Leek & Potato Soup

A perfect winter warmer. Quick, cheap & easy. 

Ingredients

2 large leeks

3 medium potatoes

1 carrot

Salt & Pepper

Optional: Onion, thyme, bay leaf, stock 

Estimated time: 1hour

Method

1. Peel and chop the potatoes and carrots. Chop the leeks.

2. Heat some oil in a pan then gently fry the leeks for 3-5 minutes until they begin to soften. Boil the kettle. 

3. Add the potatoes and carrots and stir. 

4. Pour the boiling water into the pan until it covers the contents. You can add a stock cube (chicken/veg) to this if you wish.

5. Season the soup with salt, pepper and herbs. I chose thyme and I also added a bay leaf for some extra flavour. 

6. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30-40minutes until the water has reduced and the veg is soft.

7. Take the pan off the heat and remove the bay leaf (if used).

8. The sensible thing to do next is allow the soup to cool before you blend it, however if you can't wait (like me), allow it to cool slightly then blend with a hand blender.  Hold a tea towel around the blender to avoid splashes/hot soup in your face.

9. ENJOY! Add cream/cheese to the top if you wish. 

Italian Style Hot Chocolate

After trying hot chocolate in Italy I really wanted to recreate the deliciousness at home. Mike and I adapted a recipe from Nigella Lawson and even though the end result was tasty, it was nothing compared to the way the Italians make it. Maybe you need the atmosphere to make it better and probably better quality chocolate. Also Nigella actually describes this recipe as chocolate pudding, I would say served hot this was more hot chocolate style and served cold was more a mousse/pudding.

Ingredients

250ml full fat milk
125ml double cream
60g caster sugar
15g cornflour
35g cocoa powder
30ml boiling water
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g dark choc

Estimated time: 30 mins

Method

1. Grate the chocolate.
2. Mix the milk and cream and warm it in the microwave. Boil the kettle.
3. Put the sugar and cornflour into a pan, sieve in the cocoa powder and mix in the boiling water until it becomes a paste.
4. Put the pan on a low to mid heat and mix as it cooks. Stop when the mixture is to your required thickness (usually 3-5mins).
5. Turn off the heat and add the grated chocolate. 
6. Serve either hot or cold and with cream if you want to.

I think next time I would use better quality chocolate with a stronger cocoa content in order to give a stronger taste. Also I would take the mixture off the heat slightly sooner as small bits had started to stick. Overall we were pleased with the result but not a complete match for the Italian made variety!

Weekend Ideas

When I visited Rome in January I had my first experience of an italian hot chocolate. It was AMAZING, so this weekend I am going to attempt to make my own :) (along with some kind of cake most likely!)

Chocolate Cupcakes

I am a huge fan of cupcakes but have yet to perfect my own. They never seem to rise as well as ones I buy in shops and I still need to get the hang of the icing technique (and possibly the consistency...). Nevertheless practice should make perfect so once again I've tried to make them. Even if they don't look incredible, they definitely taste great :)

For these cupcakes I followed a recipe from the Primrose Bakery cookbook. The book is full of beautifully decorated cakes, with the majority made from basic sponges with different icing and toppings to make them unique. This time I opted to make a chocolate cupcake with white chocolate icing and I added glitter and sparkles to the top.

Ingredients

16 Chocolate Cupcakes

115g dark chocolate
85g butter
175g brown sugar
2 eggs
185g plain flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarb of soda
Salt
250ml semi skimmed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

White Chocolate Buttercream Icing

100g white chocolate
110g butter
60g semi skimmed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
500g icing sugar  

Optional: Sprinkles to decorate 

Method   

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5.

2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl, either in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water.

3. Mix the sugar and butter in a large bowl either by hand or with an electric mixer until it is a smooth mixture. 

4. In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks then add this to the sugar and butter mixture. Once mixed add the melted chocolate mixture.

5. In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt. To the other mixture add 1/3 of this mix, then 1/3 of the milk and stir, continue this process until everything is combined together. 

6. Now whisk the egg whites in another bowl until they become fluffy and stiff. Fold this into the other mixture.

7. Take a muffin tray, add cupcake cases and then spoon the mixture into these, making sure the amount is fairly even. 

8. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

9. Whilst the cupcakes bake, you can make the icing. In a bowl mix the butter, milk, vanilla and half of the icing sugar until this mixture is smooth.

