Posts Tagged With: soup

Cauliflower and nutmeg soup

Posted on October 7, 2013 by melhm

Silky and spiced, creamy and smooth – we love cauliflower soup! And with a little crunchy addition of speedy croutons, we’re in heaven!

Fresh from the garden: cauliflower, leeks, onion, potato, garlic
Recipe source: Melissa
Serves: 6 or 24 tastes

Equipment:

Kettle
Garlic press, peeler
Chopping board & knife
Stockpot
Measures – tablespoon, jug
Wooden spoon
Large & med bowls
Stick blender
Mouli
Microplane grater
Ladle
Serving bowls

Ingredients:

1 leek
1 brown onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 large potato
A large head of cauliflower
Extra-virgin olive oil
1.5 lt water & 1.5 tablespoons bouillon (or 1.5 litres stock)
White pepper & flaked salt
A whole nutmeg

What to do:

Fill the kettle and set to boil.
Wash the leek, scoring and peeling the outer layers off to look for hidden dirt, and then finely chop the leek.
Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel the potato under running water and chop into 1cm cubes.
Peel and squeeze the garlic cloves through the press.
Wash, shake dry and cut or tear the cauliflower into small florets.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the stockpot. Add the leek and onion and fry gently for 5 minutes.
Carefully measure the boiling water into the jug and add the bouillon. Stir.
Add the cauliflower, the potato and the garlic and sweat for a minute, then add the hot stock.
Simmer for 20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Season with salt and ground white pepper and puree with the stick blender until very smooth.
You may need to pass the soup through the mouli into another bowl to achieve an even smoother texture.
Just before serving, grate in about half a nutmeg using the microplane grater, the ladle out into your bowls.

Notes: What other vegetables can be used for soup? Why do we sweat the veggies out?

Categories: Kitchen Garden, Recipe | Tags: cauliflower, children, cooking, gluten-free, kids, nutmeg, soup, spring, vegan, vegetarian, winter | Leave a comment

This is a lovely soup – so simple to make but so rewarding. If at home you might add half a cup of white wine to the pan and reduce by half before you add the mushrooms, but we like it too just like this…

Fresh from the garden: onion, garlic, leek, thyme, mushrooms, parsley
Recipe source: adapted from a recipe by Neil Perry of Rockpool
Serves: 8 or 30 tastes

Equipment:

Kettle
Chopping board & knife
Scales
A large heavy-based pot
Bowls – 2 large, 2 med, small
Large spoon
Measures: jug, tablespoon
Citrus juicer
Salad spinner
Stick blender
Serving bowls

Ingredients:

1 brown onion
2 garlic cloves
1 leek
25ml olive oil
50g unsalted butter
2 sprigs thyme
Flaked salt
500g mushrooms
1 litre boiling water
1 tablespoon bouillon
100ml single (pouring) cream
Small handful flat-leaf parsley

What to do:

Fill the kettle and set it to boil.
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.
Trim the leek and remove the first layer. Carefully slice along the leek, halfway in and then rinse thoroughly under running water taking care to remove all the grit and dirt. Finely chop.
Wash and shake the thyme dry and strip leaves from the stalks.
Heat the oil and butter in the large pot over a medium heat. Add the onion, leek, garlic, thyme and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes or until soft.
Meanwhile wipe the dirt from the mushrooms with a piece of paper towel, trim any ugly bits and then thinly slice the mushrooms.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and continue to cook for about 5 minutes or until tender.
Add the bouillon to the boiling water, stir and then add to the pot. Cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove from the heat.
Meanwhile wash the parsley and spin it dry. Pick the leaves and then finely chop. Using the stick blender, puree the soup until smooth.
To serve, stir in the cream and parsley and check seasoning.
Ladle in to bowls and serve.

Notes: Why don’t we wash mushrooms? Describe in your own words how to clean a leek. What is bouillon? How many different sorts of mushrooms can you name?

