Spicy, basil flecked sweet potato soup

I made this to help me get over a cold and to use up some leftover ingredients, including the remaining basil from the Thai tofu.

As far as my germ-addled taste buds can tell, it’s pretty good. It goes well with rye and fig bread (smothered in butter) but any good bread will suit.

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
• 3 or 4 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 vegetable stock cube mixed with 500 mls of water
• 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
• 1 rounded teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/8 of freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 generous handful of fresh basil leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying

Method:

1. Fry the spring onions in a large saucepan until softened
2. Add the potatoes and hot stock, boil until the potatoes are tender
3. Scoop the chunks and liquid into a liquidiser and blend until smooth
4. Add the basil leaves and blend until finely chopped
5. Pour the soup back into the pan and add the spices
6. Simmer gently for a few minutes and taste to check the seasoning
7. You can also adjust the thickness by adding more water if required

Serve piping hot with your best bread and butter. If you’re serving it as a starter, I’d advise using small bowls as it can be quite filling.

Fortunately, both guests were impressed, despite my broken up tofu.

Ingredients:

• 300 ml coconut milk (I used a light version but that’s not essential)
• 1 block of silken tofu (or two if you’re feeding more than three or if you’re all very hungry)
• 6 spring onions, finely sliced on an angle
• 1/2 red onion, cut into slim half-moons
• 1 garlic clove, chopped (use more if you’re not working with members of the public the next day)
• 1 heaped teaspoon ginger purée or fresh grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Dried chilli – to taste
• Black pepper
• Salt
• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar
• Juice from half a lime
• 1 pepper, cut into chunks
• 1 carrot, cut into batons
• 1 handful of basil leaves, ideally Thai basil
• Other vegetables like fine beans cut in half, halved mushrooms or small broccoli florets can also be added
• Vegetable or groundnut oil for frying
• Rice to serve it with

Method:

1. Pat the tofu dry with kitchen towel and place it gently into a hot, oiled wok. I cut the tofu into chunks before frying which made it break up more so I recommend frying it as a single block
2. When one side has a golden brown crust (which can take a while) turn it over and let the other side brown. Then remove from the heat and allow it to drain before cutting into bite size pieces
3. Add the red onion, garlic, turmeric, ginger, chilli and pepper to the wok and fry for a minute
4. Pour in the soy and add the carrots – continue stirring
5. Put the pepper pieces in along with any other vegetables you want to use and let them fry for a few minutes
6. Pour over the coconut milk, sugar and lime juice
7. Let it bubble gently until the vegetables are tender before adding the tofu pieces to heat through
8. Check the seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper, lime, soy and sugar as necessary
9. Tear the basil leaves and drop them in

I served this with plain boiled rice but you could use noodles and mix them into the sauce instead. Flatbreads such as roti would also work well as a side dish.

I have heard some people recommend salting the tofu before cooking, to help it dry out and firm up. Have you got any top tips for frying tofu? Let me know in the comments.

I decided to make this as a kind of homage to something I ate as a child, which was a vegetable and cheese slice made with pastry. What appealed to me most about the slice was the contrast between the light crisp pastry and the rich, thick cheese sauce.

My bake replaces the pastry with a breadcrumb topping which makes it a little easier on the hips. The filling is all cooked in one big pan – no need to heat milk separately or make a roux the old fashioned way for your sauce.

Psst! You can swap the vegetables listed if they’re not your favourites. Carrots, fine beans, peas, sweet potato, broccoli and cauliflower would also work well in this dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion
• 1 leek
• 4 chestnut mushrooms
• 1 pepper
• 1 large tomato (deseeded)
• 2 corn on the cob or 2 big handfuls of frozen or canned sweetcorn
• 1 courgette
• 2 generous handfuls of grated strong cheddar
• 1 dessert spoon of plain flour
• 2 teaspoons of English mustard powder or English mustard
• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4-1/2 pint of semi-skimmed milk
• 1 thick slice of white bread or 2-3 slimmer slices
• Fruity olive oil
• Dried herbs, e.g. 1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence plus 1/2 teaspoon each of sage, basil and rosemary

Method:

1. Chop all of the vegetables except the sweetcorn into medium fine dice and fry in olive oil
2. Mix in the plain flour and seasonings
3. Add the milk in small batches, mixing each time
4. Stir in the cheese
5. Stand each corn on the cob on one end and hold them steady while you strip the nibs off by running your knife down the sides
6. If the nibs remain in long strips, chop them up quite roughly and then add them to the other vegetables
7. Remove from the heat and transfer into a small but deep-sided baking dish
8. Chop the bread into chunks and blend in a food processor along with a generous glug of your favourite olive oil
9. When the breadcrumbs have reached your desired consistency, stir in the herbs and pour the crumbs onto the vegetables
10. Bake at 220°C for 10 minutes. It’s ready when the sauce is bubbling at the sides and the crumbs are golden brown

As with my childhood cheese and veg slice, this goes well with ketchup and baked beans. It doesn’t need any other carbohydrates as the breadcrumb topping and cheese sauce are quite filling.

