Wholesome Vegetable Soup

With the long evenings creeping in, autumn steadily upon us and being back to school the vegetable soup is firmly back in action and replacing the summery salads and light lunches.   

This soup is so easy to prepare. It’s packed full of your five a day, nutritious, warm, comforting, gluten free and best of all very easy to prepare. 

I like to make a large pot of this soup and use it for lunch in work or freeze it in lunch boxes. 

It is also very cheeky served with some of the caramelised onion bread featured on the blog. 

Ingredients 

1 onion 

3 carrots 

2 parsnips 

1 leek 

3 sticks of celery 

40g butter 

2 tablespoons of olive oil 

2 litres of homemade chicken stock 

Salt and freshly ground pepper 

Parsley

To serve: 

A little dollop of Cream 

Chopped chives 

I have been making soup for a long time and I used to be constantly disappointed, lashing in copious amounts of salt and pepper and deeming it tasteless time upon time.
Finally I discovered that the secret to a well flavoured successful soup is a good homemade stock. 

I like to make mine using the leftover carcess of the roast chicken boiled up with some celery, carrots, onions, rosemary, parsley, a bay leaf and a little garlic with lots of cold water. Once the stock begins to boil leave to simmer for a few hours and then sieve and discard the bones and vegetables. Freeze in small portions for ease of use. I use my chicken stock mostly for risottos or soup and there is a huge difference to the commercial stock cubes. The flavour is so much more intense and I also find you are less thirty due to the lack of salt from commercial stock cubes. 

That being all said you can obviously still use commercial stock cubes as they can be very convenient and it is not always possible to have fresh stock available to you! 

To begin dice up all the vegetables nice and finely. 

Keeping Paleo in mind I have removed the potato from this soup and the flour to thicken it and it works just fine! 

Begin my heating some oil and a little butter. 

Fry the onions only first and allow them to sweat and soften. 

Next add in the leeks, carrots, parsnips and celery and stir to coat all the vegetables. 

Continue to stir the vegetables for a few minutes to help evenly cook and avoid burning and sticking. Generously season with some salt and black pepper. Pour in the stock and turn up the heat to boil. Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat, cover the soup and simmer gently for 15-20minutes. 

Blitz the soup in the blender and return to the heat to cook once more. 

Serve with some fresh cream and some chopped fresh parsley and chives. 

Caramelised Onion & Sage Bread

This bread is from the Ballymaloe Collection and was made by Rachel Allen the day I visited the Cookery School this summer. Bread has always been my weakness. It is the one food that I always without fail tend to over indulge in at a meal! This bread was served fresh out of the oven in Ballymaloe and was so warm and comforting. It has a gorgeous crusty exterior and soft doughy inside oozing with the caramelised onions. This bread is served best warm with lashings of Kerrygold butter melting into it. 

I baked it recently for friends and it went down a storm served alongside some smokey bacon soup. It is so easy to make if you have an electric mixer and are patient and willing to let it rise slowly. 

Ingredients

215ml warm water 

1 teaspoon of caster sugar 

1 sachet 7g of fast action yeast

15g butter or 15ml olive oil (plus a little extra for greasing the tin)

350g strong white bread flour 

1 teaspoon of salt 

For the onion mixture 

2 tablespoons of olive oil 

800g peeled and sliced thinly white onions (7-8 onions)

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper 

2 tablespoons of dried sage 

Loaf tin 12 x 23 cm (5 x 9inch) 

Begin my preparing the yeast mixture. Mix together the warm water, caster sugar, yeast and olive oil if using instead of the butter. Leave to sit in a warm place for 5-10 minutes until it foams. 

Sieve the flour and salt together into a large bowl. If using butter instead of oil rub into the flour now. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture. Using the dough hook knead the mixture for up to 6-7minutes. If kneading by hand this can take up to 10 minutes. You know the dough is ready when it is smooth and springy to touch. Grease the bowl with a little olive oil and add the smooth dough back to it. Cover with cling film and a tea towel and leave to prove for 3-4hours at room temperature until it has doubled in size. 

Once the dough is rising you can start to make the onion mixture. Using a heavy based saucepan or good non-stick frying pan heat some olive oil. Add the very thinly sliced onions and stir coating the onions. Add in the sage and season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook the onions until they begin to sizzle, once this happens turn down the heat to the lowest setting and leave to cook for 1-2hours. Over the time they will begin to turn a lovely golden colour. Keep stirring every now and then to prevent sticking. Once golden remove the onions and leave to cool before adding them to the dough. 

