Posts Tagged ‘leeks’
Traditional Irish Colcannon
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Ingredients
Serves: 5
500g kale
500g potatoes
2 leeks
250ml milk
salt and pepper to taste
pinch ground mace
125g butter
Preparation method
Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 20 mins
1. In a large saucepan, boil cabbage until tender; remove and chop or blend well. Set aside and keep warm. Boil potatoes until tender. Remove from heat and drain.
2. Chop leeks, green parts as well as white, and simmer in just enough milk to cover, until they are soft.
3. Season and mash potatoes well. Stir in cooked leeks and milk. Blend in the kale or cabbage and heat until the whole is a pale green fluff. Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted butter. Mix well.
Tip: Cabbage can be substituted for kale.
Tags: curly kale, leeks, potatoes
Posted in Side Dish, Veg Ideas | No Comments »
Creamy asparagus soup with a poached egg on toast
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
Ingredients
• 800g asparagus, woody ends removed
olive oil
• 2 medium white onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and copped
• 2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
• 2 litres good-quality chicken or vegetable stock, preferably organic
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 small very fresh free-range or organic eggs
• 8 slices of ciabatta bread
• a knob of butter
• extra virgin olive oil
Method
A fantastically simple asparagus soup, pureéd till it’s silky smooth, is always a winner. Delicious eaten hot (or cold on really hot days with the help of a little lemon juice). The poached egg on toast makes it for me, but of course you don’t have to serve the soup with them. I usually poach a couple more eggs than I need in case of breakages in the pan! I’ve made this for eight, but feel free to halve quantities or freeze soup leftovers.Chop the tips off your asparagus and put these to one side for later. Roughly chop the asparagus stalks. Get a large, deep pan on the heat and add a good lug of olive oil. Gently fry the onions, celery and leeks for around 10 minutes, until soft and sweet, without colouring. Add the chopped asparagus stalks and stock and simmer for 20 minutes with a lid on. Remove from the heat and blitz with a hand-held blender or in a liquidizer. Season the soup bit by bit (this is important) with salt and pepper until just right. Put the soup back on the heat, stir in the asparagus tips, bring back to the boil and simmer for a few more minutes until the tips have softened.Just before I’m ready to serve the soup, I get a wide casserole-type pan on the heat with 8 to 10cm of boiling water. Using really fresh eggs, I very quickly crack all 10 into the water. Don’t worry about poaching so many at the same time. They don’t have to look perfect. A couple of minutes and they’ll be done, as you want them to be a bit runny. Toast your ciabatta slices. Using a slotted spoon, remove all the poached eggs to a plate and add a knob of butter to them. To serve, divide the soup between eight warmed bowls and place a piece of toast into each. Put a poached egg on top, cut into it to make it runny, season and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
• from Jamie at Home A fantastically simple asparagus soup, pureéd till it’s silky smooth, is always a winner. Delicious eaten hot (or cold on really hot days with the help of a little lemon juice). The poached egg on toast makes it for me, but of course you don’t have to serve the soup with them. I usually poach a couple more eggs than I need in case of breakages in the pan! I’ve made this for eight, but feel free to halve quantities or freeze soup leftovers.
Chop the tips off your asparagus and put these to one side for later. Roughly chop the asparagus stalks. Get a large, deep pan on the heat and add a good lug of olive oil. Gently fry the onions, celery and leeks for around 10 minutes, until soft and sweet, without colouring. Add the chopped asparagus stalks and stock and simmer for 20 minutes with a lid on. Remove from the heat and blitz with a hand-held blender or in a liquidizer. Season the soup bit by bit (this is important) with salt and pepper until just right. Put the soup back on the heat, stir in the asparagus tips, bring back to the boil and simmer for a few more minutes until the tips have softened.
Just before I’m ready to serve the soup, I get a wide casserole-type pan on the heat with 8 to 10cm of boiling water. Using really fresh eggs, I very quickly crack all 10 into the water. Don’t worry about poaching so many at the same time. They don’t have to look perfect. A couple of minutes and they’ll be done, as you want them to be a bit runny. Toast your ciabatta slices. Using a slotted spoon, remove all the poached eggs to a plate and add a knob of butter to them. To serve, divide the soup between eight warmed bowls and place a piece of toast into each. Put a poached egg on top, cut into it to make it runny, season and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
Tags: asparagus, celery, leeks, onions
Posted in Soup | No Comments »
Steamed mussels with leeks, thyme & bacon
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
A bistro-style starter for two. Mop up the juices with crusty bread, or make it into a main with chunky chips
* 750g mussels
* 25g butter
* 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon , chopped into small pieces
* 2 small leeks , sliced on the diagonal
* handful thyme sprigs
* small glass cider or white wine
Method
1. Scrub and de-beard the mussels. Heat half the butter in a pan, then sizzle the bacon for 3-4 mins until starting to brown. Add the leeks and thyme, then sweat everything together for 4-5 mins until soft. Turn the heat up high, add the mussels and cider or wine, then cover and cook for 4-5 mins, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels have opened. Discard any that don’t open. Scoop the mussels and the other bits into a dish, then place the pan back on the heat. Boil the juices for 1 min with the rest of the butter, then pour over the mussels and serve with crusty bread.