Enjoy!

Omit the nuts for allergy sufferers, or those who prefer their tarts to have a softer consistency.

Ingredients:

• Pastry (made with 8oz plain flour, 4oz butter, a pinch of salt and some water – or shop-bought)
• 1 leek, finely sliced (not including the tough, dark green end)
• 1 medium potato
• 2 handfuls of extra mature grated cheddar
• 1 tablespoon of crème fraîche
• 1 teaspoon of paprika, smoked, sweet or hot
• 1 tablespoon of crushed, toasted hazelnuts
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Line a tart tin with the shortcrust pastry and bake blind for 10 minutes at 220°C
2. Fry the leeks in oil until softened
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche, nuts and half the cheese. Add the paprika, salt and pepper
4. Take the tart crust out of the oven and cover evenly with the leeks
5. Peel the potato and slice as thinly as you can. Layer the slices over the top of the leeks until the whole tart is covered
6. Sprinkle the remaining cheese, a dash of olive oil and a liberal pinch of pepper on top
7. Bake for a further 15 minutes at a reduced temperature (190-200°C) until the potato slices are cooked and the cheese is bubbling
8. Slice and serve hot with bread, beans or just ketchup

If you’re making your own pastry, chop the butter and use a knife (not your best) to cut it into the flour. When the knife has done most of the mixing, use your fingertips to work the fat in further, to get it evenly distributed throughout the flour. Add salt and a little water and use the knife again to work the water in. When the mix is quite stiff, use your hands to work it into a smooth dough, adding water as necessary. Rest the dough, wrapped in clingfilm, in the fridge for half an hour before using.

This post isn’t a recipe but rather a review of some recipes which fellow cake fans and spice lovers may appreciate. I’ve included relevant links and tips.

Mince pies

Mince pies are the best of all Christmas foods, as long as they’re nicely made! For me, factory ‘perfect’ pastry and sadly moderate-flavour mincemeat are an injustice to the season.

Homemade mincemeat is very easy to make and tastes SO much better than what you get in the shops. You can modify it to suit your own taste, leave the alcohol out for tee-totallers and keep it vegetarian using vegetable suet instead of the traditional pig or beef based variety. To make my mincemeat I abide by Delia Smith’s classic recipe. I make half the mix which is enough for about 30 mince pies. (I don’t make them all at once!)

This year I substituted most of the sultanas and currants for dried, chopped figs and this proved very popular.

To make the pastry you’ll need 2:1 flour and fat (butter and lard or just butter), a pinch of salt, some water and any spices or citrus zest you’d like to add. Again, Delia has the classic recipe and method. Don’t be scared!

Making the mincemeat is a two day process and putting the little pies together can also be time consuming. I still think it’s worth it though, for an extra special treat!

Cinnamon buns

Internet to the rescue again! I came across this recipe following a mention of cinnamon buns on Twitter. Like the mince pies, it’s a little time consuming (think a couple of hours rather than a couple of days though).

They are soft, light and delicious. Even better, they look more complicated than they are!

If you love cardamom and cinnamon these bread treats are for you. Well worth trying!

PS. I also halved this recipe, which made plenty of buns for me, my husband and several friends.

PPS. Dried yeast works fine – I used a couple of teaspoons.

Unbaked, un-squashed cinnamon buns

Nordic Baking

You may have noticed that Scandinavian cuisine is becoming trendy (hence the cinnamon buns). I’d originally suggested the new book from @scandilicious might be a good Christmas present but my in-laws surprised me with the Nordic Bakery Cookbook by Miisa Mink.

I’ve already tried two of the bread recipes and there are many more, breads, tarts, cakes and party snacks to get stuck into. Trust me, it’s not all herring and Jarslberg! I’d recommend this book for any keen baker, regardless of your interest in Norwegian or Scandinavian culture.

Happy baking!

