3 Winter Warmers: 1) Spinach, Tofu & Miso Soup

Because the weather has been (and, as it appears, will continue to be) cold for the foreseeable future, I've decided to post some of my favourite soup recipes for you to try at home.

Soup, in general, is easy to make. All you need is stock, vegetables and meat (optional). It's a great way to use up unwanted veg and freezes very well too (as long as there is no cream). The best thing about making your own soup is that you can experiment with so many different flavours and styles just by the ingredients you use. I always make a huge pot of soup and it lasts for days.

To get you started, here are three of my favourite recipes.

Spinach, Tofu & Miso Soup

I was worried when I first made this particular dish as my parents are the traditional Irish parents, whose concept of soup ranges from Chicken to Mushroom or (if they are being fancy) Carrot & Coriander. So making a miso soup with tofu was completely out of their comfort zone. After explaining what tofu was to them, they loved it and had 2 bowls each. I think that says it all. 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Onion (finely chopped)

1 Carrot (finely chopped)

1 inch Root Ginger (finely chopped/ crushed)

1 clove Garlic

2 1/2 pints Vegetable Stock

250g Tofu

250g Spinach

2 tbsp Miso Paste

Spring Onion (to garnish)

Method:

• Fry onions & carrot for 3 minutes until onions are translucent.
• Add ginger & garlic and fry.
• Add vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
• Add tofu and allow to boil for 2 minutes.
• Add spinach, bring back to boil and cook until spinach has wilted. 
• Bless miso with a little cold water to a pouring consistency. 
• Remove soup from heat and stir in the miso. 
• Serve with sprinkled spring onion. 
• Enjoy

Snowed in so decided to go wild: Jiǎozi (Chinese Dumplings)

So today I am stuck at home. Our heating is broken so I am stuck under a duvet in from of the TV. Also because of the frost we have little/no water so all in all a very fun day. Amid all this I have gotten a huge craving for dumplings. I have only had them twice and that was in a Tibetan restaurant near the Red Light district in Amsterdam but they are amazing and (I have now learned), really easy to make.

From my research online, it really seems like you can put anything you want into these dumplings, depending on what meat/ veg you have around so it is really versatile. This recipe is a mixture of a few different versions. You can also add whatever spices or sauces you want to the filling to add some interesting flavours. Also dumplings can be boiled, shallow fried or steamed. When I made mine I shallow fried them so that is the recipe I will detail below.

Dough:

Ingredients:

375g All-purpose Flour

230ml Water

1/4 tsp Salt

Filling:

Ingredients:

200g minced beef or pork

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Ground White Pepper

1 tbsp Rice Wine/ Sherry

3 tbsp Sesame Oil

1 Spring Onion (finely chopped)

200g Cabbage/Lettue/Spinach (finely shredded)

2 slices of fresh Ginger (finely minced)

4 tbsp shredded Bamboo Shoots

1 clove Garlic (finely minced)

Method:

• Stir the salt into the flour. Stir in the cold water, adding as much as is necessary to form a smooth dough. Don't add more water than is ncessary. Knead the dough into a smooth ball. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Add the soy sauce, salt, rice wine and white pepper to the meat and mix. This seasons the meat before you add the vegetables. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a roll 12 inches long and cut each roll into 1/2-inch slices. You don't need to get a ruler out, you can just do this by eye.
• Roll 1 slice of dough into a (approx) 3-inch circle. Place one level tablespoon of the filling in the centre. Lift up the edges of the circle and pinch 5 pleats up to create a pouch to encase the mixture. Pinch the top together. I rolled out 4 or 5 pieces of dough at a time and then filled them. I think it saves time. 
• Heat a wok or nonstick skillet until very hot. Add 1 tbsp of oil, tilting the wok to coat the sides. Place  dumplings in a single layer in the wok. You might only fit 7 or 8 dumplings in a wok at a time so you may need to do this in batches. Fry dumplings for 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.
• Add 110ml of water. Cover and cook 6 to 7 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
• You can serve these just soy sauce, or mix soy with 1 tbsp of Sesame oil for a lovely dipping sauce.
• Enjoy
   

Moroccan Delight: Kefta Tagine (Meatballs with Eggs)

First of all I have to say that this is not my recipe. I got it from The Hairy Bikers. I must also thank my good friend Mark-o for making this dish for me when I visited him in London. It is a very simple dish and just proves my point that, with a good press full of herbs, you can make anything. It also reaffirms my belief in the power of tinned tomatoes from Lidl as a cupboad essential. Again I used my trusted cassarole dish instead of a tagine (because I have no idea where to find one in Wexford!)

