Potato And Leek Soup

*one of the great taste sensations, truly adaptable and you don't have to use a meat stock
*try adding a clove or two of garlic too, its a great combo
*serve it with plenty of great bread

large leeks that you have trimmed top and bottom then sliced thickly and put into a bowl of cold water to rid them of the dirt that clings
50 gr (1 1/2oz) butter
2 medium potatoes (not too small) peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped small
850mil (28floz) of chicken or vegetable stock
275 mil (9floz) milk
salt and pepper

Put the butter in a heavy based saucepan and melt, add the leeks and onions and cook over a ,moderate heat until they begin to become clear, they should not brown, add the potatoes and stir them around coating them with the butter. Put the lid on the pan and allow the whole lot to sweat over a low heat for about 15 minutes, give them a stir occasionally.

Add the stock and the milk and bring all to the boil, turn the heat down and put the lid back on, now simmer for a further 20 - 30 minutes until all the vegetables have become soft.

Use your hand held liquidiser and process the soup until it is thick and creamy, return to the heat and bring back to the boil, but don’t overcook, it will burn easily now.
Serve it with chives or put it in the fridge for the next day and call it vichyssoise, serve it cold with some sour cream swirled in. Very versatile.

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Chick Peas Stewed With Chorizo

this is a great Spanish dish, it is not difficult to find chorizo, they are well worth the hunt.

2 cups dry chick peas
1 small onion quartered
1/8 tspn cloves ground
1/8 tspn cinnamon
1 bay leaf
pinch of dried thyme
bunch of parsley stems
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion minced
3 cloves of garlic chopped very fine (the onion and the garlic can be chopped together with your mezzaluna)
375gr (12oz) of chorizo sausages, all pricked well with a fork.
salt and pepper

Cover the chick peas with water and soak over night. Next day, drain them and place in a saucepan with the quartered onion, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, thyme, parsley stems and enough water to cover by 4cm. Simmer uncovered until the skins begin to crack open and the bean are tender about 30 - 45 minutes.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and fry the onion, garlic and chorizo until the onions are soft, about 7 minutes. Add the chick peas and their liquid and simmer slowly uncovered until the liquid is almost gone. 40 minutes, season with salt and pepper.

Remove the chorizo from the pan, slice diagonally and return the slices. This recipe will work well with any sausage that is poached.

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Bouillabaisse (Fish Soup)

This French Mediterranean fish dish is a combination of fish and shellfish poached together and served as a main meal soup. The greater the variety of seafood, the richer the flavour A selection of the following seafood makes one of the most delicious dishes and one well worth the effort

shellfish - choose 4-6 pieces per person
mussels, green prawns, yabbies, Moreton Bay bugs, crabs. crayfish cut into pieces
fish - choose 3 varieties to weigh in total 1 5 kg
blue grenadier, trevally, gemfish, flathead, gurnard, redfish, morwong, dory. boar fish, flake.
2/3 tablespoons olive oil
1 stick celery
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup Chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped fennel
1.5 litres water
grated rind 2 oranges
pinch of saffron
bay leaf,
pinch thyme
1 x 450gr (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dry white wine

Prepare the shellfish by cleaning all the grit and dirt but leave the shells intact

Fillet the fish and reserve the bones and fish heads. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onions, celery garlic parsley and fennel for 5- 10 minutes until soft but not Coloured. Add the remaining ingredients, fish heads and bones and simmer slowly for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve. This stock may be made 24 hrs ahead of time and stored in a refrigerator.

Place the shellfish in the base of a large saucepan, pour over stock and poach gently for 10 minutes Add the fish fillets and poach without boiling for a further 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked

Serve immediately into large soup bowls and accompany with French bread.

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Eggs Baked In The Pan With A Rich Tomato Sauce

These are eggs cooked in a hot spicy tomato sauce.

4 to 6 large fresh eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, peeled, seeded and chopped.
2 cloves of garlic crushed and finely chopped
1/2 tspn chilli powder or 1 small chopped chilli
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4teaspn dried oregano
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
a few drops of Tabasco to taste
large tin of Italian tomatoes
110gr (3 3/4oz) Cheddar cheese grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper

You will need a heavy, medium-sized frying-pan.

Heat the oil in the frying-pan and fry the chopped onion, green pepper and garlic gently for about 10 minutes until softened, stir in the chilli and cumin powders and add the oregano, basil and a few drops of Tabasco. Mix thoroughly and then add the contents of the tin of tomatoes.

Turn up the heat and let the mixture cook (uncovered) for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have reduced to a thick pulp, then season with salt and freshly milled black pepper.

Use the back of a spoon to make indentations and carefully break the eggs into the pan on top of the mixture, sprinkle the cheese all over the eggs, cover the pan with a close fitting lid or a large plate and, lowering the heat, simmer very gently for about 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking. Alternatively, you can place the pan under a hot grill until the cheese is browned and bubbling and the eggs just set (7 minutes for soft eggs, 10 for well done).

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with lots of bread or toast to dunk into the juices

This soup has the spices of the Levant, follow it with a great Lebanese roast lamb.

1kg (2lb) of butternut squash
3 tblspns olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 tspn paprika
1 1/2 tspns ground cumin
3/4 tspn turmeric
1 tspn ground coriander
sat and pepper
4 large carrots, trimmed peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tspn sugar
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups of water
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
2 tblspns fresh chopped coriander leaves

Preheat the oven to 180°c/360°f

Cut the squash in half, place it on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 45 - 60 minutes until the squash is soft and you can spoon out the flesh.

In a soup pot, heat the oil, cook the onion until soft for 10 minutes, add the paprika, cumin, turmeric, coriander, salt and pepper, fry for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, add the squash, carrots and sugar, fry for a further 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock and water, bring to the boil, reduce and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until the carrots are soft.

Puree in a blender in several batches until the soup is smooth and light. You can thin the soup with extra stock if it is too thick.

Season with the yoghurt, salt and pepper and stir well. Serve in bowls with chopped coriander on top and a swirl of yoghurt.

This soup improves if made the day before you want to eat it.

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Ham Soup With White Beans

One of those great winter soups that you can make a meal of and leave the table deeply satisfied.

155gr (5oz) dried white beans
6 - 8 stems from Italian flat leafed parsley (you should always keep these, they are so handy to use in a flavour base, just freeze them when you have cut the leaves off and get them out when you want them)
pinch of dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tblspn virgin olive oil
125gr (4oz) thickly sliced smoked bacon cut into a 50mm dice
1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped finely
2 smoked ham hocks (available from most delicatessens)
4 tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped or 1 1/2 cups Italian tinned tomatoes drained and chopped
6 cups good chicken stock (see above)
3 fresh mint stems, bruised with the back of your kitchen knife
salt and black pepper
5 tblspns chopped fresh mint

Cover the white beans with water and soak overnight. Next day, place them in a pot with the parsley. Thyme, bay leaves and enough water to cover the beans by 4 cm. Cook the beans on a simmer for 35 - 45 minutes.

In another pot, add the olive oil and fry the onion and bacon until the onion is soft, add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes, add the ham hocks, tomatoes, chicken stock and mint stems, simmer for 1 hour.

Add the beans and continue to simmer for a further hour. Remove the parsley, mint stems and bay leaves. Take the ham hocks out, remove the skin and return the meat to the soup, do not ad the bones. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with the chopped fresh mint.

Serve with crusty bread and a salad to follow.