Bread Soup

(My Easy Bread)

One of the consequences of there only being two of us in this house and eating most of the time is the fact that we have a difficult time using up a loaf of bread before it goes stale.   I really like good bread and a good loaf of bread can be somewhat expensive, so I don't like for any of it to go to waste.  It only makes sense to have a few things up your sleeves that you can do with it . . . like bread pudding and such.   I hate waste, don't you?



This is a cookery book I have had for a while, by Tamasin Day-Lewis. It's a jewel.  It's filled with lots of lovely recipes for dishes that are not only economical but also delicious.  Recipes such as this Bread Soup, which she admits to originally pinching from Anna Del Conte.



I love cooking and the beautiful chemistry that happens when you throw ingredients together.  Sometimes it is so amazing.  Who would ever think that with a few ingredients such as olive oil, stale bread, chicken stock, garlic, parsley, chilli flakes and some seasoning you could end up with a delicious soup???

 

And that is exactly what this is . . . a magically delicious soup!  Made from simple ingredients, put together in a simple manner.  Of course it stands to reason that if you are only going to be using a few ingredients, you will want them to be the best you have.  Use a good sturdy loaf of bread, a crusty country loaf, several days old.



A good chicken stock, well flavoured.  Homemade is good, but if you don't have that, a good quality store bought one works well also.



The best extra virgin olive oil your money can buy.  It matters.



Fresh parsley and  fresh garlic.    Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper.   A good cheese for grating.



Something very magical happens.   Trust me on this.  It's absolutely gorgeous!  A new favourite!  Simple.  Easy.  Delicious and Quick!

*Bread Soup*
Serves 4 
Printable Recipe

The most delicious soup from nothing but stock, bread crumbs and a bit of garlic, parsley and seasoning.  Oh, I do love recipes such as this which help to celebrate simple ingredients and methods in a most delicious way.  I believe in Italy this is called Pancotto. You will want to use a good quality rustic styled bread loaf for this, preferably a couple of days old. 

4 thick slices of stale country style bread, good quality, crusts removed

5 TBS EXTRA virgin olive oil (not the cheap every day use one)

1/2 tsp dried crushed chilies

3 dloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

a small handful of finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, about 2 TBS

1 1/2 litres of hot chicken stock (a scant 6 1/2 cups)

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

freshly grated Pecorino cheese to serve

Crumble your bread into  bits and then blitz them in a food processor for a couple of seconds, until you get a coarse crumb.  Heat the olive oil, dried chilies, garlic and parsley in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Saute for about 30 seconds until you can smell the garlic.  Tip in the bread and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the bread begins to turn golden brown.  Add the hot stock.   Cover and simmer for half an hour. 

Taste the soup and adjust seasonings as necessary.   Serve ladled out into hot soup bowls with lashings of grated Pecorino cheese on top.

Hash on a Bun . . . a delicious indulgence, or insanity?

I think the British love sandwiches more than anyone else in the world.  Walk into any shop, and I do mean any . . . and you are sure to find a variety of them, ready made, wrapped and for sale to anyone who feels in the need for some potable and portable sustenance of the this kind.   AND, they come in varities which are suitable for any meal of the day . . . breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack!

 

I recently treated myself to Nigel Slater's latest cookbook, eat.  You all know how I love Nigel and his way of cooking and eating.  That man could make anything look and sound tasty and he is the master as creating delicious and fast food out of just about anything you can get your hands on.   He has one whole chapter in this book devoted to sandwiches and the like.  My kind of guy.  My kind of cooking.



One in particular intrigued me and set my tastebuds to tingling.  This was a sandwich he created using crusty bread, beef drippings and leftover roast from the sunday dinner.  Reading about it . . . made me want one, and reading about it . . . inspired me to create my own version.  I got to thinking hash . . . roast beef hash . . . in a bun.



And so that is what I did.  I made some hash using chopped potatoes, chopped onions, chopped cabbage and some of the leftover roast from yesterday's pot roast.   I seasoned it lightly with some salt and cracked black pepper . . .



Added a touch of herb . . . in the way of summer savoury, and a hint of snap by using some Worcestershire Sauce and a dash of brown sauce.  (steak sauce to you North Americans)  I cooked that all together until the potatoes and onions and cabbage were gilded with little caramelized edges, all golden brown and sweet . . . and the meat was falling apart once more . . .