When the dough has doubled in size tip the cooked onions over the bowl and punch the onion mixture into the dough. Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and tuck in any of the stray onions that may fall away. Shape the dough into an oval shape and add it into the oiled loaf tin. Brush the top of the loaf with a little olive oil and leave to prove once more for 30minutes in a warm environment covered with a tea-towel.

Preheat the oven to 220℃/Gas Mark 7. 

Place the loaf in the very hot oven and bake for 10minutes and then turn the temperature down to 200℃/Gas Mark 6 and continue to bake for 30-35minutes or until golden brown on top. 

When the loaf is cooked, it should remove easily from the tin and sound hollow at the base when tapped. Allow to cool completely (up to one hour) before slicing on a wire tray. 

Enjoy with some wholesome soup!  

 

Freshly Baked Fruity Scones with Homemade Strawberry Jam

Is there anything greater than the smell of freshly baked fruit scones?! My homemade strawberry jam from Bloom is finally making an appearance with these fruity buttermilk scones. 

Scones for me are a homely, comfort loving, hit the spot, maybe i’ll have just one more kind of food. I can’t remember when I had my first scone nor can I remember when I developed my keen love affair with these little beauties but they are always a winner for me! During my four years in St. Angela’s College Sligo there were a regular ‘hit’ in our somewhat glorious canteen. Home Economics teachers will know exactly what I am talking about here! :) 

Recently in one of my favourite blogs LovinDublin they voted quote ‘Hands down best Scones in Dublin - Keoghs Cafe’ on Trinity Street. While I am bias and I have yet to try these sensational ‘mouthwatering scones’ they do look (cough) quite on par to my humble fruit scones featured below. *Link to review (http://lovindublin.com/reviews/cafe/hands-best-scones-dublin-keoghs-cafe)*.  

This featured recipe is taken from Rosanne Hewitt Cromwell’s book Like Mam Used To Make. Take it from someone who buys cookbooks on a very regular basis and relies on them for my job that you can rarely find a cookbook where you fall instantly in love with everything about it. Every recipe in her book works. Every recipe is unique. It is my best buy recipe book. This book is a absolutely credit to her. I do not know how long it took her to complete but it is a beautiful work of baking art. As you may have already discovered I am a big fan. 

These are her Buttermilk Scones which I have adapted ever so slightly to my own taste. 

This recipe makes approximately 12 scones. 

Warning - they will not be around for long! 

Ingredients: 

450g plain flour 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

1/4 teaspoon of salt 

85g caster sugar 

100g unsalted butter (cold, straight from the fridge)

280ml buttermilk 

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

75g mixed fruit (raisins & sultanas)

1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice  

Preheat your oven to 220DC/Gas Mark 7. Line two baking trays with parchment paper or grease with a little butter and a sprinkle of plain white flour. 

Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and salt into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. 

Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. 

Add the buttermilk, fruit and vanilla extract and mix until everything is all combined. Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead gently just to bring it all together. If it is too sticky add more flour to your work surface. Flatten the mixture to the same thickness of a scone cutter (3cm) and cut out rounds using a floured scone cutter. 

Place the scones evenly spaced on the prepared baking trays and brush the tops with the beaten egg. Finally I like to a cheeky tiny sprinkle to the top of each scone. 

Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 15-20minutes until risen and golden brown. 

Allow to cool on the baking trays for 5-10minutes. Serve with your jam, clotted cream and real butter. 

Bliss. 

Hope you enjoy :)

Rosanne also gives an important tip - when cutting the scones don’t twist the pastry cutter before removing it as this will stop the scones from rising properly! 

Pear & Almond Tart

I’m home from a once in a lifetime incredible trip to Sunny California where I had the best time treating my palette like a queen and sampling some of America’s finest food gems. 

Since I’ve come home from the States I’ve been flat to the max working for my second year at a Summer Camp “Smart Cooking” in Templeogue College for the past fortnight! Here I have been busy working with children and teenagers making everything from Swiss Roll to Lebanese Style Cous Cous. Needless to say I am very much back in the food zone again and dying to start baking and sharing some more dishes and recipes that I have picked up in the States and from my time in the Smart Cooking Academy Camp. 

