Sweet potato soup with Angostura bitters is a magic flavour combination

Tag : Onion Juice
Beetroot and cardamom Cook the seeds from 3 cardamon pods with the leeks, and use peeledbeetroot (about 12oz/350g) instead of the potato. Vac-packs ofready-cooked beetroot can be used, but make sure that it's the kindcooked without vinegar. That said, a squeeze of lemon juice at theend improves the flavour of beetroot soup.
Sweet potato soup with Angostura bitters Sounds unlikely but it's a magic flavour combination. Use about12oz/350g sweet potato instead of the regular potato and finish thesoup with a few drops of Angostura bitters.
Butternut squash and harissa Cook the leeks as above, then stir in half a teaspoon of harissa(Moroccan spice paste). Cook for a minute, then add 1 largebutternut squash, peeled and cubed (seeds removed) instead of thepotato. Add more harissa to the finished soup if you like.
Jerusalem artichoke and hazelnut Use Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cubed, instead of thepotatoes. Liquidise the soup with 1 tbsp hazelnuts (toast themlightly first in a dry frying pan).
Soup
Serves 4
A simple basis for countless soups. You need never pick up a cartonagain. 2 fat leeks, sliced and washed 2oz/60g butter Salt and pepper 2 medium floury potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes 1½ pints/850ml pints water (or stock)
Cook the leeks slowly in butter until soft, but without lettingthem colour. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Add the potatoes, stir until they are well coated in butter andcook for a minute or two longer.
Pour in the water (or use a light stock if you prefer) and simmerfor 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes are soft.
Purée the soup. Liquidise, pass through amouli-légumes, or leave it chunky if you prefer. Taste andcheck the seasoning. Reheat and add a little cream, chopped herbsor a dollop of pesto before serving, if you like.
A simple casserole
Serves 4
Clafoutis, a traditional French pudding, is a cross between a richbaked custard and a sweet toad-in-the-hole. Cherries are the usualfruit to use, but greengages have a mild, honeyed flavour that isperfect. Any small plums, or pears, poached until soft and cut ineighths, would be delicious, too. 1 onion, sliced 3 tbsp olive oil 1-2tbsp flour Salt and pepper About 1½lb/675g meat, cut into ¾in/2cm cubes, orchicken portions Half a bottle of red wine (or white for a delicate pork or chickencasserole) Water or stock A sprig of thyme or rosemary
Cook the onion in 2 tbsp olive oil in a casserole dish until softand translucent. Scoop out of the pan and keep to one side.
Prepare the meat. Season the flour with a good pinch of salt and agrind of pepper and toss the meat in it. Add a tablespoonful of oilto the pan and heat to medium hot.
Fry the meat half-a-dozen pieces at a time over a medium-high heatuntil well browned on all sides.
Splash in the wine and let it bubble up, stirring all the time.Return all the meat and the onion to the pan, adding a little wateror stock so that everything is more or less submerged. Tuck in theherbs. Season.
Simmer, covered, for at least 45mins or until the meat is tender(most casseroles take at least an hour and a half). Taste andadjust the seasoning.
Good things to add to casseroles
Cured pork - all casseroles are improved by three or four chopped rashers ofsmoked streaky bacon, fried along with the onion. Or the sameamount of chorizo, salami, or pancetta.
Vegetables - the more you add, the fewer you will have to serve separately.Cook robust veg such as carrots, celery or aubergine, cut intocubes, alongside the onion. Stir in more fragile stuff like spinachor peas moments before the end, allowing just enough time to cookthrough.
Herbs aplenty - add hard herbs like rosemary or thyme early, soft herbs such asparsley or coriander right at the end. Tarragon is somewhere inbetween. Try chopping a bunch and adding it to pork or chickencasseroles for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Spices - these need to be cooked with the onion. For a vaguely MiddleEastern feel, fry 2tsp ground cumin and a pinch of chilli with theonion. Add a handful of prunes or dried apricots with the stock anda stick of cinnamon to infuse as the casserole cooks.
Mushrooms - they are, after all, the essence of autumn. Add 5oz/140g slicedmushrooms, especially wild mushrooms or 1oz/25g dried porcinisoaked in hot water (add the soaking water too, straining out thegrit first). Fresh mushrooms should be fried with the onions, driedshould be added with the stock or water.