Hearty white bean soup

Back trackin'

When I started this blog so many years ago, my boys were 7 and 9. The trick was to find pretty simple meals that they'd love (or at least like enough to try new things). Now that are 17 and 19 and gigantic! Which I suppose means the meals were ok. Now the question is - how to fill those bottomless bellies?

This is a tasty, filling soup or stew that works great as a lunch, side or main.

If I’m ladling over pasta, I have it more as a stew and reduce the water by 2 cups. If I’m serving it with crusty bread and a salad, the consistency I like is more like a soup.

If I were to do a vegetarian version, I’d chop and sauté a turnip, then remove and add it back in again with the chopped kale.

In this pic, I didn’t have any feta in the fridge, so used pecorino instead. This is an Italian dish, so black pepper would be more authentic I guess, but I like white pepper here.

Ingredients 

2 cups (375g) dry cannellini beans
4 cups water (for soaking)
2 or 3 Italian pork sausages with garlic and fennel, bratwurst also works well
2 chopped brown onions
2 cloves chopped garlic (reduce if your sausages have lots of garlic)
⅓ cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
2 cups veggie or chicken stock
6 (or 8) cups water
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
4 cups chopped kale (or other leafy green)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste

To serve

Crumbled feta
A few pinches red chilli flakes
A few splashes of balsamic vinegar 
Chopped parsley

Method

1. Soak beans in cold water overnight.

2. Drain beans (retaining the liquid) and set aside.

3. Make a cut down the center of each sausage and peel off the casing. Transfer sausage into a dry, cold, 4 litre soup pot. Turn the heat to medium-low. You want to render out the fat. Once it starts to sizzle, raise the heat to medium and brown the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Cook and stir until juices start to caramelise and stick to the bottom of the pan, creating a fond, 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Add onion and garlic and stir to coat in the rendered sausage fat. Add a little olive oil if necessary. Cook until onion starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add white wine to deglaze the pot. Add black pepper, dried chillies, bay leaf, and water.

5. Add drained beans, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and continue to simmer until beans are tender, about 30 more minutes. Taste beans to be certain they are perfectly cooked.

6. Smash about 1/4 of the beans with a potato masher to give the soup a creamy texture. Stir in chopped kale, increase heat to medium, and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. The time will depend and the greens you choose. If you choose English spinach, for instance, this can be done one minute before serving. Taste and adjust salt.

7. Ladle hot soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with feta and a pinch of chilli flakes and chopped parsley.

Beef back ribs and risoni

Slow cooker - your work-from-home wonder

Working from home during this COVID–19 lockdown means knocking a lot of well-worn systems out of whack.

If you’re working from home with kids at home, let me suggest dusting off the crockpot (slow cooker). You can get dinner sorted between breakfast and log-on. Then all day the aroma will be developing that says two things: yum; and don’t panic.

And I just feel tremendously carnivorous when I’m frying beef in my pyjamas!

Ribs and risoni

You could just as easily use noodles, laying the ribs over a bed noodles and ladling the juices over that. But I had some risoni in the pantry, so decided to put it to use. You could also use pork ribs. Adding some black vinegar and Korean chilli flakes is also worth a try.

This is simple and very tasty recipe. Serve with steamed greens and salad.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg beef back ribs
• 1 medium onion
• .25 cup kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• .5 cup light soy sauce
• .5 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 cup risoni
• Enough olive oil to cover your frying pan

Method

Cut the ribs into sections that will easily fit in your slow cooker. Peel and quarter the onion.

Heat the oil in a frying pan until the oil just starts to smoke, then brown the meet and onion in batches and remove to the slow cooker.

Mix the liquid ingredients in a bowl, then add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved.

Pour over the meat and onion.

Pop on the lid, turn on the cooker, and your job is done for at least three hours.

After three hours or so, move the meat around bringing the bottom bits to the top.

Now you’re done for two hours.

After two hours or so, remove the meat and bones to a plate and add the risoni, spreading it evenly across the base of the cooker.

Return the meat and bones to the cooker and cover.

After one hour, the risoni will have absorbed all those lovely juices and still hold good shape and texture.