Categories: Kitchen Garden, Recipe | Tags: children, cooking, gluten-free, kids, meat-free Mondays, Mushroom, soup, thyme, vegetarian | 2 Comments

Cannellini bean, kale and rainbow chard soup

Posted on August 21, 2013 by melhm

Our kids love soup – blended and smooth or chunky and funky – and this one makes the most of our winter garden veg. At home please add some toasted buttery sourdough rubbed with garlic!

Fresh from the garden: celery, carrots, onion, garlic, potatoes, kale, rainbow chard
Recipe source: Melissa
Serves: 8 or 24 tastes

Equipment:

Bowls – glass, large, small
Kettle
Measures: cup, tablespoon
Colander, sieve
2 saucepans, med and large
Chopping boards and knives
Peelers & garlic press
Wooden spoon
Ladle
Serving bowls

Ingredients:

150g dried cannellini beans
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 stalks celery
2 carrots
1 brown onion
5 cloves garlic
1.5 litres boiling water & 1.5 tablespoons bouillon (or 1.5 litres vegetable stock)
2 Desiree or other red potatoes
One large bunch kale
A couple of stalks of rainbow chard
Flaked salt and black pepper

What to do:

The night before, soak the cannellini beans in plenty of cold water with a teaspoon of bicarb.
At the beginning of the lesson, drain and rinse the beans. Add them to the smaller saucepan with plenty of water to cover and the bay leaves. Peel 2 of the garlic cloves and add them whole to the pan. Heat on high to boil and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Fill the kettle and set it to boil.
Wash and shake the celery dry and chop into small pieces. Wash and peel the carrots and chop into small pieces.
Wash and chop the potatoes into 2cm cubes, leaving the skin on.
Peel and finely dice the onion. Peel and squeeze the remaining 3 cloves of garlic through the press.
Wash the kale and chard in several changes of water, and then shake dry. Trim the stalks from the kale and discard. Trim the stalks from the chard and chop into 5mm pieces, keeping separate. Roll up the kale and chard leaves and slice or tear into 1cm strips.
In the larger saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering.
Add the celery, carrots, and onion, and cook, until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute or so, and then add the potatoes and stir to coat.
Using caution, measure the litre of boiling water into the jug and stir the bouillon in. Add to the vegetables and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Strain the beans & garlic and add to the vegetables with the kale and chard stalks and simmer for another 10 minutes, then add the chopped chard and cook for another 5 minutes.
Check for correct seasoning, then ladle out into serving bowls.

Categories: Kitchen Garden, Recipe | Tags: children, cooking, gluten-free, kids, meat-free Mondays, Olive oil, soup, vegan, vegetarian, winter | 2 Comments

Kitchen garden news – 28th June 2013

Posted on June 29, 2013 by melhm

So here we are the end of Term 2 with winter well and truly upon us. At least winter solstice has been and gone so the days are getting ever-so-slightly longer now…. I do love this time of year though: the oven on and slow-cooking anything in my path, and parking spaces to be found readily around Bondi, and with an almost leisurely commute to school in the mornings!

This week we’ve taken a break from the usual routine to welcome the Year 1 classes to the Kitchen Garden program… it has been lovely to see the wee ones down here and also to say hi to the new wave of Future Volunteers (!) We made some delicious crusty bocconcini and garden herb pizza and slurped some creamy green soup: landcress, potato, rocket and leek this time… I think we all had a great time… And the little aprons looked very cute indeed!

And with a tear in my eye I farewell lovely Ella and her family for the time being… Have fun in New York – I can’t wait to see your photos and to hear all about it!

Bye bye lovely Ella!

