Brabourne Farm Kitchen

Monday, May 16, 2011

Cream of Celeriac Soup

Ingredients

25g salted butter
800g celeriac, scrubbed, unpeeled (I haven’t tried Unpeeled!) (600g, cubed/200g save for topping)
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 potato, cut into 1cm dice
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
200ml fromage frais
sea salt flakes & freshly ground black pepper
virgin olive oil for deep frying

Method

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan and sauté the celeriac cubes, carrot, potato dice and garlic over a high heat for 5 minutes. Pour in stock, cover the pan and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, until all
the vegetables are tender. Allow to cool slightly, before pouring half the pan contents into a blender. Blitz to a creamy puree, and repeat with other half, then return puree to the saucepan with half the fromage frais, adding salt and extra vegetable stock to adjust consistency. Add pepper to taste. Reheat gently on a low heat.

Cut the remaining 200g celeriac into hair-like shreds using a knife, a coarse grater or mandolin. Heat the oil in a frying pan or deep fryer until very hot (about 180c). Sizzle the shreds in four batches for up to 2-3 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain and keep to one side. Serve the soup hot, topped with a swirl of the remaining fromage frais and the crispy shreds on top.

Serves 4 (makes 1.5 litres)

Bruschetta with Goat's Cheese, Proscuitto and Cavolo Nero

Ingredients

Sourdough or ciabatta or similar loaf bread
Goat’s cheese
Prosciutto (finely sliced) - 2 slices per bruschetta
Cavolo Nero – 2 leaves per bruschetta
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Clove
Black Pepper

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. Wash and spin dry cavolo nero leaves. Heat a small amount of olive
oil in a pan and add leaves, stirring until they wilt - remove and set aside and keep warm.

Cut bread on the angle to desired thickness, place on a baking tray and brush with olive oil. Toast in oven for approximately 5 minutes, remove and turn slices over.

Brush the other side of the bruschetta with olive oil and rub each side with a cut clove of garlic. Return to oven for another few minutes, until lightly toasted.

Spread each slice of toasted bread with goat's cheese. Place 2 slices of prosciutto over the goat's cheese, then top with a couple of cavolo nero leaves. Add a grind of black pepper.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Eggs on Spinach

Ingredients

1 kg spinach
2 medium onions, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 cup coriander, finely chopped
2 desertspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs

Method

Wash spinach and remove stalks. Chop.
In a pan, heat the oil and fry onion until pale yellow.
Add garlic, ginger and green chillies - cook for 3 minutes.
Add turmeric and chilli powder and coriander - cook for 3 minutes more.
Add spinach, blend well and add salt. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
Add Worcestershire sauce and sugar - continue cooking on low heat for a few minutes more until the spinach is cooked.
Separate the eggs - beat the whites until soft peaks form. Add the yolks and mix.
Put the spinach in an 8" pie plate, spread beaten eggs over the top of the spinach and bake in a moderate oven until the eggs are set and golden.

Serves 4.