Meatballs

Ingredients:

500g/1lb 2oz Minced Beef or Lamb

1 Onion (very finely chopped)

3 Cloves Garlic (Crushed)

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

1 tsp Paprika

Small handful Coriander Leaves (Finely chopped)

Small handful Parsley (Finely chopped)

1 Egg Yolk

Salt & Pepper

Tagine

 Ingredients:

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 Onion (Finely chopped)

2 tbsp Tomato Puree

400g Tin Chopped Tomatoes

2 tbsp Honey

200g Frozen Peas

4 Eggs

Parsley for garnish

 

 Method:

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl. Season and mix very well. Shape the mixture into small balls.

• Use a tagine (if you can find one) or a heavy-bottomed cassarole dish. Heat olive oil and fry the onions until translucent. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides.

• Mix the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes and honey together and add to the dish. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the peas to the dish and stir.

• Crack the eggs on top of the dish. Cover and bake in the oven until cooked. 

• Garnish with a little chopped parsley and serve with Coucous. 
• Enjoy

Winter Warmer: Irish Beef in Guinness Cassarole

Another firm favourite. Perfect for the cold winter nights. Similar to the slow roasted meatballs, I brown the beef in the cassarole dish itself on the hob before putting it in the oven. The Guinness adds so much subtle flavour to the dish that I would nearly make double the amount and have it for a few days.

Ingredients:

1kg (2.2lbs) of good quality beef

1 tablespoon flour

25g/1oz butter

Olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 celery stalk, diced

250ml/10fl oz Guinness

250ml/10fl oz beef stock, fresh made from a beef stock cube

A good pinch of salt and a few grindings of freshly ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

Fresh thyme leaves, stripped from 4 stalks 

Method: 

• Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas Mark 3. 
• Melt the butter and a little olive oil in a large casserole on the stove (make sure it can also be used in the oven). Add the salt and pepper to the flour mixture, stir well and toss the beef in it. Take out the beef, shake and fry in the butter/oil until browned.
• Remove the beef to a plate. Scrape up the bits from the bottom of the casserole and add the onion, garlic, diced carrot and celery to the casserole. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Add the beef to the casserole, add the Guinness, stock, salt, pepper, bay leaf and thyme. Cover the casserole and bake in the oven until the meat is cooked - this can take between an hour and a half and two hours. You need to stir it a few times in between and add some boiling water to top up if it needs more juice. 
• Serve immediately on its own, or with some good bread or mashed potatoes.
• Enjoy

All Time Favourite: Mushroom Risotto

This is one of my very favourite dishes. It was first made by my good Italian friend Andrea (who actually is a chef) as a going away dinner for himself. It was so amazingly delicious that I had to get the recipe. Some of the ingredients (like truffle oil and the Porchini mushrooms) are optional but LIDL are now stocking the mushrooms so you can get them cheaply now. I have often doubled the recipe and cooked a huge pot of this for 8-10 people. It takes much longer for the water to absorb so, if you are doing this, give yourself plenty of time....I didn't and was completely stressed :-(

Ingredients:

350g Mushrooms

2 Bags Saffron

1 Red Onion

1/2 Carrot

2 Cloves Garlic

50g Butter

1 Glass Dry White Wine

430g Rice

30g Dried Porcini mushrooms (optional)

3 litres Mushroom/ Vegetable Stock 

Parsley

Truffle Oil

Method:

