My Cooking Hut » Soup

Easy Butternut Squash Soup

My Cooking Hut — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:17:18 +0000

I was a late starter with butternut squash and didn’t know much about it until few years ago. I saw them often at the supermarkets but had never picked one up and put in my shopping basket. I stayed curious for quite some time on its taste and texture until I finally tasted it.

Butternut squash has yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp, which tastes similar to pumpkin. Butternut squash is one of the most popular and widely available forms of winter squash. The skin is pretty hard to peel. So, it’s either you have a very good peeler or a sharp knife. I usually like to use my knife to slowly slice off the skin.

Little do I know that butternut squash belongs to the same family as pumpkin, cucumber and courgette, that is know as Cucurbita Moschata. The split between winter and summer squash is primarily based on usage, rather than botanical classification. Winter squash, such as the butternut, are squash that are harvested when mature, with hard skins. Summer squash (including cucumbers and courgettes) are eaten whilst immature and usually have an edible skin and less strongly flavoured flesh.

Butternut squash not only tastes good, it is also a well-balanced food source that is rich in complex carbohydrates and low in saturated fat and sodium. Also, it contains a lot of vitamins A and C and a good source of beta-carotene, magnesium, manganese, calcium and potassium.

I once made roast butternut squash and thought it is another great appetising side dish for Sunday roast. Later on, I tried to make butternut squash into soup, which I absolutely love. It naturally tastes so sweet like I have never tasted a soup like this before. Well, I don’t usually made soup like this (I mean using squash) and now, I have discovered another kind of soup that I can survive on, which is wonderful. This soup is great, again, for wintery weather like what we have now. I wonder when I can have my first taste of spring?

Recipe: Easy Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

Butternut squash (halved and deseeded), 1

Olive oil, 2 tbsp

Potatoes, 2

Onions, 1

Vegetable stock, 1 litre

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Chop butternut squash, onion and potatoes into cubes.

2. Warm a large pot and add in olive oil. Add in onions and cook till soft.

3. Then, add in potatoes and squash. Cook for a minute or so.

4. Add in vegetable stock and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes and squash are soft.

5. Using a blender or food processor, blend the soup until smooth. If too thick, add a bit of water.

6. Season with salt and pepper.

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Potato, Carrot and Leek Soup

My Cooking Hut — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:15:12 +0000

Sometimes, it amazes me how simple a dish could be. The ingredients do not have to be too complicated as long as they come in good quality. My last few visits to France, I have had a real nice country-style potage. In English, it is pottage. Potage or pottage means thick soup, which often contains meat and vegetable which are boiled with water and then whizz the soup with a blender or with a stick blender.

The fresh produces in France are just amazing. Not only they have the best quality but they are sold at reasonable price. Every time I visit France, I like to go to the farmers market. I love to choose my vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat. Also, I love the produces that come without plastic packaging. Fresh produces in France are mostly grown in France. It could be that I was brought up in Malaysia. Going to the market is not something unfamiliar. Seeing chickens or pigs being slaughtered do not make me feel gross or make me weep. I know where my meat, vegetables, and seafood come from. That’s the way it is.

In the UK, probably 80% or more of fresh produces are flown in from other countries. Except for certain produces such as asparagus, potatoes and a few more items. Fruits are mostly imported from elsewhere too. I believe that more and more people prefer to buy local produces but I guess, the supermarkets are not doing their best to help these small to medium scale farmers. They would rather fly in produces from Kenya, Egypt, Morocco and etc. The option to buy fresh produces from the farmers market in London do not appeal to me much. Borough market is one good example. It could be nice if it was the first time you visit Borough market to check what they have to offer. After a few times, you would feel that you got ripped off because you couldn’t find purple carrots or purple broccolis at any other supermarkets. After all, they have more food stalls than fresh produces stalls.