It’s a simpler way of preparing lasagne, and for those too nervous or disaster-prone to attempt a classic bechamel sauce, this recipe offers a solution.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 leek, sliced into thin rings
• 1 1/2 courgettes, cut in half and sliced
• 1 1/2 peppers, roughly chopped (any colour you like)
• 1 tin of tomatoes, chopped or plum (if you get plum you’ll need to chop them)
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil (for frying)
• Lasagne sheets (I got through about half a packet)
• Cheddar cheese, grated (quantity and strength to suit your tastes)

Method:

1. Fry the leek and courgette in oil for a few minutes until they start to colour
2. Add the peppers, herbs and salt and pepper
3. When the vegetables are sizzling again, pour in the vinegar, garlic and chopped tomatoes
4. Put the purée in the empty tomato tin and mix it with enough water to half-fill the tin
5. Pour in the tomato water, stir and let it bubble for a few minutes before checking the seasoning
6. Spoon a small amount of the tomato sauce onto the bottom of your lasagne dish and add a layer of pasta
7. Add more tomato sauce and some of your grated cheese, then repeat the layers of pasta, sauce and cheese until you reach the top of your dish (or the end of your sauce)
8. Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C, or slightly less for a fan oven

This serves 2-3 people, or 3-4 with a couple of side dishes such as salad and garlic bread.

My life seems to have been filled with cake recently. I reviewed a cupcake recipe book, made parsnip and hazelnut cupcakes, got to try a friend’s lemon drizzle cake, got a very nice comment on my raspberry cake recipe and now this! It’s warming, autumnal and lower in saturated fat than many of its cakey brothers and sisters. This is because I made it with rapeseed oil, although you could use sunflower or vegetable oil instead. You can even use butter if you really can’t do without the extra rich flavour!

If you want to use butter the quantity you’ll need is 8oz.

When it comes to serving, a cup of jasmine tea or a latte is the ideal accompaniment. If you want to use it as a dessert, serve warm with a little pouring cream or custard and a few toasted almond slithers.

Ingredients:

• 2 pears and 1 eating apple or 2 eating apples and 1 pear (rosy skinned apples look best)
• 2 eggs
• 80z self raising flour
• 8oz caster sugar or demerara
• 130mls of rapeseed oil
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
• 1/4 grated nutmeg, or 1/4 teaspoon of ready-ground nutmeg
• Optional extras – lemon zest, a handful of chopped roasted hazelnuts, a handful of sultanas

For the syrup glaze:

• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• A pinch of cinnamon

Method:

1. Whisk the wet ingredients together with the sugar and sift in the spices and flour
2. Peel and chop the pears and mix them into the cake batter, along with any of the optional extras if you want to include these
3. Pour the mixture into an 8 inch spring form tin which has been greased with a little rapeseed oil (I used a ring-shaped cake tin but other shapes are fine)
4. Slice the apple into half-moons, leaving the skin on, and place them on top of the cake mixture to make a uniform pattern
5. Bake at 170°C for 25-30 minutes
6. When cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool in the tin for a few minutes
7. Remove the sides of the cake tin and flip it out carefully onto a wire rack to finish cooling
8. When it is cool, flip it onto a serving plate so that the apple slices are facing upwards again
9. In a saucepan, heat the lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon until the sugar melts. Don’t stir!
10. With a pastry brush, dab the syrup over the top of the cake to glaze the apple slices and give them a good shine

Feel free to play around with the spice quantities to suit your own tastes. Although you’ll want to avoid overpowering the flavour of your fruit an extra hit of ginger or cinnamon may be just what it needs to counteract rich custard or appease demanding taste buds.

This recipe is taken from the book ‘Cupakes’ by Sue McMahon. You can read my review of the book here.

Parsnip may seem a strange addition to cakes but, upon eating, I found that the effect is similar to that of the carrot in carrot cake, adding a little sweetness and moisture. The recipe is taken directly from the book, with permission from the publisher. It makes 12 standard-size cupcakes.

For the cupcakes:

• 125g (4 1/2 oz) butter, softened
• 125g (4 1/2 oz) caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 125g (4 1/2 oz) plain flour*
• 1 level tsp cinnamon
• 1 small parsnip, peeled and finely grated
• 100g (3 1/2 oz) hazelnuts, lightly roasted and chopped

For the topping:

• 1 quantity of cream cheese frosting (300g or 10 1/2 oz cream cheese mixed with the zest and juice of a lemon and 3-4 tbsp icing sugar)
• 100g (3 1/2 oz) hazelnuts, lightly roasted and chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy
3. Add the eggs and sift over the flour and cinnamon
4. Beat the mixture until smooth, then stir in the parsnip and hazelnuts
5. Divide the mixture evenly between paper cases in a bun tray and bake for 15-18 minutes
6. The cakes should have risen and be just firm to the touch in the centre
7. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool them on a wire rack
8. When they’re completely cool, spread the cream cheese frosting over the tops and sprinkle over the remaining nuts**

*I’m not sure if the inclusion of plain flour is a mistake, as no raising agent is specified. In the equipment and ingredients section at the front of the book it advises the use of baking powder with plain flour but I thought it odd that this wasn’t mentioned in the recipe. When I made them I substituted self raising flour and the result was very good.

