Pea and Broccoli Soup

Pea and Broccoli Soup

My husband's parents recently visited us from Scotland. Actually they were at the end of an enviable round the world trip so were full of great stories. My Mother in law makes a great soup, so I immediately put her on soup duty while staying with us. She did not disappoint.

After they left and inspired by her, I resolved to make soups more often. My little one who is extremely veggie averse, will often eat a soup. It needs to be pureed into an orangy red color though... This one unfortunately doesn't meet her requirements but is nevertheless a delicious soup. It's creamy and smooth, hearty and healthy. I loved it, my older daughter enjoyed it and my husband could not get enough.

In was in "use it up" mode when I made this soup; I had a small amount of split peas needing finished, broccoli reaching the end of it's life and half a carton of veg broth needing used up. Here it what happened:

Pea and Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

1 medium onion chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced or chopped finely
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pinches dried thyme (or fresh if you have it)
3/4 cup split peas
3 small heads of broccoli chopped into small florets and stems chopped
1 1/2 quart/ approx 1 1/2 litres broth/stock ( I used half chicken half veg broth)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot on medium heat 
2. Add the onions and garlic and reduce to medium/low for approx 15 mins 
3. Cook the onions until softened and translucent not caramelized 
4. Stir in the thyme and cook a further couple of minutes 
5. Add the broth and split peas and bring to a boil 
6. Reduce to a simmer and cover for approx 15 minutes 
7. Add the broccoli and simmer a further 10 minutes or until everything is soft 
8. Adjust seasoning as needed the puree the soup

This soup has a creamy almost cheesy note to it, but if it's not hitting the spot, crumble either feta or goats cheese on top.


Enjoy!

Cheesy Soda Bread

Cheesy Sodabread

As promised weeks ago, I give you Cheesy Soda Bread! Who doesn't like the sound of that?!

This recipe is largely Rachel Allen's from her "Food for Living" book. However, unlike traditional scones or most wheaten bread recipes, these contain no butter. The small amount of cheese is not worth worrying about, particularly if you use a very strong cheddar which will yield lots of great flavor for a small sprinkling. Finally, I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour for half of the regular flour to up the wholegrain ante. You could just as easily sub regular whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour if you cant get whole wheat pastry.

All in all, you can feel good about your waistline while you tuck into these babies. As I explained in my last post, I served these with eggs poached in home made tomato sauce and they were just the ticket to sop up the sauce. Who doesn't love a bit of cheese with their eggs too? Obviously these are suitable for endless occasions. Rachel recommends a number of changes to the basic recipe; chopped chives, or other herbs, or go the sweet route with raisins or chocolate. Amazingly I haven't tried the chocolate option yet but it's just a question of time. It would be really delicious.

Cheesy Sodabread

Ingredients

1/2 lb/ 1 3/4 cups regular flour

1/2 lb 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or whatever ww flour you have on hand)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

400 ml/ 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

3 oz grated strong cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F or 250°C. If you have a pizza stone put it in the middle of the oven
2. Place the dry ingredients on a bowl and mix well using a whisk
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk 
4. Stir in a circular motion using your hands until just mixed 
5. The dough will be soft but not so sticky that you cannot work with it.
6. Place the dough on a floured board and shape it into a large flat round approx 3/4 in deep.
7. Cut out the scones using a cutter of your choice or cut them into shapes (see above for my random ones!)
8. Sprinkle and press a little cheese on the top of each scone
9. Place the scones on a floured baking tray and into the oven. If you're using a pizza stone, slide the scones off a floured pizza paddle onto the pizza stone already in the oven
10. Bake for 10-20 mins depending on the size of your scones.The scones will be done when they look golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Master this most basic of recipes and take it in 10 different directions. Chocolate chips are next on my list of add ins!

Enjoy!