 

And then I stogged it between two halves of a crisp warm ciabatta roll . . . the bottom spread with just a touch of creamed horseradish sauce . . . a slice of Leerdammer Toastie cheese layed on top of the hot hash, so it melted down into all those gilded crevices, and topped by that crisp  roll-top . . . all that goodness tucked into a tasty and lightly crisped ciabatta suitcase and just waiting for me to tuck in . . .



Good things happen when Nigel inspires me.   Tasty things.   Things I want to indluge in again, and again . . . and again.   I am never disappointed.

*Roast Beef Hash Buns*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

A delicious way to stretch the leftovers from Sunday lunch even further.  

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped coarsely
a handful of chopped cabbage

two medium potatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely

1 small clove of garlic, peeled and minced

2 TBS hot beef stock or water

an amount of leftover cooked roast, cubes (an equal to the amount of potatoes)

1 TBS vegetable oil

1 TBS butter

fine sea salt and black pepper

1 tsp of either dried thyme or summer savoury

1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

Brown Sauce to taste  

To finish:

4 warmed ciabatta rolls

Horseradish sauce

4 slices of toastie cheese  

Heat the oil along with the butter in a large skillet.   Toss in the onions, cabbage and potatoes.   Cook stirring until they begin to turn golden brown.  Add about 2 TBS stock or hot water, a bit of seasoning, the Worcestershire sauce, brown sauce, summer savory,  and the garlic.  Turn the heat to very low, pop a lid on and cook for about 15 minutes, checking every so often to make sure they don't catch.  At the end of that time they should be knife tender.  Uncover and toss in the beef.  Cook and stir over medium heat, frequently turning it over until the meat is heated through and all is golden brown.   Taste and adjust seasoning as required.   While you are doing this, pop the ciabatta into a hot oven to heat through.


To serve, slice each ciabatta roll in half.  Spread the bottoms with some horseradish sauce (if desired) and then pile an equal amount of the hot hash on top.  Top each with a slice of toastie cheese and then the top of the rolls.  Serve immediately.  Pass the brown sauce or ketchup if desired.

Italian Wedding Soup, Paul Gayler . . . and some great cookware

I was recently sent a beautiful cookbook . . . Great Homemade Soup's, a cook's collection, by Paul Gayler.  I am no stranger to Paul Gayler's cookery books.  I already own three of them, and love them so I was really pleased to have been given the offer of this one.  I knew I was in for a real treat and I was not disappointed.

In this gorgeously presented book Paul shares a comprehensive collection of over 100 of his most appetising soup recipes alongside recipes from guest chefs including Daniel Boulud, Antonio Carluccio, Chris and Jeff Galvin, Tom Kerridge, Atul Kochhar, Pierre Koffman and Susan Spicer.



It brings you through the whole range of soupery, from basic equipment and stocks, broths and consommes, smooth and creamy soups, hearty soups, traditional soups, exotic concoctions and chilled soups.  There is something in this lovely book to suit any taste and budget, with clear and concise instructions and beautiful imagery.



Each recipe has a full colour and mouth watering photograph to accompany it (photography by Lisa Linder.)

I found the first chapter which included a brief introduction to soups, their classification, the equipment needed, some information on garnishes, accompaniments and soup toppings before detailing in step-by-step Masterclasses how to make perfect homemade soup stocks, the fundamental base to every good soup to be very informative and my favourite chapter.   There was so much to learn about soup in there . . .  and I like to think that you are never too old to learn something new.



Amongst the many soups on offer you will see such tasty delights as . . .

• Cauliflower soup with brie toasties
• Roasted pepper and aubergine soup
• Carrot, pineapple and ginger soup
• Jamaican pepper pot soup
• Soupe a l'oignon gratinee

And that's only the tip of the iceberg. Of course the proof of the pudding is always in the eating and I would never recommend a cookbook to you if I hadn't tried at least one of the recipes included.  It was really difficult to make up my mind with this book as everything looked so delicious, but I finally narrowed it down to one.



I chose his recipe for Italian Wedding Soup.  Not only did it look beautiful, but I had everything in the house that I needed in order to make it.   I had never had Italian Wedding Soup before and I was keen to try something different.



The instructions were concise and easy to follow.  Even though it was not something I had ever eaten, I knew exactly what I was supposed to do.  None of the ingredients was outrageous or difficult to find.  In fact I already had all of them in the house, although I did substitute Cavolo Nero for the lettuce, because that is what I had and what I thought would look prettiest, and I think food should be pretty don't you?