**If frosting isn’t for you don’t worry – these cakes are delicious and moist without it too.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 250g minced beef
• 1 medium egg
• 50g breadcrumbs (plus a little extra for coating, if desired)
• 6 or 7 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of schezuan peppercorns, ground
• 1 heaped teaspoon of ginger puree or crushed, fresh ginger
• 1 heaped teaspoon of wasbi
• Salt and pepper
• 1 medium egg
• Plum sauce (to serve)

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together apart from the plum sauce
2. Form into patties by rolling the mixture into balls between your palms and then flattening lightly
3. Put them on a plate and dust lightly with extra breadcrumbs if desired. You could also try using sesame seeds to create a crunchy coating, or just a little plain flour
4. Let them rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes – this will help stop them breaking up in the frying pan
5. Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan and add some of the burgers – taking care not to overcrowd the pan
6. Fry on a medium to high heat for about five minutes on each side
7. Check before serving, as thicker patties will take longer
8. Plate up with rice, mushrooms, peas and any other vegetables you like. A dash of plum sauce adds welcome sweetness

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a big cupcake fan. I make them, I buy them, I tweet about them and send pictures via email to friends who are also cupcake fans. Consequently, when I was contacted with the offer to review the book ‘Cupcakes’, by Sue McMahon, I didn’t have to think too much before responding, “Yes”!

Dinky

The first thing I noticed about the book is that it comes in the form of a dinky spiral bound. This is good because sometimes cookbooks are overwhelming tomes that are hard to carry around and take too much space on your worktop.

First time, disastrous or improving bakers read here!

As a regular baker I often skip the introduction, equipment and ingredient sections but in this case it would have been a mistake. Instead of the pointless rambling I expect to see in an introduction there’s useful information about things like freezing your cupcakes and how to adapt cooking times for double batches. The ingredients sections is also helpful, telling me how I can substitute different fats and sugars and other tips regarding the best use of classic baking stuff.

Basics

The ‘basic recipes’ section covers a few simply flavoured cupcakes, buttercreams and other classic toppings. I especially like the sound of the toffee topping, which sounds surprisingly quick and easy to make!

Classics

Now we’re getting to the serious stuff. ‘Classic combinations’ is a segment full of wonderful flavour pairings, some of which you wouldn’t necessarily think to use in a cupcake. Apple and cinnamon (which look divine), baked vanilla cheesecake and lemon meringue – with a real meringue topping – are all featured!

These colourful crackle cakes don't need any cooking!

And then there was ‘Children’s Favourites’ and ‘Grown-up Favourites’

Some of the children’s recipes don’t require any baking so they’re safe for children to make with little supervision. I imagine these are also handy if you need to make something very quickly, perhaps for a forgotten birthday party.

The grown-up cakes include boozy classics like Pina colada, Rum and raisin and Irish coffee. More sophisticated options also feature, such as Lavender, Earl Grey and Saffron and sultana. This section also has Parsnip and hazelnut cupcakes, which I made to test the proportions and flavour combination. I’ll be writing it up, along with the full recipe, soon!

Something extra special

‘Celebration cupcakes’ is the penultimate section of the book featuring elegant beauties like Rose and extravagantly decorated Fishy wishy (no actual fish required). Seasonal cupcakes for Christmas and Halloween are also featured.

Rosemary and honey sounds unusual and delicious!

Dietary requirements

If you or someone you know can’t eat gluten, egg, dairy, or lots of sugar (ideally not all simultaneously) then this is the section for you!

There’s only one reduced sugar recipe and one dairy-free as most of the cakes here focus on being gluten-free. There’s also just the one egg-free cake and another reduced-fat recipe.

Chocolate, fruit and honey options all sound delicious, no matter what they’re ‘free-from’! Perhaps with a little adaptation and experimenting, other recipes in the book could be converted for special diets too?

Thumbs up

This book is small but it covers a lot! There are valuable tips at the beginning and scattered throughout, making it a reliable option for new and un-confident cooks. It also has unusual flavours for regular bakers who are getting bored with their repertoire – and decorating tips to help everyone up their game.

The book is normally priced at £9.99 and can be found online or in book stores.

Find out how I got on making parsnip and hazelnut cupcakes next time in the dessert section!