SOS Chickpea, lemon and mint soup

On the weekend, I made chickpea, lemon and mint soup. It was going to be just a casual Sunday night soup but when my friend Will came to lunch I was glad to be able to offer it. By evening I had a mere cupful of soup left for dinner.

The soup was inspired by Ricki and Kim’s Sweet and Savoury Challenge, which focuses on mint this month. I am not a huge mint fan, though there are times I love it. Feeling uninspired, I checked my Stephanie Alexander’s Cook’s Companion because it has a list of companion ingredients for each feature ingredient. I didn’t just find ideas, I found a recipe that I wanted to try.

The chickpea, lemon and mint soup was challenging because I don’t usually use dried chickpeas but also because it required me to cook the chickpeas and vegies and then add the seasoning. This is quite a different way of cooking for me.

The soup led to more of the unexpected. I went to the organic stall at the Vic Market to buy dried chickpeas and found to my delight that they were selling Romanescu Broccoli. This is one of the most beautiful vegetables that I have seen on blogs, but until now, never in for sale anywhere near me. These were miniature broccolis, and were being sold alongside mini green and purple cauliflowers. I walked away more excited by the caulis and brollies than the chickpeas.

I didn’t wait long to use the vegetables, fearing they would go off. They looked lovely in the roasting tin and, though a wee bit charred, tasted wonderful. Dried legumes are not so impatient and could wait a bit longer. But blog events don’t wait so I set to making the soup on the weekend.

Will compared Sylvia to Chrissie Hynde (oops I think he said Chrissie Amphlett - I get these two confused) upon observing Sylvia’s pout under an unruly fringe upon his arrival and then amazed E by recognizing his choice of music as being by the Strawbs. He offered to provide the bread for the soup, so we walked over the street for some Turkish bread and baklava. It resulted in a delicious ad hoc meal. I am not sure the mint flavour was as prominent as I expected nor was the texture of the soup as creamy as I had hoped for but the soup was full of good simple flavours.

I expected nothing less from Stephanie Alexander, who is a guiding light among Australian foodies. I have avoided buying her Cook’s Companion for many years but now that I finally have taken the plunge and own it, I find it is aptly named. I love the lists of what goes well with an ingredient and all the ideas for each ingredient. There are so many recipes in there that I want to try, that I forgive the weighty tome all its meat recipes and lack of pictures.

If I wanted any endorsement of my feelings about the book, I need look no further than its inclusion in the Observer’s 50 best cookbooks of all time. There are many cookbooks in the list that I don’t even recognize but I am glad to see Australians represented on the list by Stephanie. So while I might not have made the finest version of this soup, I can assure you it has an excellent pedigree. It also was enjoyed by all who tasted it.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: NCR Like some pepper in your soup, blondie?
This time three years ago: The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

Chickpea, lemon and mint soup
from Stephanie Alexander
serves 3-4

• 250g dried chickpeas
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 litres water
• seasoning (I think I used about 1 tsp salt and should have used lots of freshly ground black pepper)
• juice of 1½ -2 lemons
• 2 tbsp mint., chopped
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped (I used chives)

Soak chickpeas overnight. Heat oil in a stockpot and gently fry onion, carrots, celery, garlic, cumin seeds and coriander seeds until softened and starting to colour – this takes a while – maybe 15-30 minutes.

Add water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1 – 1½ hours until the chickpeas are soft. Stephanie says to reserve 1 cup of water, blend in a food mill and then a food processor. I forgot to take out the water, just used a hand held blender (and later tried sieving but this had no impact) so maybe that is why mine looked more porridge than creamy, which is the opposite of what Stephanie says you should achieve.

Add most of lemon juice (ie juice of 1½ lemons, which was enough for me). Season and add more lemon juice as required. Ladle into bowls and scatter generously with mint and parsley.

On the stereo:
From the Witchwood: The Strawbs

Mushroom and chocolate risotto

Sylvia has been loving mushrooms lately. I bought some at the supermarket a couple of weeks ago and she could barely contain herself to wait till I had paid before munching on one as I wheeled her down the street in her pram. She even will eat them in the car on the way home from childcare, if I have managed to get to the market at lunchtime.

