Taking Stock

Batches of vegetarian stock go a long way to making all the difference. Use homemade stock in soups, sauces, stews, gravy, risottos and biryani.

A very basic stock would include onions (or another member of the onion family ie leeks/shallots) plus carrots and celery. Then just go ahead and pimp it up. It's so easy to do and, best of all, uses up all your left-overs. Raid your fridge, pantry or vegetable rack. Vegetable leaves, peelings, stalks, tops and trimmings can all be thrown in the pot along with those droopy herbs. Go to the kitchen cupboard and maybe add a bay leaf and some peppercorns or a rinse out of your marmite, ketchup or mustard jar.

Chop everything up. If you have time to sweat off your vegetables in the pan or roast them in the oven before adding to the water they will give even more flavour.  Add hot water to the mixture, enough to cover. Once it comes to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for up to an hour on a low heat. Strain using a fine colander or sieve.

The liquid is ready to use immediately or can be cooled and refrigerated for a few days or frozen for up to three months in airtight boxes, freezer bags or ice cube trays. Literally stock up on stock!

Take three ingredients

Having always had a herb garden and dabbled with a veggie patch, this year I decided to do a little window sill gardening with tomatoes, chillis and basil. They are, after all, the basis for so many vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Using these three ingredients it is possible to make pasta dishes, gnocchi, risotto, soup, salad, sandwiches, pizza, bruschetta ... the list is endless.

At its simplest, a drop of oil heated in a pan with chopped chilli and some garlic (or you could use  chilli oil you've made previously) to which you add the chopped tomatoes. They will quickly absorb the flavours. Add torn basil to the tomatoes before stirring through cooked pasta. Serve in warmed bowls with a sprinkle of Parmesan substitute and a garnish of fresh basil. Simple perfection.

The three ingredients don't always need to be combined. They can be paired or used alone.
The tomatoes and chillis can be used together in Indian or Mexican cuisine or pair the tomatoes and basil in a Caprese salad.

Jerusalem Artichokes

A friend has just given me his home grown produce - Jerusalem Artichokes, aka sunroot, sun choke or earth apple. It is a species of sunflower and native to North East America. Bizarrely nothing to do with Jerusalem nor the globe artichoke.

I have roasted them like potatoes previously but understand they can be sautéed, mashed, battered and fried or puréed for soup.

They have a brown, knobbly appearance and a nutty, sweet/savoury taste.

I have googled a recipe for soup and intend to make it this week. In the meantime, I have dined out and enjoyed this smooth and creamy creation courtesy of Crafthouse, Leeds.

Celeriac and Jerusalem Artichoke veloute with olive tapenade, goat's cheese cracker - yum!

Soup and a soupçon

The temperatures have dropped, my waistline has expanded and the diets and gym memberships have risen. Lots of people are channeling their inner resolutions to do Dry January and Veganuary. Personally I like the sound of Ginuary (trying a new gin combo every day of the month); certainly it might be an antidote for tomorrow's Blue Monday when we supposedly hate the weather, our post Christmas debt and the fact that we haven't stuck to our resolutions.

So, a combination of comfort yet healthy vegetarian food, minus alcohol and without too many calories on a cold January day. What to have?

The Answer? Soup of the day. Soup every day. Super soup.

   Roasted tomato soup with creme fraiche and basil

    Roasted pumpkin soup with yogurt and pumpkin seeds

There are so many recipes for soup using a myriad of ingredients; you could probably have a different one every day of the month. And if that doesn't blow your mind, you can add a different topping every day too. There are no limits.

Below are a few ideas, just compliment the flavours:-

Oil - a drizzle of your favourite (ie truffle) or just good old extra virgin olive oil

Condiments - mustard, soy sauce, hot sauce, Hendersons ...

Seeds - toasted pumpkin, sunflower ...

Cream - creme fraiche or yogurt if you're watching your waistline, or coconut milk

Herbs - fresh, lightly fried or dried

Spices - for a warm kick

Fruit and Veg - grated in to compliment the soup - carrot, beetroot, apple ...

Dried onions - for a slight crunch

Nuts - chopped and sprinkled

Cheese - dabs of goats cheese or a Parmesan equivalent (Gran Moravia)

Croutons - any size or shape with any flavouring to float on top

Puff pastry - ditto

Cheese straws - ditto

Popcorn - plain or salted

Go on - make it a souper day.

Not on my (pumpkin) patch

Halloween this week and all things spooky, scary and sinister will creep onto the streets for trick or treating. It's an occasion for dressing up and having fun. The garden and house can be decked with spiders and cobwebs, witches and cauldrons, monsters and bats.

Pumpkins can be found in greengrocers and supermarkets, gardens and pumpkins fields. They are reasonably cheap and can be carved and displayed with a tea light inside to ward off bad spirits.

The best thing about pumpkins is actually the flesh and the seeds. It can be used in various recipes but my favourite at this time of year is soup.

- Chop the pumpkin into chunks, drizzle with oil and roast in the oven with onion, garlic and chilli

- Place in the liquidiser with vegetable stock and blitz

- Serve the soup with a soupçon of:-

- cream

- coconut milk

- olive oil

- toasted pumpkin seeds 

- fried sage leaves 

- dried chilli flakes

- nutmeg

- croutons

Pimp up your pumpkin!