Green asparagus soup with curry

In Germany we tend to eat mainly the white asparagus, but since it's been so unseasonably cold the harvest is likely to be delayed somewhat. In the meantime we have to make do with green asparagus, which is fine with me. While I usually prepare it cooked al dente and dressed with some olive oil and lemon juice, it's great for soups too. Here I have added a bit of curry power, which gives the whole thing a slightly exotic touch.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 bunch of green asparagus

500ml vegetable stock

2-3 tablespoons of cream

1 teaspoon of curry powder

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Preparation: 

1. Peel the lower part of the asparagus and remove any hard ends. Cut each asparagus in 2-3cm pieces and cook them in the broth until soft (around 10mins). 

2. Puree everything until you have a smooth liquid and add the cream. Season generously with salt and some black pepper and add the curry powder and the cayenne. The soup should have a slightly spicy note.  

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Mushroom soup is a typical dish to eat in the autumn, but I figure it's still cold enough outside these days to have another go. Everyone in my family likes mushrooms and this soup has the added benefit of being quick and easy to make.

You can use whichever mushrooms you like, in this case I used some brown button mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms and some shitake mushrooms. 

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

600gr fresh wild mushrooms
30gr dried porcini
1 tablespoon of butter
1 red onion, chopped finely
5-6 twigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
2 cloves of garlic
1l vegetable stock
150 ml single cream 

Preparation: 

1. Carefully clean the mushrooms (never use water for this! In case they are dirty, just use a soft cloth to wipe them) and cut into rough chunks. Place the dried porcini in a small bowl and cover with warm water. Let them sit for about 30-40 mins until soft. 

2. Gently fry the onion in a bit of butter, then add the mushrooms, garlic (I simply throw in the whole cloves) and the thyme. Turn the heat up slightly. After a few minutes you will see that the mushrooms begin to lose quite a bit of water, at this point add the drained porcini (keep the liquid!) and some salt and black pepper. Continue to fry until the mushrooms just start to brown. 

3. Now transfer everything to a large pot and add the porcini-liquid (poured through a sieve) and the stock. Cook at a light boil for about 30 minutes before mixing everything in a blender, adding the cream as you go. 

4. Finally season to taste with salt and pepper. In case the soup is still too thick, simply add a bit more water or stock. 

Note: in case you are making this for guests, I recommend you take a couple of handful of the chopped mushrooms and fry them in a separate pan. You can then use them to decorate your soup when serving.

Chicken 2-for-1: Fricassee and Soup

Christmas is hardly over and already newspapers and magazines are filled with good advice about post-Christmas diet plans. Which is ironic considering that there are studies claiming that many households actually eat a more balanced diet over the holidays than they normally do! After all, who serves ready-made meals for Christmas lunch? Still, there is no denying that large quantities of food (and alcohol) leave us all in need of simpler and lighter kitchen delights. Chicken fricassee fits the bill perfectly: it's light, easy to make, and a great comfort food. And as an added bonus, its preparation provides you with enough chicken stock to make a lovely chicken soup.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 free-range chicken (circa 1,2-1,5 kg)

1 large onion

1 large carrot
Half a celeriac
1 leek
Bunch of parsley
3 bay leaves
½  teaspoon of black pepper corns
5 juniper berries (if you can find them)
3 cloves
100 ml white wine
250 gr green asparagus
150gr frozen peas
150 gr small mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
50 ml single cream
Cayenne
Lemon juice


Preparation:


1. First of all you have to make the chicken stock. For this you simply put the chicken in a large pot filled with cold water (1,5-2,0l). Then add the onion (peeled but whole), the carrot, leek, and celeriac (all chopped into large pieces), the parsley (whole), the bay leave, cloves, juniper berries, and black pepper corns, and a generous amount of salt. Bring to the boil and leave to cook gently for at least 1 1/2 hours (I use a pressure cooker for this, in which case it only takes 45mins). Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from the broth and set aside. 

2. Once the broth has had a bit of time to cool off, remove the fat that will have collected on the surface and strain through a sieve. This is the chicken stock which you can then use to make a soup and the fricassee. 