• Boil 3 Litres of Water & create stock (stock cubes etc) 
• Chop Mushrooms thinly, put stems into the stock to boost the flavour.
• Soak the Porchini mushrooms in hot water until soft.
• Lightly fry all the mushrooms and remove from pan. Drain.
• Slowly Fry the garlic, carrot and onions until onions are golden brown.
• Add butter and allow to melt.
• Add white wine and allo to evaporate.
• Add uncooked rice and fry for 2 minutes.
• Dilute saffron in hot water and add to rice.
• Add a small amount of stock and allow to absorb.
• Add mushrooms and more stock.
• Gradually add stock, allowing the liquid to be absorbed by the rice before adding more.
• Once the rice is cooked, add parsely.  
• Cover pan with a towel and allow to rest for a few moments before serving. 
• Drizzle with truffle oil before serving.
• Enjoy

Carrot & Ginger Soup

Just a quick and easy recipe. I had some leftover veg so made this simple but delicious soup. I didn't have fresh ginger so I used pickled ginger which worked just as well.

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil (or unsalted butter)
200g onions (diced)

600g peeled & sliced carrots
1 1/2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger root 

1 Litre vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
100ml. orange juice
300ml milk (you may use 1/2  milk, 1/2 cream)
Salt
Paprika

Menu:

• Saute the onions in the olive oil in a large pot. Use low to medium heat; the onions should cook but not brown. Stir constantly, 3 to 4 minutes. 
• Add carrots, ginger and broth and simmer 25 to 30 minutes until carrots are tender.
• Puree the whole potful in the blender. Blend as long as necessary to get rid of all the lumps. Return to large pot. 
• Stir in orange juice and milk. 
• Season to taste with salt and paprika. Heat but do not let boil.
• Enjoy

Comfort Food: Slow Roasted Meatballs with green beans and Roasted Sweet Potato

So this is one of my favourite comfort food recipes. It is a variation on something I had when I worked in Amsterdam. It may not be the most refined dish but believe me, when it comes to comfort food, this is the shizzle!

I slow roast the meatballs but you can, of course, make them smaller and cook them quicker in the oven but I find, for the real gorgeous taste, slow roasting for an hour or two works best. I use green beans in this recipe but it is one of those great recipes where you can put almost any vegetable with it and it will still work.

Ingredients:

800g Mince Beef

2 Onions

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Egg

200g Green Beans

2/3 Sweet Potatoes

500ml Beef Stock (you can add more if you want more sauce)

1tsp Cornflour (or 2tsp regular Flour)

Flour

2 tbsp Butter

Salt & Pepper

Thyme

Method:

• Start by making the meatballs. Slice half an onion and garlic very finely. Add mince, salt & pepper, egg and flour and mix together. The amount of flour you use depends on how "wet" the mixture is. You want the meatballs to hold their shape but not be too sticky. 
• Preheat oven to 150°C.
• Take a handful of the meat and roll it into a ball, using more flour to help stop it sticking to your hands. Make sure the balls are tightly compact so they don't fall apart when cooking. 

• Next you want to brown the meatballs on the pan. I use a cast iron cassarole dish so I put that directly on the head, but you can just transfer then over after browning. Add butter and a bit of Olive Oil to the pan and heat. Add the meatballs and fry until brown on all sides. Place in a cassarole dish and add the rest of the onion, green beans and stock. Put in oven.
• For the Sweet Potato you can either add it to the dish before it goes in the oven, or roast it separately. If you want to roast separately, then cut the potato into large strips and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and thyme. 
• The meatballs will take about 1hr 30mins - 2hrs to cook. The sweet potato will only take approx. 30-45mins. 
• When the meatballs are almost done, mix the cornflour with a bit of water and add it to the stock. Put it back in the oven for another while. This will thicken up the stock into a lovely sauce. 
• To serve, I place a layer of sweet potato on the bottom of the dish, then spoon 2 meatballs on top and place the green beans and sauce over it. 
• This recipe will serve 3-4 people or 2 really hungry people.
• Enjoy

For those wet and windy Halloween days: Roasted Pumpkin Soup

I have made pumpkin soup before, but that was the usual "throw it all in a pot and boil" soup (which is still yummy), but I recently heard on the radio that roasted pumpkin is lovely too so decided to have a look for roasted pumpkin soup recipes online. I found this recipe on www.bestrecipes.com.au and it seemed to work a treat. Apart from the pumpkin, all the other ingredients are those you would have lying around, so it's a good way to use up some veg as well. The recipe called for the pumpkin to be peeled, seeded and cubed but I wanted to keep the outside for carving so I just used an ice-cream scoop to take out the pulp.