The meat will have fallen off some of the ribs, and these can be discarded, as all their flavour has been drawn out.

A few minutes to steam some veggies or assemble a salad (or both) and you’re done!

Channel that

As we’re stuck inside, I thought I’d share some of my favourite YouTube channels to bring restaruant food into your kitchen, or just do home-cooked meals well.

School of Wok

A recent discovery is the School of Wok which has reawakened my love of Asian street foods and given me some very helpful hints on wok management.

Recipe - School of Wok

Here’s one I made earlier this week - Massaman Curry

John Kirkwood

As his delightful intro tells us - John is a retired cook from the north east of England. And I just love to bits how he adds “in the UK”.

This is hearty food with lots of bread styles, roasts, pies and desserts.

Recipe - Eve’s Pudding

I’ve included a version of this one in a post about a year back. Here’s the real thing!

Souped up Recipes

Mandy is our host. The channel’s description asks us to join us on her YouTube journey, and empty our stomachs. OK…

Focused on Chinese dishes she was brought up with and going since only 2017, I’ve had lots of fun and learnt heaps. I’ve generally emptied my stomach in a different context.

Recipe - Sesame Chicken

From her “Better than Takeout” series. The one I tried first and still love.

Food Wishes

The delivery style can wear thin, but I love pleasure here in doing simple things well.

Recipe - Potatoes Romanoff

As we see the cinema release of Black Widow recede into the future (is that a thing?). Let’s just eat stuff.

Marion’s Kitchen

Australian foodie Marian Grasby. Clearly described instructions with the occasional presentation idea that even a klutz like me can attempt.

Recipe - beef Broth an Pho

This is Marion’s isolation tip. Over Easter I made batches of beef and chicken stock. Very calming. Put a few containers in the freezer and look forward to a week where every meal comes with a punch of flavour and a caress of goodness.

The Katering Show

Just saying…

No-fry moussaka

The most famous Greek dish involves a lot of hands-on frying and, if we don’t get the temperature right, if can end up very heavy and oily.

This is an oven-based version that we assemble in five 20-minute stages.
Aside from the roasting pan, we use a frying pan for the ragu and a saucepan for the bechamel. That’s it.

It’s very reheatable, very work-lunchable and totally tops.

Ingredients

Bechamel

• 100g plain flour
• 100g olive oil
• 750ml milk
• 2 tablespoons grated pecorino
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Ragu

• 500g lamb mince
• 1 cup all purpose tomato salsa (if we don’t have such a thing in your fridge at all times, use a can of chopped tomatoes and add herbs and garlic)
• 3 cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick

For the roasting pan

• 1 sliced onion 
• 3 sliced potatoes 
• 1 sliced egg plant 
• 1 sliced zucchini 
• .5 cup olive oil 
• Salt, pepper, thyme, crushed garlic

Method

Preheat the oven to 200º C
Lightly oil a roasting pan about 30cm by 20cm
For the slicing, I use a mandolin (mine’s a V-slicer) as the final product benefits from being evenly cooked.

Wash, halve and slice the potatoes (I don’t peel them - I don’t see the point)
Peel and halve the onions, and slice them.

Oven 1

Place the potatoes and onions in an even layer in the roasting pan with crushed garlic, salt, pepper and thyme.

Drizzle with olive oil and place in oven for 20 minutes.

While this stage is happening, get onto our ragu.

Get olive oil in our frying pan to just start smoking, then add the lamb mince.

Brown the mince, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. There should be some caramelisation and crunchy bits - we are browning, not greying.

Add the salsa and make sure we scrape up all the crunchy stuff from the bottom of the pan.

Add bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon

Drop the heat and simmer.

This needs to be reduced down to a ragu - a dryish sauce - not runny. Don’t worry, there is plenty of time.

Top and tail, and slice the egg plant.

Remove the roasting pan (the potatoes should be browning and slightly bistering).

Oven 2

Add the egg plant in an even layer with crushed garlic, salt, pepper and thyme, and drizzle with olive oil.

Return to oven for 20 minutes.

Bechamel time!

