Month: October 2011

Carrot and coriander soup

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

I made this British classic for the first time last week, and fell in love, if that is possible with a soup.

I love the smooth velvety texture and the combination of sweet carrots and flowery coriander really works. We will certainly eat this a lot this autumn and winter!

Carrot and coriander soup, serves 2

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

600 g carrots, peeled and cut into smaller pieces

water

vegetable or chicken stock

50 ml single cream

salt, white pepper

1/2 bunch fresh coriander, chopped

Fry the onion until soft but not brown in the oil on medium heat, in a large sauce pan. Add the carrots and fry for a minute or so. Pour boiling water to cover the carrots and add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and cook until the carrots are soft (about 15 minutes). Drain  most of the cooking water, but set it aside. Pureethe carrots and add enough of the cooking water so you have a very thick soup. Bring to the boil and add cream and stock until you have the thickness you want. Season with salt and pepper. Add the coriander a minute or so before serving.

Roast topside of beef with bearnaise sauce

Published on by Hanna6 Comments

My little autumn cooking project will be to master all kinds of roasts and casseroles, ans it is so much fun.

We had this for supper last Saturday and it was lovely. If we have steak I prefer mine blue, basically just turned in a hot pan, but I prefer a roast rare, as topside needs longer to cook. And this was cooked to perfection with my references. It was a little bloody, proper red meat and still tender and juicy.

I served it with bèarnaise sauce, which I love and the recipe below is both easy and makes the perfectly balanced sauce. In restaurants you often get a terrible vinegary runny sauce, and this it is counterpart. The sauce is thick and velvety, has enough vinegar to not be buttery, but not so much that it takes over. I’m salivating just thinking about it…

Further, I served potato wedges and purple sprouting with the meal and red wine is almost compulsory.

Roast topside of beef, serves 4

600-800 g topside of beef

salt, black pepper

butter and oil for frying

Trim the meat and pat it with plenty of salt and pepper. Brown it in a hot frying pan in the butter and oil until nice and brown on all sides. Place in an oven dish or put the pan (no plastic handles) straight in the oven. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Place it in a 150C oven for about 20 minutes or until the inner temperature is 43C. Remove the meat from the dish/frying pan and cover wuth tin foil. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving in slices.

Bèarnaise sauce 2.0, serves 2-4

2,5 tbsp white wine vinegar

1,75 tsp dried tarragon

2 tbsp water

3 egg yolks

150 g butter cold or at room temperature, cut into small cubes

Add the vinegar and tarragon to a nonstick saucepan. Reduce on high heat while stirring and the fan on full until most of the liquid has evaporated. Make sure not to burn the herbs. Remove from heat and add the water. Add the egg yolks and stir. Place the pan on low heat and stir until it starts to thicken slightly, add a butter cube and while stirring, watch it melt. Add another and repeat. Remember to stir/whisk all the time. After a few cubes you can a few at the time. Repeat until all the butter has melted. Let it thicken some more if needed, and remember that it will keep cooking even when you remove the pan from the heat. Season with salt and white pepper if needed. Pour into a cold sauce bowl straight away and serve.

Sweet chilli chicken with ginger and pineapple

Published on by Hanna1 Comment

I got this recipe in an email from my dear Mama (said like in Downton Abbey, my obsession at the moment) who in turn tasted the dish at a friend’s house. So I am afraid I don’t know the original source of the recipe. But that doesn’t matter, because it is really easy to make and very tasty.

Dear Mama only emailed me the ingredients, so below is my version of the dish. I know I usually recommend chicken thighs for more or less every chicken dish, but not this one actually, it works better with chicken breasts here, and they are anything but dry cooking in the cream.

Sweet chilli chicken with ginger and pineapple, serves 4

4 large chicken breasts/fillets

butter/oil for frying

3 tbsp tinned pineable chunks (in juice, not syrup)

1 cm grated fresh ginger

3-4 tbsp sweet chilli

300 ml single cream

a splash of dark soy sauce

salt, white pepper

Brown the fillets in butter/oil until golden brown. Add salt and pepper and place in an ovenproof dish. Mix the other ingredients in an saucepan and bring to the boil. Let it thicken for a few minutes and pour the saue over the chicken breasts. Place the dish in the oven, 200C for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables (i.e. broccoli).