Recipe devised by Hugh Jones, plot holder at Beaumaris Allotments, Anglesey. Hugh is also Head Chef at the Bulkeley Hotel, Beaumaris.
Recipe for 4-6 people
3 carrots
3 celery sticks
2 garlic cloves
1 large onion
½ small pumpkin
2 pinches of chilli powder
½ teaspoon of chilli flakes
½ teaspoon of cumin powder
2 pints of water with 3 stock cubes
Pouring cream to your liking
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop and fry the vegetables in oil/butter with the spices until softened. Place in a saucepan and simmer with stock for 10-15 min or until it thickens Liquidise until smooth Add cream and season to taste. If you like you can garnish with fried cubes of pancetta. Eat and enjoy!
Spiced Pumpkin Soup with Bacon
Recipe from Nigel Slater's "The Kitchen Diaries". Contributed by Jill Anker. Enough to serve 4/6
Ingredients 1 medium onion 2 garlic cloves 50g butter 900g pumpkin 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 2 teaspoons cumin seeds 2 small dried chillies 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock 4 rashers smoked bacon 100ml single cream
Method Peel and roughly chop the onion. Peel and slice the garlic. Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan and cook the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Meanwhile, peel the pumpkin, remove the stringy bits and discard. (Wash and save seeds!) Chop flesh into rough cubes and add to the onion. Cook until the pumpkin is golden brown at the edges.
Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a small pan over a low heat for about two minutes, until they start to smell warm and nutty. Keep the pan to one side for later. Grind the roasted spices in a coffee mill or with a pestle and mortar. Add them and the crumbled chillies to the onion and pumpkin. Cook for a minute or so, then add the stock. Leave to simmer for twenty minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.
Fry the bacon in the pan in which you toasted the spices. It should be crisp. Cut up into small pieces with scissors. Blend the soup until smooth, add the cream and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. Return to the pan, bring almost to the boil and then serve, piping hot, with the bacon bits scattered on top.
Courgette Soup
Instructions Place onions, celery and courgettes into a pan with the butter and cook gently with the lid on for 5 minutes. Add half a pint of hot water and continue to cook for another 20 minutes until all the ingredients are cooked through Season the ingredients and then add to a blender to blitz, until smooth. At this stage, you may need to add more water to get the right consistency. Season to taste and then serve hot with a swirl of single cream and chopped chives.
Ingredients 4 large courgettes, sliced 2 medium onions, peeled 1/2 pint of water 1 stick of celery, chopped Knob of Butter Chopped chives A little single cream