For loads of great photos from the week and recipes updated fortnightly, subscribe here to this blog by clicking the Sign Me Up button on the right!
Cheers all & happy hols! Melissa x

Categories: Kitchen Garden, News | Tags: children, cooking, kids, meat-free Mondays, pizza, soup, winter, Year 1 visit | Leave a comment

Creamy rocket, potato and leek soup

Posted on June 29, 2013 by melhm

This soup just morphs every time we have a new garden veg to use… as long as the base includes aromatic veggies like onions, garlic and leek, along with something to thicken like potato (or barley, or rice) and some fabulous vegetables – you can pretty much add anything you like! I served it to the year 1 students to have with their pizza – a taste of soupy things to come!

And if you prefer to have no dairy, then simply substitute the butter with olive oil and omit the creme fraiche… still delish.

From the garden: rocket, landcress, leeks, onion, potatoes, chives, garlic, bay
Recipe source: Melissa
Serves: 8 or 24 tastes

Equipment:

Chopping board & knife
Scales
Small paring knife& scissors
Potato peelers
Kitchen paper
1 heavy-based stockpot & lid
Measuring jug, tablespoon
Wooden spoon
Stick blender
2 teaspoons
Serving bowls

Ingredients:

3 large bunches landcress
A small bunch rocket
1 brown onion
2 leeks
4 medium potatoes
4 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
Small bunch chives
100g butter
1½ litres vegetable or chicken stock (or 1½ litres water and a tablespoon and a half of bouillon)
150ml crème fraîche
Flaked salt and black pepper

What to do:

Fill up the kettle and set it to boil.
Wash the landcress & rocket well and shake dry. Trim any brittle stalks and chop the leaves.
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Wash the leeks well, inserting a slit down the middle of each and rinsing out any dirt. Trim and chop finely.
Peel the potatoes over the sink and wash thoroughly. Chop into 2cm cubes.
Wash the chives, carefully shake dry & roll up in a piece of kitchen paper to dry. Snip or chop finely.
Melt the butter in the large thick-based saucepan, then add the onion, prepared leeks, potato, garlic and bay leaves and stir them around so that they’re coated with the melted butter. Next sprinkle in some salt then cover with a lid and let the vegetables sweat over a very gentle heat for about 15 minutes, giving the mixture a good stir about halfway through.
Meanwhile prepare the stock: Measure 1½ tablespoons of bouillon into the measuring jug and then carefully add a litre and a half of boiling water into it, and stir. You may need to do this in two lots.
After that, add the stock, bring everything up to simmering point and simmer, covered, for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are quite tender.
Add the landcress and rocket and simmer for a further 3 or 4 minutes.
Then remove the pan from the heat and when it’s cooled a little liquidise the soup with the stick blender and season to taste.
When ready to serve, swirl in three tablespoons of crème fraîche. Then pour in to bowls and garnish each one with a little extra crème fraîche and some snipped chives.

Notes: What is crème fraîche? What is the difference between landcress and watercress? What is bouillon?

Categories: Kitchen Garden, Recipe | Tags: children, cooking, gluten-free, kids, meat-free Mondays, soup, vegetarian, winter | Leave a comment

Cabbage, barley and coriander soup

Posted on June 13, 2013 by melhm

Thick and chunky, perfect for a winter’s day outside in the fields threshing wheat, or even dealing with the Westfield car park… We used Demeter organic pearled barley – super texture, super delish!

Fresh from the garden: cabbage, onion, garlic, carrots, bay, coriander
Recipe source: Melissa
Serves: 8 or 24 tastes

Equipment:

Kettle
Chopping board & knife
Bowls – large, med
Peelers
Colander
Salad spinner
A large stockpot
Measures – jug, ½ cup, tablespoon
Wooden spoon
Serving bowls

Ingredients:

1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
4 large carrots
1/2 large head cabbage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ litres stock (or 1½ litres boiling water & 1½ tablespoons bouillon)
1 tin diced tomatoes
1/2 cup pearled barley
A teaspoon of ground coriander
1 bay leaf
Black pepper
A small bunch of fresh coriander

What to do:

Fill the kettle and set it to boil.
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.
Peel, wash and chop the carrots into small bite-sized chunks.
In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic, and cook until fragrant and translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
Measure out the boiling water & add to bouillon, stir and carefully pour in to the stockpot. Bring to the boil then measure out and add the barley, bay leaf, the ground coriander and a few grinds of pepper.
Cut the cabbage into quarters, wash them then chop out the core (good for the chooks!) and roughly chop. Then add the cabbage and tomatoes and return to the boil. Simmer for about 25 minutes all up, stirring occasionally, until the barley is cooked.
Meanwhile wash and spin the fresh coriander dry, then finely chop (but not into mush!!!)
When the soup is done, divide among bowls, sprinkle on the coriander and eat hot!

