Snowy Sunday in Berlin: Red Lentil and Spiced Carrot Soup

Hearty red lentils and spices make this a warming, satisfying soup

Winter is resolutely refusing to budge in Berlin.  A few milder days in early February lulled us into false hopes that the worst was behind us, but the cold bit back with a vengeance.  It's the sort of cold that seeps into your bones and hovers over the city with sinister force; trying to dissuade potential revellers from venturing outside.

I put my survival to date down to two vital ingredients:

1. Duvet coat

2. Soup ….

... and copious amounts of it.  Making soup on a Sunday (when everything in Berlin is shut) is a therapeutic antidote to the preceeding night's adventures which invariably involve artic conditions and trudging from one bar to the next on perilous ice or slush.  Cook a big batch to keep you warm through the rest of the week when the weather is too schlecht to bother with the shops and too dark to inspire you to cook.

This gently spiced soup is particularly warming, and the lentils make it hearty and satisfying.  Curl up and enjoy a big bowl with some crusty bread.  Guaranteed to provide resilience until Spring arrives.

Jules x

Ingredients:

small piece of fresh ginger

1tsp cumin seeds

a pinch chilli flakes

1 onion

2 large carrots

150g red lentils

1litre vegetable stock (I use Marigold bouillon)

small bunch fresh coriander

Finely chop the onion.  Peel and grate the ginger and the carrots.  Heat some olive oil in a large pan and fry the ginger and spices for a couple of minutes.  Add the carrot and onion and cook for 5 mins.  Add the lentils and stock.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.  Check the lentils are tender, if not cook a wee bit more.  Blend.

Sprinkle the coriander to serve.  You can stir through a spoonful of natural yoghurt if you fancy.

Enjoy as it warms your bones.

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Cullen Skink from KK 2013 Calendar

By Ceri 

x

I am lucky and get to spend some time in Scotland every January for an amazing festival they have in Glasgow called Celtic Connections.  I love Scotland.  I love the people, the music, the landscapes, the Whisky and also the food.  Babbity Bowsers is a great pub in Glasgow and is where I was introduced to this Scottish dish by my dear cousin, Gareth.  A hearty, warming treat of a dish in the form of smoked haddock and potatoes in a tasty soup.  Some people add cream to this, but I don't think it needs it.  Best eaten whilst sipping on a fine ale, catching up with family and listening to some cracking tunes

Ingredients

500g undyed, well sourced smoked haddock

2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks

1 large leek, finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

500 ml milk

100 ml white wine

1 bay leaf

1 lemon

1 tsp mustard powder

salt and pepper

2 garlic gloves, finely chopped

Fresh chives or parsely to garnish

Method

• Place the smoked haddock skin side down in a large pan with 500 ml water, peppercorns and the bay leaf.
• Poach gently for approx 4 mins so the fish is just cooked.
• Remove the skin from the fish, put the skin back in the cooking stock and set aside.
• Flake the fish and place to one side.
• Gently fry the onion, garlic and leeks in a separate pan until soft but not browning. Add the potato cubes and fry for 10 minutes coating the outside in butter.
• Add the fish stock, wine and lemon juice and boil the potatoes for a further 10 minutes until soft. Now add the milk & mustard powder and season.
• I very much prefer my Cullen Skink to have a hearty feel to it and therefore like having chunks of potato and fish to eat. I usually mash the potato lightly in the mixture and then add the fish. If you prefer yours a smoother texture, run it through a blender or liquidiser.
  Warm the mixture through, check seasoning.
• Add chopped parsley or chives and serve with a big piece of chunky bread. Yum!

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Winter Tomato Tarts

Winter Tomato Tarts

with Parmesan short crust

New / old tins from ebay have been staring at me for two months now so here goes...

Rule - half fat to flour. I used 110g flour to 55g butter (Netherend is simply the best) with a pinch of salt and tbsp of water. Rub the fat into the flour lifting as much as possible - mum says add the water and mix with a knife - do no knead. Add some grated Parmesan if you fancy. Pinch the ingredients together, form a ball and put in the fridge wrapped in baking paper until you are ready.

Roll out the pastry and push into your tin(s). Metal tins are best as they are good heat conductors. Prick the pastry, fill with your beans to bake blind and bake on 200C for 12-15mins.

Meanwhile make you're tomato sauce, a basic sauce that can be used for many things. Slice and slowly cook an onion in olive oil, add a clove of crushed garlic. Add one tin of tomatoes, a handful of fresh tomatoes (not many around right now), chopped basil and salt & pepper. Simmer for 20-30mins. Cool.