It is an obsession I have gladly encouraged. How wonderful to have a child begging for vegetables! What a great healthy snack! Gingerbread, Florentines and sultanas will also be gobbled down eagerly but it is nice to know Sylvia is not limiting herself to sweet food.

I find her love of mushrooms perplexing. I have never been one of those people who just can’t get enough mushrooms. I have learnt to love them as an adult but often find myself keeping a wary distance from the much-admired funghi.

So it is odd that lately some of my strangest kitchen experiments have been with mushrooms. Firstly there was the mushroom and rhubarb soup More recently I couldn’t resist trying Choclette’s Mushroom and Chocolate Risotto. Mind you this isn’t the first time I have had chocolate in a savoury risotto (she says with a casual toss of the head). I loved it in a beetroot risotto last year.

Mushrooms and cocoa seemed a great combination. However I think I overcooked my goose, or, rather, was a bit heavy handed with the seasoning. Too much stock powder and then using Dutch cocoa made it a very intense experience, almost like a gravy. (Sigh! Perhaps I should have followed Choclette’s recipe more closely!) It was better on the second night with more vegetables. I would not use as much again but I would recommend a sparing amount of cocoa with mushrooms.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Shopping, Sylvia and Soup
This time three years ago: BBoM Raspberry Brownies for Two

Mushroom and chocolate risotto
Adapted from Choclette
Serves 4

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 generous cup Arborio rice
• 450g button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp whisky (because I didn't have any white wine)
• 5 cups hot water, or as required
• 2 tsp stock powder (or salt to taste)
• 1-3 tsp cocoa (I used 3 and think it was too much)
• 1 dash of smoked paprika
• handful parsley and rocket
• parmesan cheese to serve (optional)

Mix butter and olive oil in a stockpot over low heat until butter is melted. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Stir until onion is translucent (I think this took about 10-15 min). Add garlic and stir for about a minute. Add rice and stir a few minutes (I fried it for about 10-15 minutes while I chopped the mushrooms). Add mushrooms and stir for about 5 minutes until they soften.

Add whisky and stir until absorbed. Stir in about 1½ tsp stock powder. Add hot water (I boil the kettle and use this water) about ½ a cup at a time. Keep the heat hot enough so the rice keeps gently simmering and absorbing each addition of water. When the rice is plump and cooked when tasted you have added enough water. This took me about 20-30 minutes.

Stir in 1 tsp cocoa and dash of paprika. Taste and check seasoning. Add more stock powder, salt and cocoa as required, taking into account if you are serving with parmesan cheese. Stir through some parsley and rocket. Serve hot, with cheese if required, and with salad or vegetables.

On the stereo:
Children of Lir: Loudest whisper

Florentines, salads and what's in a name

I love Florentines. You can buy them in lots of cafes and they are usually a safe bet. They are a healthier options with dried fruit but have enough chocolate to satisfy a sweet craving and, best of all, they don’t tend to dry out in the way cakes do in café displays. When I found a recipe with condensed milk, I decided I had to try making these myself.

My recipe was adapted from one by Karen Martini. I did a quick search for alternatives and found out that there are more than one types of Florentines. The ones that I made had lots of cornflakes, dried fruit and condensed milk, but no flour or butter. This seems to be an Australian style recipe. Many are more like biscuits with flour, cream, honey, sometimes oats or egg. The cornflakes one are quite chunky while the flour ones tend to be thinner and chewier.

This weekend I was reminded of how a term can mean different things to different people. We went to the Duchess of Spotswood café with my sister Fran and her partner John. I was pleased to be able to order a ploughman’s lunch because in my experience they are always generous with salad. So when the menu said it has cheese, toast, pickled veg and salad, I thought it was the dish for me. Unfortunately the salad was a small pile of lettuce. I was most displeased. To me salad does not equal lettuce!

I am glad we went to the Duchess of Spotswood. It was nice to get out to the Western Suburbs and the place has an elegant simplicity, if a little minimalistic for my tastes. But they seem to appreciate meat more than a good serving of vegetables so it is just not the place for me. (I know it looks like two men kissing in the background of this photo but I think it is an optical illusion!)