Notes: What does fragrant and translucent mean? What is barley? What does pearled barley mean? What else is coriander known as?

Categories: Kitchen Garden, Recipe | Tags: barley, children, cilantro, cooking, coriander, kids, meat-free Mondays, soup, vegan, vegetarian, winter | 2 Comments

Cauliflower and borlotti bean soup

Posted on May 29, 2013 by melhm

There is something almost saintly about a pureed bean soup – and this has texture and flavour & a wonderful creaminess from the beans. And protein! Although who cares how healthy this is for you when it tastes so good?!

Fresh from the garden: onion, garlic, bay, cauliflower, parsley
Recipe source: Melissa
Serves: 6 or 24 tastes

Equipment:

Kettle
Chopping board & knife
Colander, sieve
Large saucepan or stockpot
Measures – jug, tablespoon, teaspoon
Bowls – big, medium
Salad spinner
Stick blender
Mouli
Ladle
Serving bowls

Ingredients:

1 large brown onion
4 or 5 garlic cloves
1 large head of cauliflower
2 tins of borlotti beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
1½ litres vegetable or chicken stock (or 1½ litres water and a tablespoon and a half of bouillon)
A small handful parsley
Black pepper

What to do:

Fill the kettle and set it to boil.
Peel and finely dice the onion. Peel and slice the garlic. Wash, drain and chop the cauliflower, finely chopping the stalks and discarding the leaves to the chook bin.
Open the tins of borlotti beans, drain into the sieve and rinse well under cold water.
Heat the olive oil in the saucepan and gently sauté the onion until soft for about 5 minutes and then add the garlic, fennel seeds & bay leaves and cook gently for another minute.
Add the cauliflower and the drained beans. Pour in the stock or water and bouillon.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.
Meanwhile wash and spin the parsley dry. Pick off the leaves, discarding the stalks, and finely chop.
Fish out the bay leaves, grind a little pepper in and then carefully whizz until smooth using the stick blender.
For a silky smooth finish you may want to pass the soup through the fine setting of a mouli, and then reheat.
Taste for correct seasoning and ladle into bowls.
Garnish with parsley and serve!

Notes: We are using tinned beans in this recipe. What would you need to do if you were using dried beans? What other sort of beans are there? What is bouillon?

Categories: Kitchen Garden, Recipe | Tags: autumn, borlotti, bouillon, cauliflower, children, cooking, gluten-free, Herbs, kids, legumes, pulses, soup, vegan, vegetarian | Leave a comment

Green soup!

Posted on May 20, 2013 by melhm

(Rocket, silverbeet and potato…)

These sunny-but-cool days & lengthening nights sing to me of soup, soup and more soup – and this is a great way to use up the bolting rocket!

Green soup!

Fresh from the garden: rocket, silverbeet, potatoes, chives
Recipe source: Melissa
Serves: 8 or 24 tastes

Equipment:

Kettle
Scales
Chopping boards & knives, scissors
Peelers, garlic press
Bowls – big
Salad spinner
Large stockpot
Wooden spoon
Measures – litre jug, tablespoon
Handheld mixer
Ladle
Serving bowls

Ingredients:

500g waxy potatoes
A small bunch of chives
1 big bunch rocket
2 or 3 silverbeet stems & leaves
4 cloves garlic
50g unsalted butter
1 litre water
1 tablespoon bouillon
Black pepper