I remember a few years back when I went to Caen for the first time. It was such an exciting moment when we went to check out the biggest farmers market in the town centre. Trust me, it’s totally different from Borough market and hundred times better! There were so many stalls – vegetables, fruits, meats, and not to mention seafood! There were probably more than 8 fishmongers! So, there’s a competition there. In comparison to Borough market, you have 2 or 3 fishmongers. All of them bought their supplies from Billingsgate Market, which is the UK largest inland wholesale fish market. I have been to Billingsgate market and will definitely blog about it because it has totally changed the way I buy fish in this country.

Anyway, the fishmongers are kind of cocky because they do business at the ‘prestigous’ Borough market, which is so popular that thousands of tourists shouldn’t give it a miss while visiting London! So, would you go to a farmers market that is always flocked by tourists? Or would you rather go to a ‘normal’ farmers market? Well, when I don’t have a choice and in desperation for some fresh seafood or vegetables that I can’t find elsewhere, then, I have to force myself to go there, spend a bit more and get what I need, that’s it. So, it doesn’t sound like I like Borough market a lot, huh?

So, I have been talking about fresh produces, markets, and what I think of fresh produces. They are important – both quality and freshness. Ok, I can’t avoid the plastic packing because I have to do my food shopping at Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, and very seldom at Marks and Spencer because their fresh produces are packaged too nicely like presents. I like no packaging, please! And I will bring my own bags. After all, the 3 ingredients that I used to make my potato, carrot and leek do come in plastic packaging, except the leek. With these 3 ingredients, they make one of the best combinations in a form of soup/pottage. You need only 1 potato, 1 carrot, and 1 leek. Well, this recipe is for 2-3 persons. Hence, if you have more people to serve, you probably just need to double the ingredients.

I don’t like my soup to be too thick. Maybe, this is why it probably shouldn’t be called potage/pottage. So, we can call it thin soup. This is just a simple soup, but it is rich in fibres and vitamins. Beating the cold weather is No.1 or if you are on detox, it could be a great choice too.

What makes this simple soup even more appealing to me is another secret ingredient, which is called nutritional yeast flakes, which I found out through Nelly a few years ago. Nutritional yeasts flakes: (wikipedia: similar to brewer’s yeast. It is a deactivated yeast, usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment. Nutritional yeast is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses, then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging the yeast.)

Gerble is a huge brand in France. Their products are popular amongst people who are health conscious, or people with special diet need. I was introduced to nutritional yeast flakes, called levure diététique, which is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, PP, magnesium, zinc, iron, protein, fiber, phosphorus and a source of vitamin B12. Did you a lot of Bs? No, I’m not trying to test your eyesight! Vitamin B is your beauty secret! Vitamin B is the champion of beauty! (read it again..) It is essential in growth, maintenance, and repair of tissues. Thus, they contribute to the radiance of your skin, hair and nails!! That appeals to me… the beauty secret!! That aside, it tastes good, I like its malty flavour. You can serve it in your salad, soup, greens by sprinkling 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, which add a different dimension in taste, and of course also for your health! You can easily buy nutritional yeast flakes from any health stores.

Right, so my way of potage is a thin soup but full of nutrients, nothing could be simpler than this!

Recipe: Potato, Carrot and Leek Soup

Serves 2-3 persons

Ingredients:

Leek (chopped), 1

Carrot (chopped), 1

Potato (chopped), 1

Water (chicken/vegetable stock if desire), 600-700ml

Salt to taste

Nutritional yeast flakes (to serve), 1 tbsp

Parsley (chopped), 1 tsp

Method:

1. In a pot or saucepan, put in chopped leek, carrot, and potato.

2. Add in water. Put on the led and simmer until vegetables are soft.

3. Whizz to a smooth soup a food processor (or slightly chunky if desire). Adjust the thickness of the soup by adding water or more stock.

4. Season the soup and serve in soup bowls. Sprinkle a tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes. (remember: beauty secret)

5. Garnish with chopped parsley.

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Hearty Winter Recipe & Food Photography

My Cooking Hut — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:22:26 +0000

This winter is probably the coldest. For the past weeks, the temperature in London was maintained at subzero! I remember last Saturday was really cold, that kind of biting cold that I had never experienced before! I longed for hearty food that could act like extra layers of skins to keep me warm and snug.