Just as my idea of salad is different to some, some you might find your idea of Florentines different to this one. If you prefer yours thin and elegant, you might not like the chunky ones that I made. But in our household they have gone down a treat. So let me tell you a little about this recipe.

Firstly, I was surprised at how many cornflakes were required by the recipe. I bought a box specially to make Florentines and used almost the whole box. I ended up making 45 biscuits – almost twice as many as the recipe said. Perhaps I should have piled them up more, though they already seemed quite big and took up more of my biscuit trays then usual. Fortunately the cornflakes stayed crispy in the mixture while I baked quite a few batches, slowed down even more by Sylvia in her highchair in the kitchen.

Sylvia has started to get itchy feet. Halfway thought dinner she decides she will climb out of her highchair or while waiting at the supermarket she wants to get out of the trolley. It means I have to keep my eye on her and can give less attention to baking biscuits.

The baked biscuits reminded me a little of honey joys. We used to make these often in my childhood by baking cornflakes, honey and butter in cupcake papers. The Florentines were more adult with lots of interesting dried fruit. In fact the whole recipe reminded me of breakfast – cornflakes, milk, fruit and some sugar. Plus chocolate!

I melted as much chocolate as the recipe said but, given that I made a lot more biscuits, I only had enough to spread chocolate on about half the biscuits. I intended to melt more chocolate later for the rest but they tasted so good, even without chocolate, that I never did. The ones with chocolate developed what I think is called ‘bloom’ – a slight cloudy blemish on the surface. I think I might have got rid of this by tempering the chocolate but am not sure (any advice on this is welcome).

E was suspicious of them but once tried, he loved them. Sylvia loved them – though she only had bits without chocolate. I offered them to a friend, Will, who turned his nose up at the idea of the dried fruit. So they are not everyone’s cuppa tea. But they tick all my boxes. I love anything with condensed milk, dried fruit and chocolate. Perfect any time of day and easy to take anywhere.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Potato boston bun
This time two years ago: WTSIM ... Beer Bread
This time three years ago: Collingwood children’s farm – peppercorn trees and vegetarian hens

Florentines:
adapted from Karen Martini
makes 25-45

• 1 tin (395g) condensed milk
• 250g cornflakes
• 100g sour dried cherries (or glace cherries), roughly chopped
• 160g dried fruit (I used nectarine, apricots, sultanas and dried peel)
• lemon or orange zest (I didn’t use this because I used dried peel)
• 150g slivered almonds, or chopped nuts (I only had 110g)
• 250g dark chocolate (or more if required)
  

Mix condensed milk, cornflakes, cherries, dried fruit and almonds in a large bowl. Drop 1-2 dessertspoonfuls onto a baking tray and try to shape them into circles with the spoon or your fingers.

Bake for 10 minutes at 180 C. They will be golden brown and crisp when ready. Sit on tray for about 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack using an eggflip or spatuala. Cool.

When cooled, melt the chocolate and use a knife to spread on the flat underside of the biscuit. Make pretty swirls with a fork and let set on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container (Mine have lasted from Wednesday til Sunday and still are crisp).

On the stereo
Let no man steal your thyme: the Shelagh McDonald collection

Russian style rice casserole

This week I have had some time to cook. I have finally made Florentines and an Irish no knead bread (coming to this blog soon) that I have wanted to make for ages. But I have struggled to come up with ideas for dinner. This rice casserole come from Cooking with Cranks and was a surprising success.

Maybe I expect more from dinner in the way of clearing the fridge. I originally decided to make the recipe as it was written with mushrooms, courgettes, and red pepper that suggested an Italian style casserole. But my mind started searching my fridge and finding sour cream, carrots, mushrooms, dill and chives. It suggested that Russia should be my inspiration.

It took a while to put together but it was forgiving of my attention wandering as I put away washing and fed Sylvia her dinner. This casserole lasted us a few nights so it was worth the effort and I loved it. E was a bit less certain and thought it could have a bit more seasoning (he also said that it would be improved with more pasta!!!) but it was enough for me. The lightly seasoned vegetables were a pleasant contrast to the well seasoned rice (I used more stock because my rice took so long to cook) and the tart cheesy topping.

