Once again: the onion soup

If not my aversion to the smell of fried onion floating in the house I could eat this soup every day – especially when the temperature outside drops below zero.
It is amazing how the whole strong taste of onion dies and each bowl of this steaming hot soup is filled with sweet, onion aroma emphasized with nutmeg, thymes and crunchy toast with cheddar on top!
This is real “comfort food”

Ingredients
4 big onions
1 garlic clove
35 fl oz (1 l) bullion ( the best is beef one)
1 cup water
½ teaspoon dried thymes or 1 tbsp fresh thyme
nutmeg
salt, pepper
1 tbsp butter
slices of bread for toasts
cheddar cheese


Method
In a big saucepan melt the butter, add thinly sliced onions and garlic. Cook over low heat, covered, occasionally stir until the onions are soft and caramelised (be careful it can not get brown!). Add thymes and pour the water in. Cook covered until practically brown. But it to the pan, pour the bullion add spices, cook for another few minutes. In a meantime prepare toasts, put cheddar cheese on top of each slice of bread and bake. Pour the soup to bawls, put a toast on top, decorate with a sling of thyme.

Cream roasted tomatoes and aromatic garlic soup

Telling you the truth, I have never eaten such a delicious tomato soup! Prepared on the basis of roasted tomatoes has incredibly deep almost sweet taste, Thick, filling with a delicate note of caramelized garlic… great dish for autumn, when you can still buy ripe, fresh vegetables.

Ingredients
18 0z (500 g) ripe and juicy tomatoes (i.e. roman kind)
1 onion
5 garlic cloves ( in shell)
2 tbsp oil
2 sprigs of thyme
salt, pepper
1 cup bullion
1 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tbsp Worcester sauce


Method
Cut tomatoes in half and onion in quarter, place together with garlic cloves and thymes in oblong dish. Toss the vegetables with oil and roast for 1,5 h in 360F/ 180 oC until tomatoes get soft and lightly caramelized. Vegetables (garlic cloves without shells) blend with bullion until smooth. Season it with salt, pepper, molasses, vinegar and Worcester sauce. Serve with a drop of oil on top.

Leeks and cauliflower cream soup

After last dental adventures Piotr had to eat creamy and delicate food so in our house we ate mainly cream soups. In my opinion that’s the easiest way to make the dinner: bullion, vegetables and food processor…bzzz, bzzz and it’s ready.


Ingredients
18 oz (500 g) cauliflower (can be frozen)
1 big leek
2 potatoes
35 fl.oz (1 l) bullion
salt, pepper
nutmeg
1 tbsp butter
few slices ham/bacon (to serve)
dill (to serve)


Method
Sauté sliced white part of the leek. In a pot with bullion cook cauliflower florets, diced potatoes and leek. Bring the soup to boil and cook on a low heat until the vegetables get soft. Blend the soup in a food processor, the soup should be smooth and creamy (optional you can add more water/bullion). Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cut the ham/bacon into thin strips, fry until crispy. Serve the soup with strips of crispy ham and chopped dill.

Young cabbage soup

Spring time is a young cabbage time for me! Cabbage and dill – perfect couple in every aspect! Today in a soup – thick thanks to the vegetables!

Ingredients
1 young cabbage
1 bunch dill
2 big carrots
1 big parsley root
¼ celery root
2 garlic cloves
pimento, bay leaf
meat to make bullion
salt, pepper
eventually: sour cream


Method
In a pot cook diced vegetables, meat, pimento, bay leaf and water. Add chopped cabbage. Bring to boil and cook for a while, season to taste. Add chopped dill. Eat 

Sweet corn Autumn soup

My husband really doesn’t like eating soups. But when I had made this one he asked me to make it again the next day! It proofs something?!

This corn soup is filling, thick and just perfect for an Autumn dinner. You can puree it, although for me its charm is hidden inside crunchy corn. You can enrich it taste with crisp beacon.

Ingredients
3 corn cobs*
1 leek
2 garlic cloves
4 medium potatoes
18 fl oz (0,5 l) bullion
9 fl oz (0,25 l) milk
9 fl oz (0,25 l) sour cream (18%)
salt, pepper to taste
1 tbsp oil for frying

* take the corn off the cob using a sharp knife, hold the cob vertically, resting the bottom on a cutting board, and slice down firmly


Method
Sauté sliced leek in the pan. Add corn and chopped garlic – sauté the ingredients for about 1 min. Add cubed potatoes to the bullion. When potatoes are almost soft add sautéed vegetables. Bring to boil and cook for about 15 min. Season with salt and pepper, add cream. Slightly mash all ingredients with a potato masher.

