has disolved. Mix into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until well combined. Tip into the tray and spread out evenly, pressing the mixture down with the back of a spoon. Bake for 10 mins until a golden brown. Allow to cool completely. 

For the filling, place the condensed milk, butter and golden syrup/treacle into a saucepan, melt over a medium heat and stir for 5 mins until slightly thickened. Pour over base and bake for 10 mins. Remove from oven and cool completely. 

For the topping, melt the chocolate with the butter in a bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water.  When melted and combined pour over caramel layer, spread evenly with a spatula, giving the tin a tap against the bench helps spread the chocolate and dispel any air bubbles. allow to cool then remove the slice from the tray and cut into pieces of desired size and shape. While cutting it is a good idea to have a tea towel on hand to wipe the knife after each cut to remove crumbs preventing them from adhering to the next piece cut. 

From "Crave: A Passion for Chocolate", Maureen McKeon & The Beginner's Cookbook: The Boiled Egg and Beyond (Family Circle) 

Almond Butter

I get a massive kick out of making people guess whats in my almond butter (besides almonds). They freak out when i tell them it really is just pure almonds, roasted and processed until their oil is released making a paste. This is a good thing as its totally addictive. It is pretty pricey to buy so definitely worth making youself. Having a good food processor is important though, otherwise you might be there for a while. It takes around 10 minutes in my magi-mix. 2 cups of almonds makes about a cup of almond butter. Just roast the nuts in a hot oven, shaking the tin once or twice to ensure they are evenly baked, leave to cool and then grind in a food processor (or maybe a blender?) scraping down the sides a few times. Good on toast and wraps and by the spoonful.  

Proper Custard

Around this time two years ago my family and I did a trip over to the UK to visit various relatives and to attend my cousins wedding. We went and saw my Aunt Liz in Pitlochry, central Scotland, where my dad grew up. She shared her recipes for scones and a delicious fish pie. On our final night she made us a clootie dumpling, which is like a pale christmas pudding. It was very tasty, made especially so by the custard she prepared fresh to accompany it. I think that was the first time i had had proper custard and it was a revelation. After experiencing its rich, creamy and eggy taste i could never go back to the stuff in cartons. 

Ingredients:

275ml double cream

3-4 organic/good quality egg yolks 

1 tblsp castor sugar

1 tsp corn flour 

2 drops vanilla extract.

Method:

First, heat the cream in a small saucepan up to boiling point. While it is heating, thoroughly blend the egg yolks, cornflour, sugar and vanilla together in a small basin. Pour the hot cream into the eggs yolk mixture, stirring all the time. Return the mixture to the saucepan, heat very gently (still stirring) until the custard has thickened, which should take a minute or two. If it does over heat and start to look granular, don;t worry, if you remove it from the heat and continue to stir it, it will become smooth as it cools.

Thanks Liz!