Mushroom Soup

This is soooo good. It is a recipe for Swiss Brown Mushroom Soup from April's SFI magazine. But try getting swiss brown mushies here! I used some on special regular mushies, $2 a kilo use today or else mushies. Otherwise they are $12 a kilo and thats too dear for soup. Enjoy. 2 tablespoons oil 20g butter 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 400 g mushrooms, sliced 1/2 cup dry white wine 2 1/2 cups chicken stock 300ml pure cream Heat the oil and butter in large saucepan or My Precious over a medium heat. Cook onion, stirring for 5 to 6 minutes until softened and just starting to leave yummy caramel bits on the bottom. Add garlic and mushrooms. Cook and stir for 5 to 7 minutes until mushrooms are just tender. Add wine. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until wine is almost gone, then add stock. Cover, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then blend till smooth with a stick blender. Add the cream, and stirring occasionally, cook till heated through but not boiling. Ladle into bowls and slurp away!

French Onion Soup

The other day we went to the local markets and picked up a big bag of onions for 2 dollars. KISA thought French Onion Soup would be a good idea, I so I found this recipe at Taste.com.au. It looked simple enough, just needed time. So I got out My Precious and the mandolin and got started. It was sublime. It takes ages to do the onions but worth every second for the flavour. No wonder onions are my favourite vegetable. Yes, they truly are.

Here Tis,

Serves 6. (Yeah right!) Try 4

60g butter

2 tablespoons oil

1kg brown onions, thinly sliced (I used a mandolin, saves time and tears and fingertips)

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons plain flour

4 cups beef stock (I used a 1 litre tetra pak of beef stock, continental I think)

Heat butter and oil in a heavy based saucepan or dutch oven over a medium low heat till sizzling. Add onions and 1 teaspoon salt.

Cook uncovered, stirring often for 45 to 50 minutes until onions are very soft. Don't let them catch. This is the PIA bit. But they taste bloody fantastic just as is by the time they are done.

Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring a lot for 10 minutes until onions caramelise. Again watch they don't catch, they will be a lovely brown colour by now.

Add flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Add stock and 2 cups of water. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes to combine flavours.

This is supposed to be served with slices of baguette with melted swiss cheese on top. I just made a toasted cheese sandwich and we had it on the side.

SO. SO. GOOD!

Chicken and Corn Noodle Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 tbs oil
few drops sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 cups chicken stock (home made best)
2 tsp Massel Chicken Stock powder
1 440g tin creamed corn
1 slab 2 minute noodles
chicken meat, cooked leftovers, maybe 2 cups worth, 1/2 BBQ chicken or 4 drumsticks etc

Fry onion and garlic in oils for 5 minutes or so, add stock, bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes. Add corn and chicken and noodles, simmer 5 minutes.
This is very hearty and will feed 4 generously.

If you like you can use the 2 minute noodle flavourings instead of the Massell stock powder. I have unflavoured noodles on hand usually. If you don't have much chicken, drizzle a couple of beaten eggs into the hot soup will stirring, to boost the protein.

Cauliflower and Bacon Soup

1 tbs oil

2 small onions, chopped

4 rashers bacon, chopped

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 cup white wine

4 cups chicken stock (OXO)

300ml of single cream



Fry the onions and bacon in the oil till soft and bacon is cooked. Add the cauliflower and the wine, stir a little then add the stock, cover and cook till cauliflower is soft.Blend soup using a stick blender or a food processor, add cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. If you leave out the bacon it has a lovely creamy texture. You could add fried bacon after blending.

Mulligatawny Soup

It is wet and windy here. So we are stuck indoors and it is soup weather. KISA wanted me to try a mulligatawny as he had one in Tasmania and loved it. So I googled it and found this one. Tweaked it, he loved it so now it is appearing here for you all to try.