Mexican style dish

This is quick, kind a camping dish. Filling, you don’t need to much time to make it. Perfect for as a dinner for a ;after-party’ day when you don’t have any strength!

Ingredients
2 cans beans (I used red and white beans)
3 full tbsp tomato puree
1 red pepper
2 row sausages
1 onion
1 garlic clove
few basil leaves, oregano
few young potatoes
to taste: chilli, salt, pepper, sugar

Method
Fry sliced sausage with onion and garlic. In a separate pan fry cubed pepper. In a pot mix beans with pepper, sausage, onion and garlic. Pour in water (about 18 fl oz / ½ l), add tomato puree. At the end add cubed potatoes (I didn’t peeled mine just washed them with a brush). Cook for a while until potatoes get soft.
You can cover the pot and cook the stew on a low heat. Before serving decorate with fresh herbs.

Chickpeas ratatouille

We can call it ratatouille or vegetable dish. The most important: it does have many vitamins and can be made almost with everything we can find in our fridge.

You don’t have to follow the recipe and its single detail, one pepper more or less, some broccoli florets or favourite kohlrabi can only make it more delicious!

To my today’s version I added chickpeas (cooked separately, so it wasn’t overcooked) and a mysterious ingredient: 1 tbsp of dark molasses. As the same time it enhances the tomato sweetness and gives the sauce the smoothness and gloss. Delicious!

Ingredients
½ yellow pepper
½ red pepper
1 medium zucchini
4 large mushroom
2 medium onions
1 teaspoon ground garlic
2 carrots
1 parsley root
1 tbsp molasses
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 teaspoon smoked dry red pepper
1 can chickpeas
18 fl oz (500 ml) tomato puree
handful chopped parsle
oil
salt, pepper to taste


Method
Cut the vegetables in the same size pieces, dice onion. Sauté garlic with onion and the rest vegetables (separate) put into a pot. Pour in the tomato puree (optional you can add some water). Add thymes, molasses. Bring to boil, cook on a low heat for about 30 min. (until carrot is soft), season to taste, and serve with baguette.

Goulash soup with bitter

The end of February is almost here and still no Spring behind the Windows…

To make our waiting easier I recommend you this warming soup, thick and vegetable with a big meat pieces with the taste strengthen with a pint of bitter!

Wrapped in a blanket, wearing warm socks I’m eating this amazing soup. With such equipment we can survive even the longest Winter!

Ingredients
18 0z (500 g) beef
1 medium onion
3 carrots
1 parsley root
1 garlic clove
½ cup green peas (canned or frozen)
½ cup green beans (fresh or frozen)
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 cup bitter
few dry (or fresh) mushrooms
3 tbsp tomato puree
18 oz (500 ml) stock
1 tbsp wheat flour
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
oil
salt, pepper, dry pepper (I used smoked one) – to taste
you can add potatoes – than soup will be more filling


Method
Cut all the vegetables in small cubes. Cut the meat in cubes with 1,5 cm long. Cover the meat in flour, fry in a heated pan until golden brown. Place the meat in a pot in which you will prepare the soup. In the same (not washed) pan partially fry the vegetables and garlic. Mix the meat with veggies. Pour a batter in the pan, heat up, pour in a pot with the veggies and meat. Add tomato puree, cumin, coriander and as much water as to cover all ingredients. Bring the soup to boil, add stock cube, season with salt and pepper to taste. Boil the soup on a low heat until meat gets soft (about 2-3 hours).

Solianka – amazing Russian soup

With our friends on Saturday we organised themed cooking party – this time’s theme the Russia. With a cookbook in hands and my intuition we made a large pot of Solianka – thick, healthy soup with fish, sour cucumbers and olives. Sounds strange? Maybe it’s an eccentric combination but at the same time just delicious! Honest!

Ingredients
18 oz (500 g) fresh cod
3 potatoes
2 carrots
1 leek
piece of celery root
1 parsley root
1 onion
35-50 fl oz (1-1,5 l) vegetable bullion
lemon juice of ½ lemon
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp wheat flour
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp olives
9 oz (250 g) sour cucumbers
salt (soy sauce), pepper
to serve with dill, sour cream


Method
Peel and dice vegetables. Heat up the oil in a pot, sauté onion and remaining vegetables (with potatoes). Add the flour, the vegetables should be covered with it, add bay leaves, tomato puree and hot bullion. Boil for a while until vegetables get soft. Add chopped cod, boil for 10 min. After another 5 min. add lemon juice, salt and pepper (the soup should have equal salt and sour taste). Serve with 1 tbsp sour cream and chopped dill.