I like her approach in photography – clean, well-thought, warm, and nicely composed! And the food she makes are just scrumptious as if I could take them off the screen! I think I stumbled upon her blog through flickr and have been following since. Today, I have Sabra from Cookbook Catchall to share with us a hearty winter recipe and her approach in food photography.

Leemei invited me to write a guest post for her blog with a hearty winter recipe and some tips and tricks on food photography. I am a bit humbled by the latter because I am very much still learning and experimenting. I hope that I can share something that will be interesting to all of you on both fronts!

I write a little food blog that is called Cookbook Catchall. I’m in my third year, as hard as it is to believe! My blog has been a great outlet for my creative endeavors in the kitchen, as well as for my burgeoning interest in food photography. As time has gone on, I’ve gotten more and more serious about food photography and have started taking on client work, including photographing for the New York Times Dining section.

My photography set-up is quite simple. I use natural light and tend to photograph mid-afternoon when the sun is at an angle and intensity that I find pleasing. We moved recently and now have N, E, S and Western exposures. I am having fun moving around and experimenting with the different qualities of light. In fact, I had a wood table on casters made for this purpose – so now the table moves around easily with me and to whatever spot I find the light to work best for a given shoot.

In terms of controlling the light, I use reflectors, adjust the window shades, move toward or away from the windows and block the light with cloth or cards as required. Experimenting is really the best way to figure out what does and doesn’t work, and why. There are plenty of shoots that for one reason or another have completely failed for me. As frustrating as it is to not get anything pleasing after a half day of cooking and a lot of set up and shooting time, I always learn something that helps the next attempt or the next shoot so the effort is never in vain.

I usually start out with a very specific idea of how I want the shoot to work – something that I’ve worked out in my head over three or four days prior to the shoot (I think about props, camera angle, where I want the light coming from, focal length, mood, etc.). Often times I start out executing on that but end up having a different idea mid-stream that works much better. I force myself to be flexible despite my natural inclination to stick to my plan because I always benefit from trying something on the fly.

I typically shoot tethered to my computer. That’s probably the single most helpful thing I’ve incorporated into my workflow. It allows me to see exactly what I am doing and make thoughtful styling, focus point, camera angle and exposure adjustments as I go along – something I find very hard to do well using the little LCD on the camera.

People often ask me about my gear. I completely understand the curiosity about equipment and stuff but I can definitely tell you that equipment is not what creates a magical photo – skill and experience does (and a little luck). I say that not because I am experienced (far from it!) but because I look at some of my fellow food bloggers images that are taken with cameras far less recent or costly than my current one and they are very often much more skilled images. If you don’t have a late model SLR or a bag full of lenses it does not matter! (that said, I shoot with a Nikon system and currently use the D700).

I knocked around a bunch of recipe ideas for this post, but as the weather has gotten colder and colder here in New York I’ve found myself increasingly hankering for a warm, hearty stew – here’s my own rendition:

Hearty Winter Beef and Barley Soup

(makes 3-4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 – 1¼ pounds chuck roast, chopped into ~1 inch cubes
5 cups cold water
A few sprigs Italian flat leaf parsley plus chopped parsley to garnish
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 medium yellow onion, halved
4-5 medium carrots
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup frozen pearl onions
2-3 smallish waxy potatoes (blue make for a nice color contrast with the other ingredients but any waxy potato will do)
2 medium Jerusalem artichokes or parsnips
¼ cup pearled barley
Vegetable oil for cooking
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Method:

Season beef generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet and brown beef on all sides.

Transfer beef to a 5-6 quart Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add water, thyme sprigs, 1-2 sprigs Italian flat leaf parsley, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, half of the yellow onion (skin on is fine) and a whole carrot (skin on is fine). Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes. Remove thyme, onion and carrot.