Mulligatawny Soup

3 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1/2 green capsicum, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1 litre chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
good grind black pepper
2 sprigs parsley, whole
1 tin tomatoes
3 chicken thigh fillets, chopped, or 1 cup cooked chicken if you have some leftover
1/2 cup cream
1 cup cooked rice

Melt butter and stir fry onions, carrot, celery and capsicum fo 10 minutes. Add the flour and curry powder and nutmeg and stir fory for a minute or so. Add stock, salt, pepper, and tomatoes. Add raw chicken if using, simmer for an hour. Remove the parsley sprigs.
Blend soup, add cooked chicken if using instead of raw, add cream and warm through a little. Add rice and serve.
I served with the garlic bread. I was popular.

Dad's Seafood Soup

At our recent potluck birthday dinner, Dad made this soup and it was just beautiful. A phone call the next day got a basic list of ingredients but he was deliciously vague about quantities. My first attempt didn't taste quite right but will keep practicing. I will edit this again next time I make it.

2 onions, chopped.
garlic, about 4 good teaspoons crushed
tin of crushed tomatoes (I may try 2 next time)
anchovy sauce - yet to find this so I subbed 3 anchovies
oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon
assorted mixed seafood of your choice about 750g worth
cayenne pepper to taste, in our house that is about 1 tsp if it is fresh, 2 if it isn't- in yours maybe 1/4 tsp if you are shy
salt and pepper
white wine, I used 100ml, will use double that next time
cream, maybe half a cup.
stock/water (I boiled up some prawn scraps in 1litre of water for 30 mins)

Fry onions till soft, add garlic fry another minute then add cayenne fry another minute, add tomatoes, anchovy, oyster sauce, wine, stock and then simmer for a bit. Add seafood and cream, serve just a few minutes later when seafood has cooked - just. I sprinkled with chopped green onion as I had some in the fridge but any nice mild green herb like parsley or chives will do. Serve with garlic bread.

Mexican Spiced Tomato Soup

This is a recipe from "Enjoy" by Sophie Gray of Destitute Gourmet fame. I am posting this for Judy. Hi Judy!!

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 teaspoon mexican seasoning *
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
6 cups beef stock
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 cups red lentils
2 tablespoons brown sugar

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and add the onions and garlic. Fry until soft and golden.
Add mexican seasoning and stir around for a minute, then add the tomato paste, tomatoes, stock, lentils and sugar.
Bring to the boil and stir and then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
If you like it smooth, puree with a stick blender or the food processor, but I don't mind it the way it is. A dollop of sour cream is nice in this.

Pea and Ham Soup

Yesterday I went grocery shopping and at the deli counter at woolies they had ham bones. The marketing department must have decided it is soup weather, as on the same counter they had bags of yellow split peas. And since one of the ham bones was a very meaty one and looked pretty good, I figured I would play the game. So into the trolley went one meaty ham bone ($4.15) and one packet of split peas. So this is what I did with it:
Pea and Ham Soup
1 ham bone (not hocks try for a meaty leg bone)
1 500g packet yellow split peas
2 onions chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 sachet bouquet garni (like a tea bag)
good pinch whole peppercorns
12 cups water
Pop all of this into a large pot and bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 2 hours, stirring from time to time, especially as it thickens up towards the end. Just to stop it sticking. Pick out all the meat and bones with some tongs, making sure to get the tea bag bouquet garni, then use a stick blender to mush it all up till smooth (or a food processor or a regular blender, or just leave it the way it is, it is fine unblended as well). Pick the bones, skin and fat out and toss. Shred the meat (and I had lots from my bone!) and put back into the soup. If you start this about 3pm by the time your starving husband gets home from work it is nice and ready. He will nominate you for sainthood. It is that good. This stuff freezes well, but is best fresh I think.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup
This is great for using up the remains of a roast chicken.
1/2 BBQ chicken (or leftover chicken meat)
1 packet chicken noodle soup mix
10 cups water
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced small
125g beans cut small
corn kernels to taste maybe 1 cup (I substitute celery as KISA doesn't like corn)
packet 2 minute noodles, chicken flavour
lemon pepper
Cook soup mix as per the packet only add 10 cups water instead of 4. Boil the soup with the vegetables till they are soft. Add the chopped chicken meat and a packet of 2 minute noodles. Add also the flavour sachet from the noodles. Season with lemon pepper. This is more filling than it sounds!