Tag: soup

White miso + ginger + baby potato velouté.

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To all miso addicts, you might like this. Very much!
You have been warned 🙂

An idea of this creamy deliciousness occurred to me when Mariko, one of my Japanese friends was telling me about sliced potatoes baked under cover of miso dressing – something popular in her hometown.
I didn’t have any large potatoes available, plus I was in the mood for a creamy warmer.
And so it is, creamy, tasty, and comforting meal !

Garnished with roasted onion, ginger and turmeric.

To make a portion for 4, you’ll need:
500 g of baby potatoes
1 litre of vegetable stock
2 tsp of white miso
1 tsp of barley miso
2 medium shallot onions, chopped
1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
salt, pepper, crème fraiche
1 tbsp of turmeric

The instructions for this soup are uncomplicated;

Fry shallots and grated ginger on a glug of olive oil in heavy bottomed pan until soften, add chopped potatoes and mix it all together. Pour vegetable stock mixed with miso, and simmer covered until all soft, and ready. Season to your taste with salt and pepper.
Using a kitchen blender mix it until smooth.
Serve immediately with a dash of crème fraîche and grounded pistachios.


enjoy !

umami+beetroot velouté

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I must admit that I have a love/hate relationship with beetroot.
Yes, I know that it’s sweet and healthy purposes are hard to ignore, but if like me, you were overfed it in every possible version ( juiced, pureed, caramelised, etc., etc. ) then it’s not so easy to appreciate it years later.

Having said that, here it is, my less than usual take on this underestimated veg – 
easy, delicious and yes, a bit of “once you try it”, well, you’re going to love it…again!

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This recipe, like many others published here, is very simple and require:

2 medium finely chopped shallot onions
6-8 baby potatoes, chopped (I am leaving them unpeeled)
1 liter of good vegetable stock
2 tbsp of umami paste
1 medium beetroot, sliced
a small bunch of lemon thyme
2 small apples, quartered
salt, pepper to season

In a heavy-bottomed pan sweat the onions on a low heat in 2 tbsp of olive oil, stirring occasionally. Add baby potatoes, and sweat for another 5 mins or so. Once gently fried, pour in vegetable sock mixed with umami paste and simmer until all is nicely combined. Then add lemon thyme and quartered apples. As they begin to soften (about 3-5 mins) add sliced beetroot and season it gently. Be careful not to overpower the meal with salt and pepper and lose the gentle flavour of umami and beetroot 🙂

Blend it all until creamy and serve with a scoop of crème fraîche and dill.

bon appétit !


Chinese ginger broth 🌶

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It is that time of year – no more winter, not yet spring (unless 10C and continuous rain seems like a spring to you). I find Chinese broth just the perfect meal for when the weather is in transition. Plus, cooking in a large quantity, you could use this as a base for other meals!

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To cook 4 litres ( full large pot ) of this delicious liquid you’ll need:

2 medium onions,
2 red chillies
bunch of spring onions
4 pearl onions – they’re such great flavour enhancers
1 whole organic chicken
4-5 garlic cloves
100g ot a few generous chunks of fresh ginger
3 tablespoons of cane sugar
a glass/300ml of Chinese cooking wine

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Add all the ingredients – except the chicken – into the water and simmer in a large saucepan over high heat. Once boiling, add the whole chicken and depending on the size of the chicken, simmer on a reduced heat for about 30-40 mins.

 Allow to cool. Skim any excess fat from the surface and discard the solids if you prefer it clear. Serve over the rice noodles with fresh chilli if you like it 🌶🌶 and garnish with yuzu pepper.

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Red is the colour

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Red borsch. Traditional, tasty  and warming beetroot soup.
Mostly served during the Festive period; however in my house, Mum was making this wonderful soup during cold spells. As she had the tendency to cook far too much broth for other dishes on Sunday, the borsch was usually a post weekend lunch prepared with leftover boullion. Well, that’s one of the only reasons why I loved Mondays. They were just so flavoursome!

To cook red borsch you need:
for 2 litres of broth:
3 chicken thighs
2 carrots cut lengthwise
1 parsnip cut lengthwise
a quarter of celeriac
1 shallot onion, halved
half of the garlic bulb
bouquet garni
3 medium beetroots ( thickly sliced )
1 small apple cut into 2 halves
3 bay leaves, 4 whole spice berries, few cloves

Note: if you’re a vegetarian, instead of chicken add a portion of Herb Infusion Pot by Knorr. A tasteful alternative.

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When chicken is ready after about 20mins, remove it and the bouquet garni then add;
a generous handful of marjoram, a pinch of nutmeg to your own taste
a bunch of fresh lemon thyme img_9480
Simmer on the lower heat until all vegetables are al dente (there’s nothing worse than overcooked veggies, right?) and the mouth-watering smell of spices is filling the kitchen.
Serve with mini dumplings, aka mini ears.

  Voilà! x