Meanwhile, cut potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes or parsnips into 3/4 inch cubes and peel and chop remaining carrots into 1 each pieces. Re-heat pan used to brown the beef (add a little additional oil if necessary) and cook cut vegetables plus whole pearl onions for several minutes until they begin to brown. Take care not to crowd the pan. If your pan is not big enough, brown in batches.

After beef mixture has cooked 30 minutes per the above, add the barley and browned vegetables plus a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and pepper. Bring temperature back up to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered for an additional 30-40 minutes. At this point,the sauce will have thickened and the beef will be fork-tender. If sauce is not thick enough for your liking, remove cover, raise temperature and cook a little longer. If too thick, add cold water in ¼ cup increments until consistency is as desired. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of chopped flat leaf parsley.

Photograph: Sabra from Cookbook Catchall

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Puy Lentil, Savoy Cabbage, Sausage Soup

My Cooking Hut — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:27:12 +0000

The weather is getting so cold lately that I need to put my socks on all the time. This year is colder than last. It snowed slightly on the 28th October. It was pretty unusual (for me) to see snow in October as it’s usually in either December or January. It got me thinking that the weather is changing.

Again, I really would appreciate something that can warm me up quickly and give me energy at the same time. At this time of the year, it’s very easy to catch cold as a result of windy, rainy and cold nights. Eating the right food is really important. Another soup or one-pot becomes my choice without much hesitation.

So, I decided to make a big pot of rustic soup. Green lentils or Puy lentils are great to make soup. Puy lentils are great source of fiber in lowering cholesterol. Puy lentils also provide good to excellent amounts of six important minerals, two B-vitamins, and protein-all with virtually no fat!

Apart from Puy lentils, I have chosen savoy cabbage and sausages as the main ingredients too. So, that makes the name Puy lentil, savoy cabbage, sausage soup. To add some sweetness to the soup, I have added carrots too. This soup is very filling. The beauty of this soup is that you can have it as your main meal, accompanied with some bread. Puy lentil, savouy cabbage, sausage soup is so full of flavours and characters! Also, it lasts for 2 meals.

So, this is another of my one-pot cooking - always tastes better the next day. Enjoy!

Recipe: Puy Lentil, Savoy Cabbage, Saugage Soup

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients:

Puy lentils/green lentils (soaked), 200g

Carrots (cut into chunks), 6-7

Onions (chopped), 2

Garlic clove (chopped), 2

Bacon/pancetta/lardons cubes, 150g

Savoy cabbage (chopped lengthwise), 7-8 leaves

Pork sausages, 8

Olive oil, 2 tbsp

Vegetable stock, about 1.5 – 2 litre

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Mixed herbs, 1 tsp

Method:

1. Heat a big cocotte or big pot and put in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

2. Put in chopped onions and garlic. Cook until slightly brown.

3. Then, put in the bacon cubes. Cook them until brown.

4. Add in carrots. Stir to mix well and cook for about 10 minutes.

5. After that, add in the already rinsed and soaked Puy lentils. Stir well.

6. Pour in the vegetable stock to cover all the ingredients and bring it to boil. Then, put the lid on and turn to medium heat. Cook this for about 45 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, in a pan, fry the sausages.

8. When 30 minutes is up, add in the savoy cabbage. Stir and mix well.

9. When the sausages are cooked, put them into the pot and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Cook for another 15-20 minutes.

10. Serve the soup with bread.

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Lamb & Winter Vegetables Soup

My Cooking Hut — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:05:15 +0000

It’s freezing cold out there with patchy frost! The temperature dropped to -4 Celcius! I now realise winter isn’t interesting at all, unless it snows which makes me excited (just for a while). Don’t know why but I guess it’s nice. (Kristin, I’m sure you agree with me! Let’s build snowman this year in front of ermmmm.. not anywhere near the dump! *LOL*) I believe staying indoor is the best option.

As there were some carrots, turnips and some potatoes, I thought a warm bowl of goodness would be a good idea. So, I decided to make Lamb & Winter Vegetables Soup last night. I like this sort of cooking where I cut all the vegetables into chuncks or cubes and let Le Creuset cocotte does its wonders of slow cooking.