Ingredients:

750g pumpkin

2 Carrots (coarsely chopped)

2 Onions (coarsely chopped)

2 Cloves Garlic (peeled)

1 Large Potato (diced)

1 Litre Water

2/3 Chicken Stock Cube (to create 1L of stock so depending on size of cubes)

1 Cup Cream

1 tsp Ground Nutmeg

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200°C
• Place pumpkin, carrot, onion and garlic in a baking dish.
• Drizzle with Olive Oil, season and bake for 40 minutes or until soft. 
• In a large pot, boil water and add stock cubes. Cook potato in the simmering water until soft. 
• When the roasted veg is cooked, combine all ingredients and mix in a food processor (or handheld mixer)
• Return to a low heat and gently stir in cream, nutmeg, pepper and salt. Heat gently before serving.
• Enjoy

Due to phenominal demand (well...5 people): Deep-Fried Brie with Cumberland Sauce

This is a dish I serve in the restaurant Corkscrew that I work in. Credit due to Joe. I finally tried making it at home last Sunday and both my parents loved it. It's a really easy thing to make and is delicious as a starter or for a lunch. You could even make the brie smaller and have it as warm finger food at parties.

As for the Cumberland Sauce, it is, again, real easy to make but I would suggest making it in advance so it can cool down. I don't have the exact same recipe as the sauce I used (because I didn't make it) but I have found a very good alternative. You will find the Redcurrant Jelly for this recipe near the Mint sauce etc. in the supermarket as it is used moreso as an accompaniment for meat dishes.

Cumberland Sauce

Ingredients:

8 tbsp Redcurrant Jelly

75ml Port

80ml Orange Juice

Method:

• Combine Ingredients in a pot and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.
• Allow to cool. 

You can jazz up the sauce with grated orange/lemon peel, salt & pepper, mustard or even some cayenne pepper. It all comes down to what you like.

Deep-Fried Brie

Ingredients:

1 block of Brie Cheese (cut into1 inch pieces)

Flour

1 Egg (whisked)

Breadcrumbs

Method:

• Place Flour, Egg and Breadcrumbs in 3 seperate bowls.
• Coat cheese in Flour, then dip in the Egg mixture, making sure that all of the cheese is covered. Then place cheese into the breadcrumbs, again making sure it is well coated.
• Place in a hot deep-fat fryer (or pot of oil) and cook until golden brown. 
• Serve on a bed of salad leaves and drizzle with Cumberland Sauce. 
• Enjoy

 Dr. D

What a way to use up vegetables: Spinach Gnocchi

Even though I still have big pot full of Ricet on the cooker, it's time to make another dish. We have a load of potatoes that need to be used up, as well as spinach growing in the garden that have to be harvested. So what better way to use them up then to combine them in one lovely dish.

I love making gnocchi. It's a bit of work to make but it's really delicious. To make it easier for me I bought a Mouli or Food Mill. It's such an great little invention that makes making restaurant quality mashed potatoes so easy (also good for soups and sauces).

Just pile the potatoes in and turn the handle.



But back to the Gnocchi. They are basically dumplings made from potatoes, similar to German schupfnudeln but served with the tradional Italian pasta sauce. This varient has spinach for extra taste and texture. Obviously you can vary the amount of potatoes and flour you use. I usually find that, depending on the quality of potatoes, you may need more or less flour. A lot of it is by eye.