Tags: cider, leeks, mussels, streaky bacon, thyme
Posted in Starters | No Comments »
Leek, bacon & potato soup
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
Ingredients
* 25g butter
* 3 rashers streaky bacon , chopped
* 1 onion , chopped
* 400g pack trimmed leeks , sliced and well washed
* 3 medium potatoes , peeled and diced
* 1.4l hot vegetable stock
* 142ml pot single cream
* 4 rashers streaky bacon , to serve
Method
1. Melt the butter in a large pan, then fry the bacon and onion, stirring until they start to turn golden. Tip in the leeks and potatoes, stir well, then cover and turn down the heat. Cook gently for 5 mins, shaking the pan every now and then to make sure that the mixture doesn’t catch.
2. Pour in the stock, season well and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 20 mins until the vegetables are soft. Leave to cool for a few mins, then blend in a food processor in batches until smooth. Return to the pan, pour in the cream and stir well. Taste and season if necessary. Serve scattered with tasty crisp bacon and eat with toasted or warm crusty bread on the side.
Storing
This soup will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but if you want to freeze it, don’t add the cream until you reheat it.
Tags: leeks, onion, potatoes, streaky bacon
Posted in Soup | No Comments »
Pheasant & Leek Pie
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
This recipe serves 4
* • 2 pheasant breasts
* • 1 tbsp olive oil
* • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* • 25g butter
* • 450g sliced white leeks
* • 225ml double cream
* • 375g puff pastry
* • 1 egg, beaten
Step 1
Lightly brown your pheasant breast in a little olive oil and salt.
Step 2 Meanwhile roll your rough puff pastry to size and cut out a circle for your pie base.
Step 3 Press the base gently into the bottom of a suitably sized bowl.
Step 4 After a few minutes on each side remove your pheasant breasts and let them rest.
Step 5 Make the leek filling for the pie with sliced leeks softened in a little butter and mixed with double cream.
Step 6 Cut your pheasant breast into thin slices and arrange on top of the leeks.
Step 7 An egg wash along the edge of the pie helps to seal the lid. Press the edges together to secure and decorate with the prongs of the fork.
Step 8 Turn out the pie onto a baking tray. Working round it with floured hands, turns up the edges and helps to keep it in shape.
Step 9 Prick to allow steam to escape and bake in a hot oven. After 40 minutes brush with egg and return to the oven for a minute or two to glaze.
Tags: leeks, pheasant
Posted in Meal Suggestions | No Comments »
Rabbit Pie
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
Superb pie- tastes and looks gorgeous! Preheat the oven to 150′C. Take a big pie dish or 2 small ones.
servings 4-6
Ingredients
* Rabbit’s meat (filleted and diced);
* Jus-Rol flaky pastry;
* Condensed soup -1 tin (chicken or mushroom);
* Any vegetables you like (leeks, onions, shallots, carrots);
* 1 egg;
* Seasoning.
Directions
1. Stir-fry the meat and chopped vegetables in a little oil until slightly golden, adding seasoning. Pre-heat oven to 150′C. 2. Roll out pastry. Brush inside of a pie dish with a little butter or olive oil, then line pie dish with pastry, pressing down firmly. Roll more pastry to make “lid” for the pie. 3. Brush inside of a pie with beaten egg, then fill your pie almost to top with stir-fried meat and vegetables. Pour over condensed soup ( do not add water!). 4. Put on the pastry “lid”, pressing firmly around the join with a fork to seal. Brush pastry pie “lid” with beaten egg. Cut a cross in the center of the pie, before placing it in the preheated oven for 45 min. When cooked, the pie crust should be golden and fairly crispy. Serve hot or cold, adding some English mustard or not- either way, you will be surprised how tasty and easy your “Rabbits Pie” turns out.
Tags: carrots, leeks, rabbit, shallots
Posted in Meal Suggestions | No Comments »