The featured dish is a favourite of mine and I have ‘borrowed’ this recipe from the lovely Edward Hayden who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Taste of Christmas event back in 2012. His book ‘Food to Love’ is fantastic and a really staple go to book in my cookery book collection!   

This tart is a real crowd pleaser (serves up to 8people) and while it takes a little bit of effort I believe it is well worth it!       

I like to make the pastry a day in advance and leave to chill in the fridge to help speed up assembling the dish and to make the pastry easier to work with and roll. 

Ingredients: 

Sweet Pastry: 

300g plain flour 

110g caster sugar 

150g cold butter 

1 large free range egg 

There are loads of different ways to make your pastry. I am a traditionalist (and do not own a food processor) so I prefer the ‘Rubbing in’ Method. 

To begin, sieve the flour into a bowl, rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar. Beat the egg in a measuring jug and add to the mixture until it binds to form a dough. *If it does not bind together add a little cold water to help bring it together*. 

Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest and to help with ease of rolling. 

Using a 9inch/23cm flan tin, line with the chilled pastry and leave to chill in the fridge again for 20-30minutes to firm up and to prevent shrinkage at a later stage. Do not trim off excess pastry yet!  

Almond Sponge Filling Ingredients

175g soft butter  

175g caster sugar 

1/2 teaspoon of almond essence 

3 large free range eggs 

50g plain flour 

175g ground almonds  

Topping: 

6-8 canned pear halves (canned pears work best as they tend not to discolour during the cooking process) 

50g flaked almonds 

2 dessertspoons of apricot jam  

To serve: 

Vanilla Bean Ice-cream / Freshly whipped cream 

Preheat the oven to 180DC/Gas Mark 4. 

Cream together the soft butter and caster sugar and add in the almond essence to give a strong intense almond flavouring. Cream until light and fluffy. (This may take up to 5minutes depending on how soft the butter is). 

Next add in each of the 3 eggs one at a time and beat well after each. Sieve in the ground almonds and flour together and mix until everything is combined. 

Pour the wet mixture on top of the pastry lined tin until it is completely covered. 

Next carefully slice the pear halves thinly and place round side upwards on top of the almond sponge keeping them at best in their original shape. Trim off any excess pastry that may be hanging over the edge of the flan tin. You can make an indent on the edge of pastry using the back of a fork or using a crimper. 

Bake in the oven for 35-40minutes until it has a nice golden brown colour. By this stage your kitchen will smell incredible! 

After the tart has cooled completely (20-30minutes) remove it from the tin and place on a serving platter. 

Heat the apricot jam with about 2 tablespoons of boiling water in the microwave. Sprinkle some lightly toasted flaked almonds.  

Brush the tart with the boiled jam and serve alongside some vanilla ice-cream or freshly whipped cream. 

Hope you enjoy! 

Strawberry Jam

This year was my first time to visit Bloom in the Phoenix Park.  

It was without doubt a fantastic day, packed full of activities. There was a huge array of stands which catered for all age groups. The food stands were amazing and there was plenty of free samples available and loads to pick and choose from! Of course I was straight to the Bord Bia tent in search of Sheila Kelly and Nevin Maguire who gave fantastic demonstrations and cooked some lovely dishes. 

Among the many delights on show I picked myself up some beautiful fresh Keelings Strawberries and decided it is well over time to get back on my blog and start posting again! The ‘Kitchen Aid’ has been in hiding since I have been on countdown for my summer holiday to California (less than 5days away)! 

So straight after Bloom I bought myself some cute medium sized Killiner jam jars in Home Store and More for a surprisingly low €3. They are a perfect size and this batch of strawberry jam here made two full containers.

Hope you enjoy the recipe and give it a try! Jam is surprisingly very easy to make and worth the hassle! You can have some fun decorating the jam jar and labelling it as you see I did! 

I’m holding of on eating mine as i’m letting it ‘mature’ and I’m going to enjoy it with some fresh warm fruit scones after my holiday…  

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1kg strawberries 
• 650g jam sugar 
• Juice of 3 lemons  

I sterilised my jam jars in hot soapy water first and then put them into the oven on a baking tray at 180DC for 10-15minutes.  

Method: 

Remove the stem of the strawberries, wash and add to a large saucepan with the juice of the 3 lemons. (The lemon juice increases the pectin which allows the jam to set, this is required as strawberries are low in pectin).  

Cook the strawberries on a medium temperature for 5 minutes to soften.  