Spinach Gnocchi

Ingredients:

450g Spinach leaves
1kg potatoes, unpeeled - use a floury potato such as a King Edward or roosters
1 egg (beaten)
300g flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated parmesan, to serve

Method:

• Finely shred the spinach leaves. Wilt in a large saucepan with a little water. Drain in a colander and squeeze well, ensuring that all of the excess liquid is removed. Allow to cool.
• Place the unpeeled potatoes in a pot of cold water and bring to the boil. Allow to cook for about 30 minutes, until they are soft in the centre. Remove from the pot and peel the skins while still hot. (this can be a bitch to do because the potatoes are....well...HOT. What I found best is to use a handheld cheese cutter. It makes light work of the skins)
• Mash the potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. I use the mouli for this to get a fine mash but a normal kitchen masher is fine.
• Then add the egg, mixing quickly to prevent the egg from cooking. Add the spinach and half the flour to the potato mixture and mix thoroughly. As stated earlier you may need more or less flour depending. You want the potatoe mixture to resemble dough.
• Sprinkle the rest of the flour on the work surface and knead the potato and spinach mixture until the dough is pliable. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. 
• Using your fingertips, roll out each portion until it's about 2cm thick. Cut each of the 8 rolls into 2cm diagonal pieces and place on a floured tray. Space them evenly to prevent sticking. 
• Bring a pot of water to boil with 2 tbsp salt. 
• Add the gnocchi and stir gently. When they are done, the gnocchi should float to the top after about 2 ½ -3 minutes then take them out using a slotted spoon.

You can serve gnocchi with a nice pasta sauce or even just some olive oil and grated parmesan cheese.

Another varient I like to do is to fry the cooked gnocchi in butter to give a crispy coating on the outside. Because they are soft on the inside, I have found that my neices love to eat these as well as a snack.

Now because I already have dinner for tonight, I'm going to actually freeze these. The best way to do it is to:

• Spread the uncooked gnocchi on a baking sheet making sure that they don't touch. 
• Put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes until they have started to freeze. 
• You can then put them in freezer bags and they won't stick together. 
• Put the bags in the freezer.
• When you want to cook them, just boil the water and drop them in while still frozen. Then, once they float, give them another minute or two and then take them out with the slotted spoon and serve as normal. 
• Enjoy.

Dr. D

For Tomorrows Dinner: Ričet (Slovenian Stew)

I've made this dish many times and it is always a success. I first tried it on a trip to Slovenia with friend from various countries (including Slovenia of course). One of the days we walked for 2 hours up to the top of a mountain and there, on the plateau, was a wooden house that served as a restaurant for walkers.

Ričet is very similar to Irish Coddle, only instead of normal sausage, Chorizo is used. It's a hearty winter dish that is easy to make and a real comfort food. I'm actually getting hungry thinking about it.

Ingredients:

300g Barley

300g Chorizo Sausage

2 Litres Salted Water

1 Garlic clove (chopped)

1 Bay Leaf

1tbsp Garlic clove (minced)

2 Celery Stalks (chopped)

2 Carrots (chopped)

1 Onion (chopped)

1 Tomato (chopped)

2tbsp Lard

2tbsp Flour

1 Stock Cube

1 Cup Kidney Beans (I just use a normal tin of Kidney Beans)

2tsp Parsley (Dried or Fresh it doesn't matter)

Pepper to Taste

Method:

• Place washed Barley and chopped Chorizo sausage into salted water in a large pot. Boil for 60 minutes.
• Crumble stock cube into soup. Add Garlic, Parsley, Celery, Onion, Carrots, Bay Leaf, Tomato, Beans and Pepper and cook until tender.
• Heat the lard in a separate saucepan. Add flour and cook until brown. 
• Add this mixture to the soup (be careful it may spit when the hot lard meets the water). 
• Simmer for 10 minutes. 
• Enjoy!

The great thing about this dish is that is can last you for a few days. When it is cool it becomes really thick and solid so you can just add more water to it before you heat it back up. 

Hope you enjoy trying it. Let me know if you do and what you think.

Dr. D

Welcome

Welcome to my Food Blog.


I'm passionate about food and have picked up recipes from my travels around the world and from my many friends around the world. Any new food I taste I try to get the recipe and am constantly searching online and in books/magazines for new and interesting recipes. As I try them I will be posting them on this blog for you all to see and perhaps try yourself.

If you have any interesting recipes yourself, feel free to let me know and I will try them and post them on here as well.

Hope you enjoy.

Dr. D