Seven Vegetable Soup

Crumbs it has been a very long time since my last blog entry! I've not stopped cooking - or eating, but work and a long commute have kept me very busy. However, the lockdown has given me the opportunity to experiment a bit with food again and the time to think and write about food again.
First of all, I know Liz and I have been very lucky. Both of us are able to work from home and so far none of us have contracted the virus. Secondly, we are still getting our regular organic fruit and veg box from Abel & Cole supplemented with an organic meat box from the same company which I subscribed too literally the week before the crisis hit. This has meant that our fridge has been full. Sometimes overfull as our last supermarket delivery from Ocado also came with some fruit and veg from someone else's order by accident (which they couldn't recollect so we suddenly had extra soft fruit and a lot of eggs!).

Anyway on to today's soup which combined a lot of the veg that we had collected in the fridge and 'needed using up. It's simple and hearty and went well with some of the bread I baked the previous day and a slice of cheese. The trick here is to use a mix of veg all cut up so as to cook at the same time.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
1 rasher smoked bacon - finely diced
1 large leek - sliced
1 medium potato - diced
1 carrot - diced
2 small parsnips - peeled and diced
1/2 sweetcorn cob - kernels sliced from the cob
2 sticks of celery - diced
1/4 cauliflower - broken into florets, stems sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp turmeric
1.5 ltr stock (veg or chicken)
Small bunch of parsley

Method
Fry the bacon until crisp. Scoop out and keep for later as a garnish. Fry the leeks until softened then add the remainder of the vegetables. Stir in the oil until coated then add the turmeric and bay leaf. Stir again then add the stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Blend with a stick blender. If the soup is too thick add more stock or possibly milk to dilute. Taste and season. Serve in bowls with chopped parsley and the crispy bacon and possibly a swirl of yogurt or cream if you are feeling fancy.

Cauliflower Risotto

It's been ages since I last blogged, I haven't stopped cooking (or eating) for that matter just forgotten to write about what I've been cooking.
This week we've had sub-zero temperatures, several centimetres of snow on the ground and no windows for a couple of days while we had the old double glazing replaced in four rooms (including my 'den'). Now the house is snuggy again and the cats are lounging on the window sills looking out at the birds pecking around in the snow and clinging to the bird feeders. Last night we had a nice warming risotto to give us our own central heating. While I was out feeding the birds I pulled some leaks from the frozen veg patch. Serves three.

Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower broken into florets.
3 small leaks, trimmed, washed and finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
225g risotto rice
750ml hot vegetable stock (or thereabouts depends on the age of your rice)
Small bunch of parsley
2 tablespoon olive oil
20g of butter
1 glass of white wine (something you'd like to drink with the meal) - Optional.
50g of parmesan cheese, grated plus some shavings for serving.

Method
Drizzle half the oil over the cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a medium oven (150-180C) while you make the risotto. Check and shake the cauliflower until it is cooked, browned on the edges with soft stalks.
Meanwhile melt half the butter with the oil and gently fry the leeks until softened. Add the rice and stir until coated with oil and butter. Add the wine if using and stir until evaporated. Gradually add the stock, ladle by ladle, until the rice is cooked. Add the parsley and stir, add the rest of the butter and parmasan and stir. Add the cauliflower and stir through. Serve with the parmesan shavings on top.