Add the olive oil to the saucepan and bring to a medium heat.

Stir in the flour to make the roux (the basis of our white sauce).

We are looking for a smooth consistency and the right colour.

It starts faily pale, then turns golden, and then a deep golden - and that’s where we stop it. Before it
becomes choclaty.

Remove from the heat and add the milk all at once.

Using a whisk, stir until the mixture is smooth, then return to the heat and bring to a gentle boil, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat.

Stir in egg yolks and pecorino.

Oven 3

Remove pan from oven and add the sliced zuccini, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and drizzle with olive oil.

Oven 4

Remove pan from oven. Remove cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves from ragu and spread the ragu evenly over the top.
Return to oven for 20 minutes.

Oven 5

Spread then bechmal evenly over the top, and sprinkle with some more grated pecorino. Return to the oven.

Now we have to pay attention.

Set the alarm for 10 minutes.

We don’t want it to burn - but we don’t want it to be blond.

What we are after is some deep, chocolaty brown blistery areas.

After 10 minutes, rotate the pan and continue wer cook until it looks just right.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.

Eat

Serve with a big, green salad.

Watermelon and ouzo is optional (but not really).

Condimentally yours

What to do with the last of the summer veggies and fruit? Pickle time!

Here’s one for eggplant (aubergine) that I had fun with on my last no-child weekend. It’s a good time of year for this as young ginger is widely available in Asian grocers.

Ingredients 

• 3 onions, chopped
• 100g chunk young ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 tbsp black mustard seed
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 3 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1kg egg plant, diced
• 150g currants
• 200g palm sugar
• 250ml apple cider vinegar
• Salt to taste

Method

Put the onions, ginger and oil in a large saucepan or wok and gently cook for 15 minutes until soft. 

Stir in the spices and curry leaves and fry for a 5 minutes, then add the tomato purée and tamarind and fry for 5 minutes more.

Stir in the egg plant, currants, sugar and vinegar. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for 30 mins until the mixture has thickened and egg plant is soft. 

Remove from heat and leave for 10 mins, then spoon into sterilised jars and seal. 

The pickle can be eaten straight away and keeps if properly sealed for weeks.

We belong together

I still love exploring Greek flavours and food styles, and combining them with the Asian cooking that consumed me in my first bachelor shift.

Here is a meal of spiced lamb rissoles, fried zucchini with balsamic vinegar dressing, yogurt and mint sauce, with lime and saffron rice pilau.

Throughout this, the mint, chilli, citrus all have fun playing nicely with their foodie buddies.

Let’s start with the easy bit - the sauce.

Yogurt and mint sauce

Ingredients

• 200g Greek style yogurt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds

Method

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Add some extra ground coriander seeds last. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Zucchini with balsamic vinegar dressing

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchinis
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp Korean chilli flakes (“red pepper flakes”)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• .5 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• .25 cup torn mint leaves
• 4 tbsp olive oil

Method

• Heat oil in a frying pan on medium-high
• Top and tail the zucchinis and quarter them, halving them long first and short second
• Once the oil is hot, fry the zucchinis cut-side down for three minutes, then turn for another three
• Remove the a plate and keep warm in the oven
• In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, vinegar, chilli flakes and syrup, stirring to dissolve the syrup
• When read, serve zucchinis with scattered tomatoes, mint leaves and a good splash of the dressing.

Lime and saffron pilau

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 3.75 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lime roughly chopped
• .5 tsp saffron strands soaked in about a tbsp warm water
• 2 tbsp slivered almonds
• 2 tbsp currants
• 1 tsp salt

Method

• In small to medium saucepan, heat the low to medium (no oil). Add the almonds, tossing every minute or so until golden brown. If any get burnt, chuck ’em. Remove almonds to a small plate or bowl
• Add oil to pan and bring to low to medium heat then sauté the onion for two minutes, then garlic for another two
• Add the rice and sauté for 5–10 minutes until translucent
• Add lime and saffron (including the water it’s been soaking in), stir and sauté for another 2 minutes
• Tip the mixture into your rice cooker (this is against my general principle of not using two pots when one pot will do - but I love my rice cooker…)
• Add the stock and salt, cover and set to “cook”
• Once cooked, turn the cooker off and stir through the almonds and currants
• Cover until ready to use