However what was lovely about this was feeling it was almost a formula rather than a recipe. Seasoned rice on the bottom layer, vegetables in the middle layer and a creamy topping based on a white sauce. While the recipe is neither vegan nor gluten free, I could imagine a version with a soy milk, tahini and nutritional yeast flakes topping or even replacing the spoonful of flour with GF flour. And some different vegetables. Maybe some broccoli or pumpkin would be nice. The possibilities are endless.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: WHB Broccoli – brassica royalty
This time two years ago: Easy as Vegetable Pie
This time three years ago: SHF #34: Pumpkin scones

Russian style rice casserole
adapted from Cooking with Cranks
serves 6

Rice layer:

• 1 tsp butter
• 1 shallot (or small onion), finely chopped
• 175g uncooked brown rice
• 450ml vegetable stock
• 1 egg (I forgot to add this)

Vegetable layer:

• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• ¼ cabbage, sliced
• 90g button mushrooms (about 5 -6)
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic
• generous pinch of salt (or to taste)
• Worcestershire sauce, to taste (I didn’t use this but E thought it might have given the vegetables a bit more taste)
  

Cheesy topping

• 1 dessertspoon butter
• 1 dessertspoon wholemeal flour
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp chives
• 2 tbsp dill
• 150g cheddar cheese (I used a vintage)
• 1 egg
• sweet paprika to sprinkle over the top
  

To make rice layer: Fry shallot in butter until translucent. Add stock and rice. Bring to boil and simmer, covered, for about 30-40 minutes until rice has absorbed the stock and is soft. Add extra water if rice needs it. I probably added almost as much water as stock and cooked mine for about 1 hour because it took so long to soften. (Was it because of the salt in the home made stock?) Stir in egg, if using.

Meanwhile make vegetable layer: heat oil in a stockpot. Gently fry leeks, carrot and cabbage til soft and wilted. I am not sure how long mine took but I suspect it might have been about 30 minutes. I put away washing and prepared other vegetables while it cooked. Once done, add mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic and seasoning. E thought some Worcestershire sauce would be good but I just added a pinch of salt – I thought the rice had enough seasoning. Cook till mushrooms and tomatoes have softened (maybe 5-10 minutes).

To make cheese sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan and stir in flour to make a roux. Stir the roux over low heat for a couple of minutes and then very gradually stir in the milk and sour cream. Bring to the boil, stirring frequently to avoid lumps. It should thicken slightly. Stir in cheese and herbs. Cool slightly and stir in egg.

To assemble, spread rice in the bottom of a greased 23cm square casserole dish. Spread the vegetable layer on top and then the cheese layer. Sprinkle with paprika. Cook at 200 C for about 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. I turned off the oven and left the casserole in it until we were ready to serve. I also heated in in the oven the next two nights – for about 30 minutes at 180 C each night.

On the stereo:
Winter Ruins: Shattered Hand & Strydwolf

Rhubarb crumble x 2

TS Eliot said that April is the cruellest month but for a fruit lover in Melbourne, I protest that it is August. This is the time of year that we are deep into winter and even the cool weather fruit such as apples, pears and rhubarb are past their best. I am looking forward to spring with the bounty of wonderful fresh fruit. Meanwhile fruit crumbles are a comfort.

When I have stewed fruit, I think about either making a sponge pudding or a crumble. But when it comes to health, it seems that it is the difference between eating fruit with cake and eating fruit with muesli. I like a buttery cake with fruit but much prefer some texture and roughage.

I love a bunch of rhubarb in crumble and have been experimenting with a few different fruit combinations lately. A few weeks back I was inspired by Astra’s Cranberry Blueberry Crumble and threw some of my frozen cranberries into a rhubarb and apple crumble. I think I got the balance right. It was delicious with some fruit yoghurt (see top photo).

Then on the weekend I was inspired by 101 Cookbooks to try a Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble. The flavours were quite floral and pink, if there is such a flavour. I found it quite intense and preferred it with a blanketing of custard. E thought it had too much fruit. Sylvia loved it though she didn’t ask for a third helping like she did with the Rhubarb Cranberry and Apple Crumble.