What to do:

Fill the kettle and, making sure you have dry hands, set it to boil.
Peel the potatoes under running cold water & cut into 2cm cubes.
Wash the chives, shake dry and slice into 1cm bits.
Peel the garlic cloves and squeeze them through the garlic press.
Melt butter in the large stockpot over medium heat and sauté the chives and garlic for a minute, and then add the potato cubes and turn so that the potato sweats in the butter.
Meanwhile wash the rocket in several changes of water and spin dry. Roll up and slice into thin ribbons.
Wash the silverbeet in several changes of water and shake dry. Slice or cut the leaves up the middle to remove the stems, then chop them into cm pieces. Roll up the leaves and finely slice them into ribbons.
Measure the bouillon & boiling water into a litre jug, stir and then pour it into the potatoes. Bring them to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover and cook gently over low heat for 10 minutes, then add the silverbeet stalks.
Cook for 2 minutes – check that the potato is tender, then stir in rocket and silverbeet leaves. Increase heat to medium and simmer for another 2 minutes. If it’s really thick you may want to add another cup of hot water.
With dry hands, plug in the handheld mixer and carefully whizz the soup until it is silky smooth.
Taste for correct seasoning (the bouillon is salty so you may not need any extra salt) and ladle into bowls to serve.

Notes: What other vegetables can be used for soup? How many different procedures are there in this recipe? Why do we want the potato to ‘sweat’?

Thick green soup!

Categories: Kitchen Garden, Recipe | Tags: arugula, autumn, Chard, children, cooking, gluten-free, kids, meat-free Mondays, rocket, silverbeet, soup, Swiss chard, vegetarian, winter | Leave a comment

Kitchen garden news – 16th May 2013

Posted on May 20, 2013 by melhm

Our own Bondi olives

Even though we’re in deepest late-autumn, with these wonderful warm and sunny days we are continuing our run of eggplant and basil in the garden like it’s the middle of summer… So we’re capitalising on this and also fulfilling our cool-evening cravings for comfort food: Melanzane alla Parmigiana (baked eggplant with parmesan, basil and tomato) has been wowing the crowds with its wafty oven-baked aromas and gooey deliciousness!

And the olives have been brining and are ready to be jarred-up, so these weeks have seen the classes bottling and preserving our 4½kgs-worth picked back in February & March – for our Bondi Olives we’ve used orange peel, rosemary, thyme, fennel seed and bay in a nwarm extra-virgin olive oil bath and the results are wonderful – really savoury and delicious. The Olive teams have been busy also knocking up a batch of bel-mondo-inspired Parmesan & dried rosemary biscuits to go with as a wee appetiser…

Also on the menu is a Warm salad of chestnuts, apple and sage – this is a lovely autumn salad, with all the different textures and combination of sweet and savoury, and excitement of possible chestnut explosions! And I think this menu’s soup is quite possibly the thickest, greenest soup we have seen… so chunky you could carve it, or at least spread it on toast! I quite honestly can tell you that the Silverbeet, rocket and potato soup gets eaten up every class and there is never any left!

And last but not least, Rhubarb and pear compote with vanilla yoghurt – the perfect brownie-point winner: if you forgot Mums’ Day last week, this is the chance you need to redeem yourself!

All recipes will be up before the weekend: ourkitchengarden.net

And one last thing! We will be making pesto to sell over the next 2 weeks so bring your $5 on a Thursday arvo for a tub of end-of-season free-range Bondi PS Pesto!

