Home Made: Good, honest food made easy. Tana Ramsay
to my body and having just a little of what I crave works wonders.
This is perfect for serving as a meal for the entire family. Add Tabasco to taste for those who prefer a chilli kick – my grandfather and son always used to fight over who could handle the most Tabasco!
3 tbsp olive oil
4 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
3 each red and green peppers, deseeded and chopped
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1.5 litres/21/2 pints good-quality fish stock
2 tsp fresh or dried marjoram
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
700g/11/2lb fresh cod or pollack, skinned and cut into 4cm/11/2 inch chunks
100g/31/2oz peeled raw prawns
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
salt and black pepper
Tabasco sauce to serve
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
1 Choose a large saucepan with a lid. Heat the oil in the pan on a low-medium heat and add the onions along with the garlic and chillies. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, until softened. Add the red and green peppers and sweat until softened slightly.
2 Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor along with the tomatoes and blend until smooth.
3 Return the mixture to the saucepan and add the stock, marjoram and cayenne pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste, then stir in the fish and prawns and cook gently for no more than 10 minutes – be careful not to overcook.
4 Add the parsley and serve in warm bowls. The Tabasco and a grinding of black pepper should be added to taste once the soup is served.
WHY NOT TRY …
If cooking for a dinner party, try roasting and skinning the peppers before adding to the soup.
Good-quality smoked haddock fillet is essential to this recipe as its flavour is crucial to the success of the finished soup. I prefer to use Charlotte potatoes as they keep their colour and shape.
60g/21/2oz butter
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
1kg/21/4lb Charlotte potatoes, peeled and diced into 1cm/1/2 inch cubes
800ml/1 pint 7fl oz full-fat milk
500g/1lb 2oz undyed smoked haddock fillet
50ml/2fl oz whipping cream
black pepper and perhaps a little salt
chopped chives to garnish
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes plus 10 minutes standing
1 Choose a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Melt the butter in the pan on a low-medium heat, add the onions and fry for 5 minutes, until softening. Add the potatoes and continue to fry for another 5 minutes or so until they are just beginning to soften. Add the milk and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
2 Lay the haddock on top of the potatoes and milk, folding the thin end of the tail underneath, if necessary, so it fits in the pan. Cover with the lid and reduce the heat to a minimum so that it is barely simmering. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Keep the lid on and leave for a further 10 minutes, until the haddock is just cooked.
3 Remove the haddock from the pan, place on a plate and leave until cool enough to handle. Flake the flesh, discarding the skin and any bones. Return the fish to the pan, season with pepper and a little salt if necessary, and stir gently to combine. Add the cream and slowly bring back to the boil.
4 Serve in warm bowls, garnished with chives and ground black pepper, and accompanied by plenty of crusty brown bread.
Pearl barley, Savoy cabbage and chorizo soup
This hearty soup will chase away damp, cold days, especially if you make it with a spicy chorizo sausage. It goes down especially well with my lot after football and swimming lessons when they always come home ravenously hungry.
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
250g/9oz chorizo sausages, skinned and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 Savoy cabbage, shredded
100g/31/2oz pearl barley
squeeze of lemon juice
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley, chopped
salt and black pepper
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: about 1 hour
1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a low-medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and thyme and cook gently for about 5 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add the sausages and fry for 4-5 minutes until the oil begins to run. Meanwhile, put on the kettle to boil.
2 Add the cabbage and pearl barley to the sausages and pour in enough boiling water to cover everything generously. Bring to bubbling, then reduce the heat and cook gently for 50-60 minutes, until the barley is tender; top up with more hot water if the mixture gets too dry.
3 Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss in the parsley, stir through and serve in warm bowls with lots of crusty bread with butter.
This is the most amazing storecupboard soup. I have started to keep a bag of frozen sweetcorn kernels in my freezer as an emergency vegetable, which now doubles as the base of this delicious and quick-to-prepare soup. I like