I have long resisted the rhubarb-strawberry combination. Here, rhubarb is a winter vegetable and strawberries taste of summer. It seems wrong to put them together unless you find very cheap strawberries from Queensland at the market. I liked it but don’t know it is a combination I want to return to. The baked strawberries were vastly inferior to the raw ones and compete with the rhubarb rather than support it.

The first time that I posted a rhubarb crumble I tried baking it in the crumble without any pre-cooking and it was not quite soft enough. I noticed that recipes such as the one on 101 Cookbooks suggest this method but I have wised up. I simmered the rhubarb briefly and it could have had a bit more cooking. Perhaps the end of season rhubarb was a little tough. Or perhaps Heidi’s baking dish is more wide and shallow than mine.

Never mind! I am getting more comfortable with make crumbles through trial and error. I often refer back to previous crumbles that I’ve posted. They are a favourite winter dessert in our house. It gets a good range of grains and fruit into Sylvia. It has inspired E to make custard (from powder).

I am noticing myself having my own way of making them. Not much sugar. Lots of oats and not too much flour. Throw in some ingredients from the pantry such as wheatgerm that needs to be used. Best of all, they will keep us eating fruit through the rest of winter.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Chocolate Caramel Slice
This time three years ago: Turning Winter Roasts into Salads – genius or marketing?

Rhubarb, cranberry and apple crumble
Serves about 6

• 4 apples
• 3 large stalk rhubarb
• 1 cup cranberries
• juice of 1 large orange
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• 2 dessertspoons of brown sugar
• ½ a ripe banana, mashed
  

Crumble:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• ¼ cup wheatgerm
• ¼ cup wholemeal flour
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 3 tbsp brown sugar (or maybe a little less)
• 80g butter, chilled
  

Place apples, cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup, cinnamon and mixed spice in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Check for sweetness and add brown sugar and banana (f you have any) as required. Transfer the fruit to an ovenproof dish.

Rub butter into the crumble ingredients and then scatter over the fruit. Bake at 180 C for about 30 minutes or until crumble topping is golden brown and crispy.

Rhubarb and strawberry crumble
Loosely adapted from 101 Cookbooks
serves about 6

• 350g rhubarb, chopped
• 300g strawberries, diced
• juice of half an orange
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
  

Crumble:

• 1 cup oats
• ½ cup pinenuts, lightly toasted and chopped
• ¼ cup wheatgerm
• ¼ cup wholemeal flour
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 80g butter
  

Place rhubarb, orange juice, maple syrup and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Then leave to cool while preparing the crumble.

Place all the crumble ingredient in a bowl and rub the butter into the ingredients with your fingertips till it is incorporated into a crumbly moist (but not wet) oaty mixture.

Add strawberries to the rhubarb and toss so they are combined with the syrup. (NB Heidi added cornflour to thicken the fruit mixture.) Taste the syrup to check it is sweet enough. Transfer the fruit into a baking dish

Bake at 180 C for 30-60 minutes. Heidi baked hers at 190 C for 35-40 minutes but I baked mine at 180 C for 30 minutes, took it out of the oven and then returned to the oven for another 20-30 minutes. Serve with custard. cream or yoghurt.

On the stereo:
Colour of White: Missy Higgins

Sour Cream Banana Cake

I had lots of ideas for baking on the weekend but what got made was a cake that rescued some banana and sour cream. It was simple, delicious and loved by all. E enjoyed it if eaten during the day with a cuppa tea and Sylvia begged for far more than was good for her.

I took some pieces of cake when I visited my friend Junko this morning. It seemed like good honest food that is fine for kids to eat, though I suspect quite a bit of it ended on the floor in crumbs. There weren’t quite as many cake crumbs as rice cracker crumbs when Sylvia decided to throw handfuls on the floor and then stomp on them as she climbed on and off the kiddie chair. Junko has three kids and is very understanding of their quirks.