Heat the oven to 180C and when the pastry has cooled make the filling - whisk one egg and one egg yolk, add 110ml milk/cream mix and your tomato sauce with a tsp chopped marjoram. Season. Pour the filling into your tart(s) and bake for 30-40mins until firm to touch. Eat warm.

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Rhubarb crème brûlée

Rhubarb crème brûlée.

By Jules

March is a tricky month for the foodie. Trapped in 'The Hungry Gap'; the time of year when fresh fruit and veg are thin on the ground, the seasonal chef is found scratching her head, scouring the store cupboard for ingredients. Cue the arrival of robust rhubarb - the bright pink stems shoot through the hard earth to brighten up these bleak winter days.

And with the arrival of rhubarb comes the inevitable craving for custard. This Christmas, the new toy in the Keston Kitchen was a a chef's blow torch. It didn't take long to conclude that this very British flavour combination could add a twist to an old French classic. The divine Creme Brulee (a posh name for egg custard with a crunchy sugar crust) is fun to make and even more fun to eat: firing the sugar then tap taping the crust with the back of your spoon to delve into the cool creamy custard. The hit of tangy pink rhubarb is the surprise hiding beneath.

This recipe requires a bit of patience and attention. I know to my cost that the cream can quickly bubble over and, if it is too hot when you add it to the egg, it will have a curdly consistency rather than the longed-for creaminess. But the treat is worth it in the end. And if you don't have a blow torch, you can get similar results by putting the custards under a very hot grill to burn the sugar crust.

What better way

to spend a cold winter's day

than making creamy and delicious

rhubarb creme brulee?

Ingredients

4 stems of rhubarb, cut into 1cm slices.

4 egg yolks

450 ml double cream

10 tablespoons caster sugar

1 vanilla pod (sliced lengthways and seeds scraped out)

4 large ramekins or 6 smaller ones.

Preheat the oven to 180C and put the rhubarb in the roasting tin and sprinkle over 4 tablespoons of the sugar to coat. Roast until soft (20-30 mins). Divide between the ramekins and chill.

Whisk 4 tablespoons of sugar and egg yolks together until pale.

Heat the cream and vanilla seeds over a medium heat until the cream bubbles at the edges. Be careful not to overheat!

Gently pour the warm cream into the egg mixture whisking until smooth. Pour back into the saucepan and stir over a low heat for 20 mins until the custard is thick. This needs patience and attention - you don't want the cream to boil over or burn.

Pour into the ramekins and chill for 6 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle the remainder of the sugar over the custards and - the fun bit - fire with a chef's blow torch.

Alternatively place under a very hot grill until glazed. Allow the crust to cool and harden for a moment then serve to your guests who are eagerly waiting to get cracking.

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Chicken Chilli Soup

Chicken Chilli Soup by Charlotte

Did you have roast chicken at the weekend and do you have a small amount of chicken and perhaps some gravy left over? I did and I do. In the fridge I also have some small bits of fennel that are way past their heyday, one lonely mushroom, white wine left over from New Year and full cream milk that is not allowed near my tea cup but could work in a post work, post run chicken soup...

Ingredients (a rough guide)
Butter and olive oil
1 small onion, diced
Half a chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 old mushroom, roughly chopped
Fennel bits from bottom of fridge drawer, diced (optional)
Dash of white wine
1 leek, roughly chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
Leftover chicken gravy (enhanced with veg stock to make about 450ml)
Cooked leftover chicken
Handful of parsley (with stalks) roughly chopped
Splash of full cream milk
Salt and pepper

Here's what I did
- Heat a small amount of butter and oil and add the onion, chilli, mushroom and fennel. Cook for 7-8 minutes and then pour in some white wine, cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the leeks, potatoes and gravy/veg stock to the pan and cook on a low heat for approx 25 minutes with a lid on. Add more water if you need to.
- Add the cooked chicken to the saucepan, heat through and continue to simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat to blend the soup. My blender gave up have way through its job so we ended up with a chunky soup that was still nice and thick thanks to the starchy potatoes.
- Put the soup back on a low heat, stir in a splash of milk and season to taste.
- Serve hot and enjoy.