3. For the fricassee you first need to prepare the vegetables. Remove the peas from the freezer and allow to defrost. Clean the green asparagus and blanche in boiling water for a few minutes (if you put it into freezing cold water right afterwards, it will retain a beautiful vibrant green color). The mushrooms should be cleaned with a dry cloth and quartered. For the meat, simply remove the meat from the chicken legs and one breast and tear into rough pieces using your fingers (we'll use the second chicken breast for the soup). 

4. Now heat the butter in a large saucepan, then add the flour. Stir well, then add about 500ml of the chicken stock, the white wine, and the cream. Mix until the butter-flour combination has dissolved (it serves to thicken to stock slightly), then add the vegetables. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and some lemon juice. Once the peas and the mushrooms have softened, add the meat. Allow to cook for a few more minutes before serving with some plain rice. 

5. For the soup, simply chop up some carrot, leek, celeriac, and parsley (in total about 6 tablespoons worth) and add to the stock. Throw in some soup noodles if you want to, and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Season to taste (this may need quite a bit of salt), and finally add in the remaining breast meat from the chicken (torn into smallish pieces). 

Recipe adapted from Tim Mälzer.

Spicy Ginger-Soup

My mother made this for us a few days ago and while I was a bit skeptical at first, I was quickly convinced. The soup is easy to make, uses few ingredients, and it tastes wonderful. I highly recommend  you give it a try!

Zutaten: 

100 gr fresh ginger (sliced, but not peeled)
2 EL freshly grated ginger

500 ml stock (I used beef stock)

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons butter

50ml single cream

Cayenne 

Salt and pepper

Preparation: 

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour. Stir until well mixed. Add the stock and the ginger. Stir well until the flour-butter mixture has dissolved and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. 

2. After 10 minutes remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the ginger to infuse the soup for an hour. Then remove the ginger. 

3. Add the cream and the grated ginger. Season to taste with salt, pepper and some cayenne. In case the soup is still too thick, just add a little water or stock. 

Quick Red Pepper-Tomato Soup

It's soup season and this one has the added advantage of an extremely short preparation time. It's perfect for busy evenings when you can't be bothered to undertake a huge effort in the kitchen but don't want to resort to a mere sandwich either. For my daughter I make the soup without chili, but it's definitely better with the added heat. To accompany the soup, all you need is some toasted sourdough bread, topped with butter and a bit of sea salt.

Ingredients:

1 large can of chopped tomatoes
1 medium sized onion
2 large red peppers
1 red chili
1 tbs creme fraiche
2-3 tbs cream
1 tbs tomato concentrate
2 tsp sugar

Preparation:

1. Roughly chop the onion and the peppers. Heat up some olive oil or butter in a medium-sized casserole and add the onions. Once the onions are soft, add the peppers and allow to fry for a few minutes before adding the tomato concentrate, the chopped tomatoes, an equal amount of water, half a chili (chopped finely), and some pepper.

2. Gently boil the mixture for about 10min until the peppers are soft and then puree using a mixer. Last, add the cream and a bit of creme fraiche. Season to taste. 

Chestnut soup with cognac

I love this soup! For me it's a perfect autumn dish (in particular given that we have some huge chestnut trees in our backyard). The combination of the earthy taste of the Chestnuts, the mildness of the cream and the sharpness of the cognac is heavenly. An additional plus is the short preparation time.

Ingredients:

300gr pre-cooked chestnuts

1 small onion

1 tbs butter

500ml vegetable stock

2-4 tbs Cognac

3 tbs cream

Preparation: 

1. Chop the onion finely and fry it gently in the butter. After about 5 mins the onion should be soft and you can add the chestnuts (I simply crumble them in using my hands - no need to get fancy about this). Fry the chestnuts for a few minutes, then add the stock and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. 

2. Once the time is up, take the pot off the stove and puree everything using a mixer. Add the cream, cognac, salt and pepper and bring to the boil briefly. In case the soup is still too thick, add some more water or stock.