As you may remember, I cooked Ratatouille using my Le Creuset. It’s really a life-time kitchen item that is worth investing in.

For lamb and winter vegetables soup, you can substitute any root vegetables you fancy. Don’t know about your but I particular like turnips because of their unique taste. The only chore of cooking lamb and winter vegetables soup is to chop all the ingredients. Then, you can just sit and watch your telly while waiting for your lamb and winter vegetables soup to be cooked and served.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
3 large potatoes cubed
2 turnips cubed
5 carrots cubed
1 onion chopped
250g shoulder of lamb cut into big chunks
some olive oil
dash of salt & pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground tumeric
300ml chicken stock
some water

Method:
1. In a big cocotte, put some olive oil and brown the onions.
2. In another pan, put some olive oil and slightly brown the lamb. Then set aside.
3. Once the onions start to be translucent, put in the lamb. Mix well.
4. Put in cumin, coriander, tumeric, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
5. Then, put in all the vegetables, stir well. Cook for 5 – 10 mins.
6. Pour in the chicken stock and water enough to cover all the ingredients in the cocotte.
7. Bring it to boil.
8. Turn to low-medium heat and let it cook for at least 45 minutes to 60 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the meat is tender.
9. Serve with crusty baguette or bread of your choice.

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Clear Soup Noodles

My Cooking Hut — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:02:35 +0000

As the weather is getting colder, I like to make something that is tasty and warms up my body. As a great fan of noodles, I never give a bowl of clear noodles soup a miss. This bowl of clear noodles soup brings back all my childhood memories. I remember helping my mom in the kitchen making the chicken stock and all the ingredients that go with the noodles.

Mom is always my primary source of inspiration. I do, from time to time, try to think of what I miss and what mom used to make when I was young. And today, it’s that same kind of smile I put on my face when I enjoyed this special bowl of clear noodles soup.

This time, I slightly tweaked the recipe for clear noodles soup. I added some vegetables (as substitutes) in the chicken stock and shall I say that I didn’t make the chicken stock from scratch as my mom does. I got the chicken stock from the supermarket. In fact, there are a few other ingredients that I didn’t put. So, I just make do with what I have to satisfy the craving for a good bowl of clear soup noodles.

So, are you ready to go through the cooking process with me?

Serves 2

Ingredients:
Chicken stock, 1 ltr
Vermicelli, 1/2 packet
Prawns (shells off), 500g
Plaice fillets, 300g
Carrots (diced), 2
Green beans (trimmed and halves), 150g
Hard boiled eggs, 2
Handful of bean sprouts, 2 handful
Chopped spring onions, some
Fried shallots, 2 tsp
Sesame oil, 2 tsp
Salt and white pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Before you start preparing anything, you may want to soak the vermicelli in warm water until they are soft.

2. Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock. Once it starts boiling, turn to low-medium heat and put in the carrots and cook until they are soft.

3. While the stock is being cooked, on a pan, put some olive oil and pan fried the prawns.

4. Then, set them aside once they are cooked.

5. Pan fried the plaice fillets until they are golden brown.

6. On a saucepan, fill in some boiling water and blanch the bean sprouts until they are bit translucent. Refresh them in cold water to stop them being overcooked.

7. Boil the eggs. Slice the eggs and set aside.

8. At this point, you may want to check if the carrots are almost soft, then, put in the green beans. Once all the vegetables are cooked, the stock is ready to be used.

9. To serve, put some vermicelli in a bowl.

10. Then, put in all the cooked ingredients: some prawns, plaice fillets, bean sprouts, eggs, and some sesame oil.

11. Ladle the soup into the bowl, enough to cover the vermicelli and all the ingredients.

12. Sprinkle some fried shallots and spring onions. You can put some chili powder if you like it a bit spicy. And some Soya sauce to give more flavours.

Here you are, a healthy bowl of noodle soup, never fail to fight the cold of early winter.

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