Bouillabaisse

I seem to have been making soup a lot over winter....and I haven't eased off even though it's Spring

Saffron - purchased in Morocco 

This is a lovely, easy recipe that I first saw on French Food safari on SBS. It's Guillaume Brahimi's Bouillabaisse recipe, which is basically a rich fish soup. He originally didn't mention quantities so I just played around until I thought it looked right, but I've since seen it in recipe form on the SBS website

To make the Bouillabaisse you'll need.....

Whole fish- red mullet, rock cod, leather jackets, flathead whatever is cheap and you can source.

For this recipe I used leather jackets and flathead. I also bought 2 kilograms of mussels and all up it cost me $17.00

So, chop the fish into large pieces and fry it in a little olive oil then add a strip of orange peel, a chopped fresh fennel, 4 chopped tomatoes, 2 crushed garlic cloves, sprigs of thyme, 2 chopped celery stalks 2 large spoons of tomato paste, fennel seeds, a pinch of saffron and a good splash of pernot.

It's looking very colourful at this point.

Add some hot fish stock (I used a litre of vegetable stock and some water that I simmered the fish heads in) to cover it all and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Let it cool for a few minutes then put it all in a blender (bones and all) and whizz it till it's smooth. Strain it through a sieve into another pot and heat through. Now I have to say, at this stage I was tasting it and it was amazing! ... in fact I really liked it as a broth and will be making another version of it in future to see how it goes.

Add some mussels and let them cook then place in bowls and eat with some gutsy bread.

Guillame's recipe called for a Rouille and some scallops and crab meat placed in the bottom of the bowls that you spoon the soup over. I didn't have them so we just made some garlic bread and devoured it all.

MONT loved it so much he's taken all the left overs out with him to work today to share with friends.

Spicy Soup

I know it's been ages since I've posted any recipes...but you know how it is...life sometimes gets in the way

Anyway I hope this nice spicy soup will make up for my absence..

The thing with this is you can make it as spicy or mild as you like, it all depends on your taste

I got the idea one afternoon while watching Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield and (as usual) tweaked it to suit what I had in the pantry and fridge...

It's a Sweet Potato soup with a Thai influence...and there's a nice little twist at the end...

You'll need
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3 or 4 large sweet potatoes
2 large dollops of Thai red curry paste
1 can coconut cream
1 litre vegetable stock
1 cup of water
salt or fish sauce to taste

Pesto
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1 bunch coriander
a good handful unsalted cashew nuts (or you can use blanched almonds)
1 red shallot
peanut or rice bran oil
lemon or lime juice

In a large pot, fry off the curry paste in a little oil, then add a large spoonful of the creamy, globby bit at the top of the coconut cream and heat it through with the paste.

Add the chopped and peeled sweet potatoes, then the veggie stock and water and bring to the boil...then let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

Once the potatoes are soft, add the rest of the can of coconut cream, stir it around and then take to it with your stick mixer to blend it so it's smooth and thick.

I put mine in my new blender and it was fabulous

To make the special pesto additive for this soup...

Blend together the nuts, shallot, coriander, oil and lemon juice...spoon it into the bowls of hot soup and voila!!!

That's all there is to it.

I made a huge pot of it and it was all gone in two days so I hope you like it as much as we did!

Cauliflower Soup

I first made cauliflower soup back in the mid 1980's when I was living in Hobart. I'd not long moved there for work and was looking through the local newspaper - The Hobart Mercury - and there it was in it's Easter recipe section.

Since then I've made it quite a few times because, well because it's delicious. And easy.

It's on the same principal as pumpkin soup...but paler.

OK...Firstly, take your cauliflower and chop it up

Chop an onion and sweat it off in a large pot with a little olive oil and a knob of butter.

Add the cauliflower, swirl it around, add a litre of water and a stock cube. I use Massel cubes because I like them.

Bring it to the simmer and then when the cauliflower's cooked, give it a wizz with a stick mixer or you can use your blender. But be careful. If your blender has a glass container/jug, make sure you allow the soup to cool a little before putting it in there otherwise you may crack it. I speak from experience here. Depending on the thickness of the soup you may want to add a little milk or extra water, entirely up to you and your taste.

Now you can either put a handful of tasty cheese in each bowl before ladling the soup over the top, or you can add the cheese to the pot of soup and then dish it up in all it's stringiness...your call.

I also add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl, for a little added something.

Sorry, but I don't have a photo of the finished product. It got eaten before I could get the camera out

Enjoy

Fast and easy chicken and corn soup

This would have to be one of the easiest and tastiest soups I've ever made....and it's great to using up all the veggies left in the crisper.

Throw some chicken pieces in a pot with 1 litre of cold water, let it simmer for a couple of minutes then add a pack of chicken noodle soup, a can of creamed corn or corn kernels, whatever you like, and a half a cup of rice.

I also throw in sliced mushrooms, spring onions, capsicum, asian greens, beans, carrots...whatever you have in the fridge.

When it's all cooked, ladle it into bowls, add a slurp of soy sauce...and EAT