Spiced lamb rissole

Ingredients

• 500g Lamb mince 20% fat
• 1 Small onion finely chopped
• 2 to 3 chilli peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

• As with all food prep, especially when it involves meat, take the ingredients out of the fridge early so that they are close to room temperature
• Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl and mix evenly
• Divide the mixture into six even balls, then flatten into patties
• Bring oil to a medium to high heat in a frying pan
• Fry patties two minutes each side

Sausage rolls rough puff

This is a delicious, fun recipe based on this one by Gill Meller https://youtu.be/oKWNqzG0kko

A warning though - the amount of water in the ingredients for the YouTube video and the River Cottage website version (as noted by one among hundreds of positive comments) is way wrong. I’m guessing a zero got dropped off. Follow my recipe instead!

I know the recipe looks kind of long, but it’s really quick and simple once you get going. Pastry part 1 takes no more than 10 minutes and part 2 just five. And the filling is even simpler - stick everything in a bowl and mix it up.

Ingredients

Filling

• 1kg finely minced pork, fairly fatty
• A small bunch of chives, finely chopped
• 1 tsp each chopped thyme, lemon thyme, mint leaves
• 1 tsp chopped lemongrass stalk
• 1 long chilli, seeded and chopped
• 75g dried breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Pastry

• 175g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
• 350g plain flour (about 2.5 cups)
• A good pinch of salt
• About .5 cup iced water, to mix

Assembly

• Egg wash (1 beaten egg mixed with a tbsp of milk) for the seal and to glaze
• 1 tsp each fennel, cumin, sesame seeds.
• Ground salt

Method

Pastry part 1

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and butter cubes.

Add water a little at a time until the dough comes together. I find the amount is between half and three quarters of a cup.

Roll out the dough on a floury work surface until its roughly a rectangle about 40cm by 20cm.

To get a layered and fluffy pastry, fold it longways into thirds by taking one end and folding it into the middle, then the other end folding on top of that. Make a quarter turn, and now you have a new long side, and you roll it out again.

Do this another three or four times, gradually making your rectangle shape more and more even.

Cover with cling wrap and pop it in the fridge to rest for 1 hour.

The filling

Combine the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix through evenly.

Cover and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pastry part 2

Take the pastry from the fridge and leave at room temperature for about 15 minutes until it starts to relax (you don’t want to be rolling it when it’s all stiff straight from the cold)

On a floured work surface, roll it out into a long rectangle about 2mm thick and about 20 cm by 80 cm.

Assembly

Grab about half the filling mixture and, starting at one end shape the mixture towards the middle, and about 2cm back from one of the long edges. It doesn’t have to be super even - just so long as there aren’t any gaps.

Now take the other half of the mixture and, starting from the middle, work it towards the other end.

Brush the egg wash along the long, narrow edge of the pastry.

Now fold the other edge over so that it holds the mixture snugly, tucking the pastry in towards the mixture where the two sides meet.

Trim at each end, and down along the side. I always retain the strips of pastry and any bits of filling that stick to the knife and give it to the kids to make into shapes. They’re 14 and 16 now - and they still like doing this.

Your great big sausage roll should be 80cm long, possibly a little more.

Glaze the length of it with the egg was, and sprinkle with the seeds and a little salt to finish.

To divide into 12 good size rolls, find the middle and cut right through. Then find the middle of those to pieces, and cut right through. Now you’ve got four pieces, and you divide each of those pieces into three.

Line a baking tray with baking paper (the tray I used was 40 cm by 27 cm and it all fitted perfectly). Gently place the rolls on the paper evenly, most likely three rows of four. Then place in a preheated oven at 180º C for 40 minutes, turning the tray about halfway through.

When they’re golden brown, remove the tray from the oven and use tongs to move the rolls to a wire rack to rest. This help the bottoms get crispy.

After about 10 minutes, they’re ready to serve.

Yields 12 rolls (serve two with veggies for dinner or one with salad for lunch)