Beetroot and Apple Soup [vegetarian]

If you had asked me a few months ago about beetroot soup, I could have probably come up with only three types: traditional Polish clear beetroot soup “barszcz” which can be served with little dumplings, Ukrainian borsch, and a cold beetroot soup with yoghurt which is called “chlodnik”. However, this changed recently when I went to a restaurant and tried a really delicious and different beetroot soup.

I liked it so much that I decided to re-create it in my own kitchen. Since the soup was liquidized, I obviously didn't know any of the ingredients other than beetroot so I had a bit of a riddle. I still am not sure if the taste of my soup is similar to the one tried in the restaurant, but I was pretty happy with my result!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

3-4 (650g) beetroot,

1 red onion,

2-3 (600g) apples,

0.5l vegetable stock,

1 tbsp honey + 2 tsp optionally for drizzling,

salt and pepper,

some walnuts broken into pieces and crumbled goats cheese for garnish.

METHOD:

1. Preheat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees (fan oven).
2. Wash the beetroot, dry it and wrap tightly with aluminium foil, put to the hot oven for 30 minutes.
3. Peel the onion, cover with foil and put to the oven next to the beetroot for further 15 minutes.
4. Cut the apples in halves, cut the cores, put the matching halves together and wrap tightly with foil, put to the oven along with beetroot and onion for 45 minutes.
5. Peel the beetroot and apples, put to the food processor with the onion  and process on high till smooth.
6. Combine with the stock, bring to boil, add 1 tbsp honey and the seasoning.
7. Serve the soup with walnuts and goat’s cheese.

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Asparagus Pappardelle with Salmon in Red Pesto Sauce

I love pasta and I love asparagus. So it was only a matter of time before I would combine them together so that I could reach a higher level of foodie heaven. But you cannot go to heaven, if you sin too much with your calories! This is why I decided to use a clever trick (and a potato peeler) to shave asparagus into ribbons that resemble pappardelle (or at least its thinner cousin - tagliatelle).

Thanks to that trick, I used much less pasta than I would have normally cooked, and the portions still looked big, but were less calorific and healthier. Oh, and have I mentioned yet that it was delicious?

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

500g green asparagus,

1 tbsp olive oil,

500g skinless and boneless salmon fillet,

250g pappardelle,

2 tbsp red pesto,

6 tbsp double cream,

salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Snip the hard ends of washed asparagus, cut 4-5 cm of the tops and shave the other parts of asparagus with a potato peeler into ribbons.
2. In a frying pan heat up the olive oil, add the asparagus tops and fry them for 2 min, put aside.
3. In the same frying pan fry over a medium heat the seasoned salmon fillet for 5 minutes on each side (or a bit longer, if the fillet is thick).
4. Put the fish on a plate, flake it.
5. Cook the pappardelle in salted water as per packet instruction, 1 minute before the end of cooking add the asparagus’ ribbons; keep half a cup of the cooking water.
6. On a low heat warm up the pesto and cream, add the flaked salmon and the asparagus tops, heat up and gently stir with pappardelle and asparagus ribbons. If it is too dry, add a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water.

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Apple Crumble

If it is not the favorite, Apple Crumble must be one of the top 5 favorite desserts in our house. I usually make it just for 4 of us as a grand finale of our Sunday lunch, but I  also make it when we have guests, as its simplicity is inversely proportional to its deliciousness.

My love for crumbles dates back to my childhood when my Grandma often baked a yeast cake with seasonal fruit and crumble on top. I remember pinching the biggest pieces of crumble when the cake was already baked. I have to admit that I also remember pinching the biggest pieces of crumble even before the cake was baked! And ”the biggest piece of crumble” is a key word here. When I make the crumble I make sure the pieces are big as we all love them  that way. So if after processing the crumble I don’t end up with the desired size, I simply put them together manually.

INGREDIENTS (for 4-6 portions):

6 apples,

1 tsp cinnamon,

2-4 tbsp sugar,

175g flour,

100g cold butter plus a bit more for greasing,

85g demerara sugar,

85g ground almonds.

METHOD:

1. Preheat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees (160 for fan oven).
2. With a bit of butter grease an oven proof dish.
3. Peel, core and slice the apples; mix them with cinnamon and sugar. The amount of sugar to be used depends on the apples:  if I use sweet apples sometimes I don’t add any sugar at all.
4. In a food processor whizz the flour, butter, demerara sugar and ground almonds until crumbly.
5. Spread the crumble evenly on top of the apples, put to the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes till the crumble is golden.

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Asparagus and Mushroom Soup [vegetarian]

I have always preferred green asparagus, mainly because it is easier to prepare. You can just cut away the  woody end of its stem, but I prefer to bend its bottom part till it breaks. Then, it breaks just in the right place so you end up with the nice and tender vegetable without the woody part.

White asparagus is trickier: not only do you have to remove woody ends, but you also have to peel it, as its skin can be very stringy. But it has more delicate taste then the green one due to the way it is grown: white asparagus is cultivated underground to stop chlorophyll development.

When you prepare white asparagus, you have to be very careful as it not only has delicate taste, but it also has a delicate texture and  breaks easily. Luckily, in this recipe, you do not need to worry about it as - except for the top ends – all the other parts should be chopped as the soup will be liquidises anyway. So maybe this soup will be for me a beginning of a new relationship with white asparagus?

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

500g white asparagus,

300g mushrooms,

1l vegetable stock,

50ml milk,

1 tbsp butter,

salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Snip the woody endings of the asparagus, peel it and cut into 3-4 cm pieces (keep the top ends separately).
2. Wash, dry and slice the mushrooms. Keep some slices aside together with the asparagus tops for garnish.
3. Pour the stock into a pot, add the vegetables and cook the soup for approx. 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
4. Add the milk, adjust the seasoning and liquidize the soup. If you want to make sure there are no stringy pieces of asparagus, strain the soup through a sieve.
5. In a frying pan melt the butter on a medium heat, add the asparagus tops and mushroom’s slices and fry them stirring for 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are golden.
6. Serve the soup garnished with the fried vegetables.

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