Next add in the sugar and cook until all the sugar has dissolved. Increase the temperature to boil for about 10minutes until it reaches setting point.

*To check if it has set, add one teaspoon of jam to a cold plate that was kept in the freezer, push it around the plate and if it wrinkles the jam is set. If it is not set boil for an additional few minutes. 

Skim away any white scum on the surface of the jam using a large spoon. Carefully ladle the jam into sterilised dry jam jars. Leave to cool for about an hour before sealing and labelling.  

Lemon Drizzle Cake

The number of people learning about my blog is starting to increase so I am starting to feel a little pressure and excitement to get the good stuff up and build this gem which I am enjoying a lot! Easter Holidays have finally arrived and I intend to experiment a lot more over the next two weeks and of course share everything along the way! 

For this post I decided to go with a classic, Lemon Drizzle Cake. 

This cake is a hit with most people I know. It always goes down well for so many reasons. The cake is so light and incredible easy to make. You can adapt it and add some poppy seeds to give it a twist and seedy element. I like to keep it very simple and classic. 

This cake is so moist and light and can last easily up to 3-4 days in a airtight container if of course you actually manage to keep it hanging around for that length of time! 

Hope you enjoy! 

Lemon Drizzle Cake 

Ingredients: 

-Zest of 2 lemons 

-225g soft butter 

-225g caster sugar 

-225g Self-raising flour 

-1/2 teaspoon of baking powder 

-4 free range eggs

-1 teaspoon of lemon extract  

Lemon Icing: 

-Juice of 1 lemons 

-200g icing sugar sieved 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 180DC. Grease one 1lb loaf tin well with butter or sunflower oil. 

Beat the butter first until soft and creamy. Add in the caster sugar and continue to beat until smooth. Add in the lemon zest and each egg one at a time. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold into the mixture using a metal spoon. 

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. 

To make the icing: 

Sieve the icing sugar and add in the lemon juice. Whisk well to remove any lumps of sugar and stir until it makes a nice paste. You may need to add more sugar depending on how much juice was in your lemon(s). Once your cakes are out of the oven pour over the smooth lemon icing and let it sizzle into the hot cake. 

Hot Cross Buns

Most days I tend to feel like I deserve a little treat and nothing gives me greater joy than spending hours in the kitchen following work preparing something with care and attention and seeing and tasting the final product. Furthermore I do think it is important to mention here that I do enjoy sharing these treats among friends and colleagues in work and do not (always) sit at home eating them all to myself! 

This evening I went with a traditional Easter treat, Hot Cross Buns.  They are easily identified by their traditional white cross on top and beautiful sticky fruit glaze. These buns were traditionally eaten on Good Friday Morning and the cross was seen as a symbol of the crucifixion. Since there is only 3 school days left till the Easter Holidays I thought what better way to get in the mood! 

They require a bit of time to prepare with three stages of proving the dough to let the yeast rise however I do believe similar to the Cinnamon Buns posted below they are very much worth the wait! 

Hope you enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

-300ml full-fat milk

-50g butter 

-500g strong flour 

-1 teaspoon salt 

-75g caster sugar 

-1 tbsp of sunflower oil

-7g fast action yeast 

-1 egg

-75g sultanas 

-50g mixed peel 

-zest of 1 orange 

-2 tsp ground cinnamon 

      For the cross:                                            

-     75g plain flour 

      10 tablespoons of water

For the glaze: 

-juice of the orange 

-75g caster sugar 

Method: 

1. Begin by heating the milk to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the butter and stir to mix. Leave to cool. 

2. Next put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add the egg. Using a wooden spoon, mix well, then bring everything together with your hands until you have a sticky dough.

3. On a lightly floured table knead the dough for 5 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for up to 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

4. Once doubled in size, add in the sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest and cinnamon. Knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed. Again Leave to rise for up to an hour until doubled in size, again covered by some well-oiled cling film to stop the dough getting a crust.

5. Divide the dough into 15 even pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with greaseproof paper, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Cover again with more oiled cling film, or a clean tea towel, then set aside to prove for a final 1 hour.

6. Finally preheat the oven to 220C. Mix the flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross – add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so you add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses. Bake for 20 mins on the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown. While the buns are in the oven heat the orange juice and sugar in a pot until sugar has dissolved and heated. 

7. Once the buns are out of the oven brush the orange syrup over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.