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Vegetarian Winter Warmer

Apologies for the quiet spell on the blogging front, in the Keston Kitchen we have been rather occupied by the festive season and by selling lots of calendars (thanks to everyone who has bought one so far)!
This is one of my favourite dishes and I thought it would make an ideal January recipe because as well as warming you up, being stuffed full of vegetables, it makes you feel healthy! It is also pretty economical if you make a big vat of it.
The recipe is basically a vegetarian chilli, it comes from the first Leon cook book and is actually called Lee's Hippy Farm Beans. The Leon book is always the first place I look, on a weekend when I fancy making a one-pot wonder, easy to prepare but you need to have the time to allow it to cook nice and slowly.
I made this dish most recently, just before Christmas when Katie (previous guest chef) and Laura (crafty friend who happens to be vegetarian) were staying. There was thick snow on the ground outside but we were snug inside with blankets and bowls of beans.

Lee's Hippy Farm Beans

Serves 4-5 people

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 large aubergine
3 peppers (one yellow, one red, one orange looks pretty)
Ground cumin
1 big onion, roughly chopped
3 big cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
3 assorted fiery chillies (or not so fiery depending on who you are cooking for), roughly chopped
350g cherry tomatoes
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
2 tins beans (ideally one mixed and the other kidney, black bean or pinto)
Linghams Garlic and Chilli Sauce (available at Tesco, Waitrose and most importantly SMBS in East Dulwich)
300g baby spinach, well washed
Rock salt

And also (to serve):
Lime wedges (very important)
More chopped chillies or chilli sauce (I tend to make my chilli on the milder side and let people add more heat if they want it)
Grated cheese and/or sour cream (to counteract all that health)
1 pack of tortillas (I didn't bother with these as it is quite filling and so served with some tortilla chips instead)
3 avocados (if they are in season)


Start by putting 4 tbsp of olive oil in the pan. When the pan is hot, fry the aubergine and peppers for 15 minutes until golden and crisp. Season with salt and cumin, then take them out and put to one side.
Get the empty pan hot again, fry the onion in a bit more olive oil for a few minutes until it browns, then add the garlic and chillies. After a few more minutes add the cherry tomatoes. Again wait a few minutes before adding the tinned tomatoes, aubergine and peppers.
Bring to the boil and add the drained and rinsed beans. Now add a good glug of the chilli sauce. Turn the hob down to a low heat, a gentle simmer, cover the pan for 1/2 an hour, cook uncovered for a further hour; stir regularly. You want a gloopy, unky, smooth texture. Once it is ready, turn off the heat and stir in the spinach well until it is wilted.
You can then serve with as many or few extras as you wish!
Heat the tortillas if you are using them, mash or slice the avocados, wedge the limes, grate the cheese and dollop on the sour cream - yum!

Rachael x

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Pretty in PINK

Pink Stew by Charlotte x

A glamorous pink stew is what’s in order during this cold spell, which makes my nose feel like it’s going to drop off my face every time I leave the house. Tonight I have a dinner date with Jules, the lucky receiver of the pink stew…

I have carefully chosen pink or at least pinkish ingredients; the key vegetable is of course the beetroot, almost regal in colour. I love beetroot. I love everything about it; the way you stain your hands pink when peeling it and cutting it, the amazing sweet flavours it gives a stew or winter salad, the fact that it turns everything PINK, and, the immense delight I get from it when pickled! Pickled beetroot at Christmas is a must.

So, if you're in the mood for pink food, here’s what you need to do.

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced thinly

Small bunch of spring onions or an onion, sliced thinly

400g braising beef, cut into chunks and coated in flour

2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky pieces

4 beetroot, peeled and cut into chunky pieces

2 carrots, sliced into thick rounds

Red wine, a large glassful

300ml stock, I use Swiss Vegetable Bouillon

8 juniper berries, crushed with the side of a knife

2 teaspoons thyme leaves

Redcurrant jelly, about a tablespoon

Salt and pepper

Flour to thicken

Heat some olive oil and butter in a large casserole pan on the hob and throw in the onion and garlic. Sautee for a few minutes and then add the beef. Brown all over and add the red wine. Throw in the beetroot, sweet potato and carrot and cover with the stock.

Add the juniper berries, thyme, redcurrant jelly and season with salt and pepper. Put a lid on the pan and cook for about 35-40 minutes, stirring and tasting intermittently. With about 15 minutes to go mix 2 tablespoons of flour with COLD water and stir in to the stew, as it bubbles it should thicken.

Serve piping hot with crusty bread and you’ll be in for a treat!

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