The cake was not quite as light as My Mum’s Banana Cake, possibly because I added some wholemeal flour. But it was moist and full of flavour. So next time Sylvia goes off bananas and I buy more sour cream than I know what to do with, I will know how to use them.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Walnut Brownies
This time three years ago: Fresh and Healthy Salad Sandwich

Sour Cream Banana Cake
from my notebook – source unrecorded

• 125g butter, softened
  
• ½ cup brown sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• ½ sour cream ( I used light sour cream)
• 3 bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
  
• 2 cups self raising flour (I used half wholemeal)
  

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs to mixture and beat till creamy. Stir in sour cream and banana. Fold in flour. Bake in loaf tin in the oven at 180 for 40-60 minutes. (Recipe said 40 and I baked for 60 minutes.) The cake is done when it is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out cleanly.

On the stereo:
Songs for the young at heart: Various Artists

NCR Carrot and Fennel Soup

Last night we watched the Clangers on DVD. It is an odd BBC children’s television show from the 1960s and 1970s with funny little pink knitted characters. My favourite character was the soup dragon, who is very helpful when the Clangers go in search of soup for dinner. Tonight I was the soup dragon in our house.

The soup I made came from the latest edition of the Vegetarian Times. All too often I browse through my VT magazine, pick the recipes I must make some day and then forget them too quickly. It is one reason I started blogging, to capture some of the recipes that pass fleetingly through my head.

I have to thank fellow bloggers, Jacqueline and Lisa, for inspiring me to make this carrot soup with fennel pesto. They hold the No Croutons Required (NCR) blog event that challenges other to make a vegetarian soup or salad each month. The theme for August is carrots. I use carrots in my cooking all the time but I teeter between loving and disliking carrots when they are all alone. I am also a little fennel-shy. But I know what is good for me and I love participating in NCR.

Today started off inauspiciously with us sleeping in and arriving late for Sylvia’s swimming lesson – I even managed to put her underwater before discovering I hadn’t taken one of her socks off. The day could only get better. And it did.

Sylvia had a lovely time in the pool after her lesson. She can now stand in the lowest end of the middle pool. We had a great falafel from Half Moon Café for lunch. Then I managed to hand wash some jumpers and bake a sour cream banana cake that had both been on the top of my to-do list for days. While things were going well I made some frugal freezer stock. I needed it for the soup. I even made some rhubarb and strawberry crumble for dessert.

It wasn’t smooth sailing all the way. I decided to use an apple, cranberry and lime juice instead of white wine because we don’t drink a lot of white wine in winter. The juice is delicious but it is a bit sweet for the soup. Fortunately the flavours of the pesto were strong enough to counter the sweetness. But next time I will use wine. I also didn’t have quite enough lemon rind and decided to add parsnips and sour cream.

At the end of the day, the soup went down well with a chunk of Turkish bread. The pesto took my soup from ordinary to amazingly complex. The fennel was just enough to make an impact but not dominate. Its liquorice flavours melded well with the other strong flavours. I would definitely make the soup again, if the inspiration came my way.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: PPN Creamy Spinach Walnut Pasta
This time three years ago: Rumbledethumps: death to the red hag

Carrot soup with fennel pesto
adapted from Vegetarian Times September 2010
serves 4-6

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large leek, chopped
• 4 shallots, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 800g (about 8 medium large) carrots, scrubbed and chopped
• 2 small parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 750g vegetable stock
• 1 cup white wine (I used apple cranberry lime juice and a splosh of whiskey)
• 1-2 cups water
• sour cream, to serve (optional)
  

Fennel Pesto:

• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp pinenuts
• 1 tbsp fennel fronds or fresh dill, finely chopped (I used dill)
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• ½ tsp lemon zest
• ½ tsp salt
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil

Heat oil in a stockpot and gently fry leek and shallots for about 5 minutes (or if you are like me, fry them as they are prepared and then set about preparing carrots and parsnips). Add garlic and stir for about 1 minute. Add carrots, parsnips, stock, wine and 1 cup of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes. Puree and add another cup of water if required. Serve with sour cream and fennel pesto.

To make fennel pesto: dry fry the fennel seeds for about 4 minutes. Grind in a mortar and pestle. Dry fry the pine nuts till lightly fried. Add pinenuts to mortar and pestle with dill, garlic and salt. Mush into a paste. Stir in 1 tbsp of olive oil and add more oil if required.

On the stereo:
Children of Lir: Loudest whisper