Sophie Conran’s Soups and Stews. Sophie Conran
fry the vegetables with the bacon for about 5 minutes.
Return the steaks to the pot and lay them on top of the vegetables then pour over the wine. Sprinkle in the juniper berries and pearl barley, then stir in the tomato purée and cover with water. Leave to gently simmer for 2 hours, topping up with hot water if it looks like it is drying out.
Remove the steaks from the soup and stir in the parsley. Season to taste. Trim the fat from the steaks and chuck it in the bin. Slice the steaks into 1cm/1/2 inch strips and divide between the bowls. Ladle in the soup and serve with warm rolls and butter.
This is a real crowd pleaser and filling to boot. One of the most satisfying soups I know.
TO SERVE SIX
1 tbsp olive oil
100g/31/2oz pancetta cut into 1cm/1/2 inch cubes
300g/11oz chuck steak cut into 1cm/1/2 inch sticks
2 tbsp plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
1 handful of dried porcini mushrooms (ceps)
soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes
1 onion peeled and chopped
2 red peppers cored, seeded and cut into 1cm/1/2 inch strips
2 ribs of celery cleaned, trimmed and chopped
3 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves 1/2 tsp harissa
300ml/10fl oz tomato passata
600ml/1 pint water
2 handfuls of Puy lentils sea salt
Heat the oil in a large pan with a lid. Drop in the pancetta and fry until it browns and the fat starts to run out. Remove from the pan and set aside. Meanwhile, dust the beef cubes with the flour and add them to the pan. Fry on all sides until browned, then remove from the pan and set aside with the pancetta.
Chop the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid as it is very flavourful, and add to the pan with the onion, red peppers and celery. Fry the vegetables gently until they are all soft—about 45 minutes. Keep an eye on them and give them a stir every now and again. Once the vegetables are really luscious, stir in the garlic, thyme and harissa and cook through for another couple of minutes.
Stir in the meat and the liquid from the mushrooms and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up anything that is stuck to the bottom of the pan into a sauce. Pour in the passata, water and lentils, stir through and season with a little salt. Bring to a gentle boil, cover with the lid and simmer for 2 hours, stirring every now and then. Add a little water if it starts to become dry.
Season to taste and serve with warm crusty rolls and plenty of butter.
This hearty soup brings back lovely warm childhood memories for me. Even when served at school, it was a more than palatable dish that would make an afternoon on the achingly cold, muddy playing field, being whacked by a lacrosse stick, more bearable. This is best made the day before so that you can scoop off the surface fat.
TO SERVE FOUR TO SIX
2 whole oxtails jointed and trimmed of fat (ask your butcher to do this)
plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
4 carrots peeled and trimmed
4 baby turnips peeled and trimmed (optional)
8 shallots peeled and trimmed
1 leek cleaned and trimmed
2 ribs of celery cleaned and trimmed 100g/31/2oz butter
1 bay leaf
1 small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp ground allspice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toss the oxtail in the seasoned flour. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the oxtail and brown on all sides. Put half of the veg and the butter into the pan with the bay leaf and parsley. Cut the rest of the veg into cubes and keep aside for later. Fill the pan with water and stir in the Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée and allspice. Allow to gently simmer for 2 hours.
Remove the vegetables and bay leaf from the pan and discard. Pop the reserved chopped vegetables into the pan, lightly season with salt and cook for a further 11/2 hours. Add more water if necessary to keep the pieces of meat covered with liquid and stir every now and then, making sure it has not burnt or stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Take the pan from the heat and remove the oxtail pieces from the soup and set aside to cool. Place the soup in the fridge until the fat on top has solidified so you can scoop it off and bin it. While still a little warm, separate the oxtail meat from the bones and wobbly bits, and discard the latter. Once the fat has been removed from the soup, whiz the soup in a blender to a purée. Return the meat to the soup and heat through. Season to taste. Serve with warm seeded rolls. It’s also great with a blob of horseradish sauce on top.
This is a delicious soup dearly loved by the Victorians and Edwardians. Occasionally, cooked basmati rice is added to Classic Brown Windsor just before serving.
TO SERVE SIX
1 tbsp beef dripping or olive oil
500g/llb 2oz veal shins sliced 3mm/ 1/8 inch thick
1 pinch of ground nutmeg knob of butter
1 large carrot peeled and chopped
1 Spanish onion sliced
2 leeks, white part only chopped
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 bunch of parsley chopped
1.5 litres/21/2 pints home made beef stock or consommé
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 small glass of sherry or Madeira sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat the dripping or oil in a large pan with a lid over a medium/high heat. Season the veal with a little salt, nutmeg and pepper, then fry for 3 minutes on each side. Remove the steaks and place on a plate until needed. Reduce the heat and drop the butter, carrot, onion, leeks and thyme into the pan. Gently fry the vegetables, stirring from time to time for about 10-15 minutes or until soft.
Return the meat to the pot, then stir in the parsley, the stock, the bay leaf, the cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt. Cover with the lid and leave to very gently bubble away for 2 hours, making sure it never boils. Remove the bay leaf and set the meat aside on a plate.
Scoop the bone marrow out