10. Continue adding and mixing in icing sugar until the buttercream is to your taste.

11. Melt the white chocolate, leave it to cool, then add this to the buttercream mixture and stir. 

12. Once the cakes come out of the oven, leave them to cool then add the icing on top, either by using a piping bag, or with a flat knife. 

13. Decorate the cakes with sprinkles of your choice, I added edible glitter and sparkle pieces.


 
Once again it seems I failed at the pretty icing that shop bought cupcakes seem to have, however I can assure you the cakes tasted delicious and very sweet.

Simple Ham & Cheese Pasta

One day I would love to make my own pasta, but for now shop bought will have to suffice. This is a very simple pasta dish, perfect for an after work meal or served cold for a weekday lunch. It should come with a calorie warning (but I wouldn't worry too much about that...)

Ingredients

A large handful of 2 different pasta shapes
2 slices of ham, chopped
Handful of grated cheese
Cream
Butter 

Optional: Garlic, mixed herbs 

Estimated time: 30 minutes

Method

1. Bring a pan of hot water to the boil, add the pasta and cook for about 10 minutes.

2. Whilst the pasta is cooking grate the cheese and chop the ham.

 3. In a separate pan warm the melt the butter, add the cream and lightly fry some chopped garlic if you wish (an alternative would be to use some garlic butter).

4. Add the cheese and ham.

4. Once cooked drain the pasta and put in a bowl.

5. Pour the contents of the other pan on top and stir.

6. Season with some mixed herbs

7. If eating it cold the next day, allow to cool then refrigerate.

Harvest Vegetable Soup

This soup is a big family favourite, easy to make and perfect to keep you warm in the winter months. The recipe can be adapted to feed as many people as you want.

Ingredients 

To make one large pan of soup:

3 carrots
4 potatoes
Half a green pepper
1 onion
1 litre of stock (or just water)
Mixed Herbs
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Optional: Swede, parsnips, peas, bay leaf


Estimated time: 1 hour
 

Method

 1. Chop all of the veg into small chunks.

2. Fry the onions and peppers until slightly soft on a mid heat, then add the carrots and potatoes. 

3. Fill the pan with water so it covers the veg. You can add a stock cube for some extra flavour, I usually use a chicken one. 

4. Add some seasoning, I usually add salt, pepper, some mixed herbs and a bay leaf.

5. Bring the soup to the boil, then leave to simmer for around 30mins or until the liquid has reduced.

6. Leave the soup to cool, then blend with a hand blender. 

7. Serve with a swirl of cream or some grated cheese.

Plain Bagels

Recently a lot of my cooking inspiration has come from the Great British Bake Off. After seeing the tasty looking bagels they created, my boyfriend and I decide we wanted to make our own. We searched the web for a simple recipe and came across 'New York Style Bagels' on sophisticatedgourmet.com. The time taken to make the bagels was well worth it when it came to tasting them, although they didn't last long!

Ingredients

2 teaspoons of yeast
1.5 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 cup of warm water
500g of bread flour 
1.5 teaspoons of salt

Estimated Time

Two and a half hours 

Method

1.  Pour the sugar and yeast into half a cup of warm water. Leave it for 5 minutes before beginning to stir until the mixture dissolves in the water.

2. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, make a hole in the middle of the mixture and pour in the yeast and sugar.

3. Add another half a cup of warm water and mix together until a dough begins to form, continue mixing until this is moist and firm.

4. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for 10 minutes on a floured surface.

5. Brush a bowl with oil and coat the dough in this, before leaving for an hour to rise in a warm place. Cover the bowl with cling film or a dish towel. 

6. Divide the dough into 8 balls.

7. In order to create the hole, poke your finger into the middle of the ball and begin to spin it around your finger. Stretch the hole and the dough until it looks bagel shaped. Place it onto grease proof paper, cover with damp kitchen roll and leave for 10 minutes.

8. Preheat your oven to 220ºC/Gas Mark 7 whilst you follow the next step.

9. Bring a pan of water to the boil and lower the bagel into it. To speed up the process you could have two pans of water boiling. Boil the bagels for 1 minute on each side or 2 minutes on each side if you want your bagel to be chewier. We chose this option. 

10. When the bagels have been boiled put them onto a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. You fill find that they grow and have a more bagel like texture after this step.

11. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

12. Get eating! Eat your bagel with butter, cream cheese or anything else you fancy. Just try not to eat them all at once as they taste great toasted in the morning too.