Roasted Carrot Soup

A new twist on carrot soup. The roasted vegetables give the soup a sweet, smoky flavor. It was nice and filling, and everyone loved it.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

800g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 bay leaf
1 tsp honey
2 liters vegetable stock
salt and pepper
creme fraiche and mint leaves, if desired

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven at 400F/200C.

Whisk together the olive oil and soy sauce and coat the vegetables. Roast for 30 minutes on a baking sheet, allowing the vegetables to turn a serious color of brown. Tip the vegetables into a saucepan (you may need to scrape them off the sheet) with the bay leaf, honey and vegetable stock. Simmer for 10 minutes, remove bay leaf and blend until smooth.

Top with creme fraiche and chopped mint.

Little Asparagus Tarts

I had puff pastry in the freezer and wanted to find a new way to serve asparagus, so I made this great little appetizer. You could add nutmeg instead of the basil if you like that better.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

300g asparagus, trimmed
2 tbsp mascarpone
4 sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry
3 tbsp of grated parmesan, plus shavings to serve
a few leaves of fresh basil, shredded
olive oil

PREPARATION:

Heat the oven to 350F/180C.

Cut off the asparagus spears' tougher ends and blanch for 2 minutes. Mix the mascarpone with the grated parmesan. Fold each pastry sheet in half three times (so that each is an 1/8 of its original size). Spread the cheese mix over each pastry sheet. Divide the asparagus between them and drizzle with oil.

Bake for 25 minutes until pastry is crisp and golden. Sprinkle with parmesan shavings and shredded basil.

Aleppo-Pepper Aioli

I made this super fast aioli to accompany steak over the weekend. The aioli was the star and gave great flavor to the meal. I could imagine adding it to a simple salad and cold cuts. Great recipe to have in a pinch! (You can replace the Aleppo pepper with 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika and 1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder. )

INGREDIENTS (serves 4 to 6):

2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Sherry wine vinegar

PREPARATION:

Mash garlic, Aleppo pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt to paste in mortar with pestle or in small bowl with back of spoon. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

The recipe comes from Bon Appetit magazine.

Stove-Top Yams and Apples

We're hitting the end of the season for yams and sweet potatoes, so it might be the last time I cook this for a while. It's a quick and easy one-pot side dish that's wonderful with roast pork. The apples add just the right tartness to balance the sweet taste of the yams and cinnamon.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6):

3 to 4 yams or sweet potatoes (1 1/2 pounds total), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

PREPARATION:

Place the potato slices in a large skillet. Pour 1 1/2 cups of water over the potatoes. Dot with the butter; sprinkle with brown sugar and salt. Cover, bring to a boil, and cook over moderate heat 20 minutes.

Spread the apple slices over the potatoes. Sprinkle with cinnamon; cover and cook 10 minutes longer. Stir gently. Remove the cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed; about 5 minutes.

Spanish Tortilla

This is lunch today. It's also good served cold and cut in wedges the next day. This is copied from "The Healthy Baby Meal Planner" by Annabel Karmel - my bible for quick, easy and wholesome recipes when the children were babies.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

3 tablespoons olive oil
6 oz potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup frozen peas
4 eggs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

PREPARATION:

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the potatoes and onion for 5 minutes, then add the bell pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the peas and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Beat the eggs together with 1 tablespoon water and the Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes or until the omelet is almost set. To finish, brown under a hot broiler for about 3 minutes or until golden (you can wrap the handle of the skillet with foil to prevent it burning if necessary.) Cut into wedges and serve hot or cold with salad.

Braised Turnips

We went to the Farmer's Market yesterday and brought back some beautiful purple top turnips. Here's a simple recipe. I'm not sure why, but people say it is as a weight-loss dish. It seems more like comfort food to me!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

2 lb turnips
50 g butter
1 teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons herbs (parsley, for example)
salt and pepper

PREPARATION:

Peel the turnips and cut them in big sticks.
Melt the butter in a skillet and add the turnips and sugar.
Mix well, add salt and pepper.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes over very low heat.
Sprinkle with herbs just before serving.

You can also add carrots with the turnip; or you can mix the turnip puree with mashed potatoes if the turnip taste is too strong for you.

Simply Spring Asparagus

I bought some asparagus on Sunday and was too tired Monday night to think about how to prepare it, so I simply steamed it, making a wonderful appetizer that turned into a full entree because we ended up eating the whole bunch. It was that good! And the nice thing is that asparagus has health benefits galore.

The recipe couldn't be more simple:

INGREDIENTS (serves 4) -- or 2 in our case ;-)

9 to 12 fresh asparagus spears
1/2 cup of chicken broth

PREPARATION:

Break the woody ends off the asparagus. (Hold both ends of the spears and bend slightly. They'll snap off naturally where they become tough). Place the asparagus spears in a skillet. Pour on the broth; cover and steam over medium heat until crisp-tender; about 4 minutes. (We ate them with mayonnaise.)

Enjoy!