It went together beautifully . . . and the end result was a lovely soup.  Hearty enough to be a main meal once I added crusty bread on the side.  The Toddster who usually loves his soups creamy and thick, declared it to be one of the nicest soups he had ever eaten.  So in short . . . this was a real winner!

*Italian Wedding Soup*

Makes 4 hearty or 6 smaller servings  

Printable Recipe  

Hearty and delicious.  It's amazing what a few simple ingredients "married" so well together can do!

3 TBS extra virgin Olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 dlove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

1.5 litres white chicken stock (1.3 quarts)

75g of orzo or tubettini pasta (2 1/2 oz)

300g of escarole lettuce, coarsely chopped (10 ounces)

2 TBS coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley

1 egg, free range of course!

(I used large)

150g freshly grated Pecorino Romano (1 1/3 cups)

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the meatballs:

200g of minced lean beef (7 ounces)

200g of minced lean pork (7 ounces)

the grated zest of 1/4 lemon

1 free range egg, large

100g freshly grated Pecarino Romano Cheese (1 scant cup)

1 TBS coarsely chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried oregano

First make the meatballs.  Combine all of the ingredients, mixing well with your hands, in a bowl.  Season to taste and then place in the fridge to chill for an hour.  Remove from the fridge at the end of that time and then using wet hands roll into 1 inch balls.

Heat a large frying pan with 2 TBS of the oil over medium low heat.  Add the meatballs and cook, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until golden all over.   Remove with a slotted spoon to some paper towels and set aside.

Using a clean pan, over medium heat, heat the remaining oil.  Add the onion, garlic and chilli flakes and reduce heat.  Cook, stirring until softened, for about 10 minutes.  Pour the stock over all, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Add the pasta and the escarole and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.  Add the meat balls to the broth and simmer for about 5 minutes longer.  Sir in the parsley.

Whisk together the egg and Pecorino Romano in a bowl.  Slowly pour this mixture into the soup, stirring continuously and always in the same direction with a wooden spoon as you pour..  Simmer for 30 seconds over the lowers heat to cook the eggs and thicken the soup slightly.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Divide between heated bowls and serve immediately!



This was an amazing collection of soups in just one place. The author has done a great job at collecting and sharing a wide array of soups from every part of the world that will warm you inside and out.  All-in-all this is a comprehensive cookbook with amazing images throughout that will leave your mouth watering.  I give this book 10+ and highly recommend it for anyone's cookery book collection.  It would make a fabulous gift for the foodie in your life, especially if you are wanting them to make you some tasty soups to indulge in!

Book: Great Homemade Soups: A Cook's Collection
Author: Paul Gaylor
Publisher:  Jacquie Small LLP, 74-77 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF
ISBN: 9781909342231
Publication Date: 17 October 2013
Cover: Hardback
RRP: £25 UK, $30 US

 

Did you notice that beautiful cast iron casserole I was using to make my soup in???  I know isn't it gorgeous.  It is a part of the Pro Cook line of cast iron Casseroles. 



I was recently sent the ProCook Turquoise Cast Iron Casserole20cm / 2.9L Round Casserole Dish to try out and I have to say I am loving it.  I already had a much higher priced "luxury" brand cast iron casserole dish and I was keen to compare the two.  I have to say in all honesty, I can't see a difference . . . except in the price.  Seriously.   I can't speak for it's value over long term use as I have only had each of these casseroles a short time, but so far they have both performed equally.

The Pro Cook traditional cast iron range is built to last a lifetime. Hand cast from molten iron giving incredible strength and durability, topped with smart, stainless steel knobs, cast iron handles and enameled inside and out with turquoise and cream for a stunning, self-basting finish and excellent heat retaining properties.

Suitable for hob and oven cooking and for all cookers including induction, this range is ideal for long, slow cooking so you can just pop it into the oven.

One of the drawbacks would be that they are not suitable for dishwasher use.  But even Le Creuset recommend that you only wash in the dishwasher with caution.  They come with a full 25 year guarantee. (Le Creuset offers a lifetime guarantee.) Right now you can purchase this same one on their page for £32 a reduction from the regular price of £64 on the high street.

The Pro Cook Oven to Table line of Cast Iron Cookware comes in a wide range of sizes and colours and I truly feel they are good value for money spent.   I could honestly see NO discernable difference in performance between the more expensive brand cast iron cookware and this reasonably priced brand.   I highly recommend.