Cheers! Melissa

Categories: Kitchen Garden, News | Tags: autumn, children, cooking, kids, Pesto, recipes, soup | Leave a comment

Dee Nolan’s kabuli chickpeas, leek and green veggie soup

Posted on April 20, 2013 by melhm

Late last year I bumped in to Dee Nolan at Sean’s and we soon got chatting about her amazing olive oils (Sean’s pours the Nolan’s Road Extra Virgin Delicate with the malt scrolls and cracked wheat log) and her organic, South Australian kabuli chickpeas – as well as the great deeds done in the SAKGP schools… Soon after I was the beneficiary at school of a wonderful gift from Nolan’s Road: a huge box of Dee’s chickpeas! Regular readers of this site will know how much I love to blend up these quick-cooking* chickpeas for Yotam’s hummus, but I’ve also been waiting for an excuse to simmer up some seasonal soup…

Rugged up against a cold, windy and rainy autumn day? Perfect!

Nolan’s Road delivery!

Fresh from the garden: potato, leeks, garlic, bok choy, cabbage, kale, spinach, silverbeet
Recipe source: Melissa
Serves: about 6 or 30 tastes

Equipment:

Scales
2 large saucepans with lid
Chopping board & knife
Peeler
Grater
Kettle
Colander
Bowls – big, med
Mandoline
Stick blender
Measures – lt jug, tablespoon
Wooden spoon, ladle
Serving bowls

Ingredients:

250g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 large potato
2 large leeks
A bunch of leafy green veg: bok choy, cabbage, kale, spinach, silverbeet
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 knob of butter
2 cloves garlic
Flaked salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1 litre boiling water with 1 rounded tablespoon bouillon or 1 litre stock
50g parmesan

What to do:

Rinse soaked chickpeas, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, slice off tough bits of leek skin. Slit from top to bottom and rinse thoroughly under running water to get rid of any mud trapped between layers of the vegetable. Slice finely.
Peel the potato under running water and then slice finely using the mandoline.
Peel and finely slice the garlic. Grate the parmesan.
Warm a thick-bottomed pan, and add the tablespoon of oil and the knob of butter. Add the leeks and garlic to the pan and sweat gently with a good pinch of salt until tender and sweet – 5 minutes at least. Add the sliced potato and turn in the buttery mixture.
Drain the chickpeas and then add to the leeks and sliced potato and cook for 1 minute. Add about two-thirds of the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile wash the leafy veg thoroughly, shake dry and chop into bite-sized pieces.
With about 5 minutes to go, add any veggie stalks in to the soup, and then after a minute or two add in the leaves, stirring to combine & wilt.
Pour half the soup out into the 2nd pot and puree with the stick blender. Leave the other half whole, and then pour back in together – pureeing half gives a lovely smooth comforting feel but also keeps a bit of texture. Now add enough of the remaining stock to achieve the consistency you like.
Check for seasoning, ladle into bowls to serve and add a sprinkle of parmesan to finish.

Notes: Why do we soak the chickpeas overnight? What’s the number one rule with the mandoline? What is sweating the leeks?

Nolan’s Road kabuli chickpea, leek & green veggie soup

*If you’re researching recipes from European or US books or websites you may read that the chickpeas, once you’ve soaked them overnight, will need an hour or more of boiling. I find that the Nolan’s Road chickpeas take less than half that time so start checking after about 20 minutes!

And PS. If you can be organised enough to soak your chickpeas in advance, DO IT!!! Whilst I also keep tins of chickpeas, borlotti beans, cannellini et al in my pantry, there is simply nothing better than long-soaked and freshly cooked ones, plus you avoid the nasty BPA-lined tins. Hooray!

Categories: Kitchen Garden, Recipe | Tags: autumn, chickpeas, children, cooking, gluten-free, kids, leafy green vegetables, meat-free Mondays, pulses, soup, vegetarian | 2 Comments

Posts Tagged With: soup

Cauliflower and nutmeg soup

Cream of mushroom soup

Cannellini bean, kale and rainbow chard soup

Kitchen garden news – 28th June 2013

Creamy rocket, potato and leek soup

Cabbage, barley and coriander soup

Cauliflower and borlotti bean soup

Green soup!

(Rocket, silverbeet and potato…)

Kitchen garden news – 16th May 2013

Dee Nolan’s kabuli chickpeas, leek and green veggie soup

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