It's supposed to be summer, but today's rain and chilly weather would have most of us think otherwise. As a general lover of heat and with only a few precious days of holiday left, I would have preferred a scorcher. All that said, the garden has benefited enormously from the rain; the runner beans are swelling by the day, the tomatoes are proliferating and the lettuces have perked up endlessly since the rain.
As much as I love hot summers (oh the berry fruit!) we were reminded of one of the great joys of cooler weather: Soup. We were treated to a delicious Pumpkin Soup lunch made by our very culinarily capable friend Ben. After such a delicious change of fare, and feeling a little pinched for time, I got inspired to make another round of soup for tea: yes, it's been that cold. After a quick recon in the fridge, Mushrooms seemed the most logical base. Hmmm.. Add that great standby of the last minute meal - bacon, and dinner wont be far away.
Bacon and Mushroom Soup
Approx. 9 or 10 brown flat mushrooms - cut into cubes - about 3 or 4 cups full
5 rashers of streaky bacon - sliced into small strips
2 cloves garlic - crushed
2-3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons plain flour
approx 5 cups chicken stock or water or water with stock concentrate added - heated
50 ml cream
a splash of sherry - optional, port will also do the trick
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan and cook the mushrooms until they have melted into a black mass and released all their water. Transfer them to another bowl.
Add the remaining oil to the pan - no need to wash the pan first - fry the bacon and garlic until the bacon is quite crisp.
Add the flour and stir: the mixture with froth up; don't let it colour or burn.
Add the heated stock liquid to the pan in thirds, stirring constantly to avoid lumps forming until the soup boils.
Return the mushrooms to the pan, add the sherry, and simmer the soup for about 15 minutes.
Take the soup from the stove, add the cream, and blend until smooth. Return the pan to the heat. Add more water or stock if the soup is too thick. Check for seasoning - with all the bacon it will probably only require pepper. Heat sufficiently for serving, but don't let it boil once the cream has been added.
Serve with buttered toast for a quick, simple and tasty meal.
At the risk of sounding a monotonous drone of familiarity: here we are again, its getting late, tired child, late working partner and me. Not so much parental guilt today, as managed to pick little Miss 3 up from Preschool at a more acceptable 4pm, rather than a meltdown inducing 5. Whats for tea Mummy? That's a good question my little blossom. Something in a hurry.
Little Miss 3 just loves peas. This might sound a little abnormal for a three year old but she will happily eat them at any stage of the day. This fact led to a late afternoon brainwave - Green Pea Soup with Crispy Bacon.
To make this cheerful Pea Soup:
Finely chop an onion and gently fry it in a little oil.
Don't let it brown.
Add the peas. I used frozen, but fresh would work just as well.
Its way too late in the day to measure anything. I threw in about half of a 1kg bag. About 3 cups at a guess.
The exact quantity really doesn't matter.
Yes, that is a three year old helper's hand.
Cook the peas with the onions until they start to heat through.
While that is heating, begin to fry a few rashers of bacon.
Once the peas are starting to cook, add enough boiling water or stock to generously cover them.
Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes.
Take off the heat and attack with the stick blender, but not too much as its much nicer as a hearty rustic soup.
You could use a kitchen whizz (if you like washing up all those components after) or a potato masher and a lot of elbow grease.
Check the seasoning.
Be careful if your using stock that contains salt as it may mean no extra needs to be added.
If you can be bothered running out to the garden, a sprig of mint would be a welcome addition. At our house it was cold, and I was in a hurry. Enough said.
Soup and bacon all ready to go.
Little Miss 3 had already made off with some of the crispy bacon.
A few bits of toast and butter and we have a hearty dinner made with little time and effort.
Perfect timing as the man of the house arrived home just in time for tea.
Clearly a successful tea time offering.
