How D'you Like Them (Love)Apples

Whilst on the topic of soups, I was cleaning up the random mountain of papers on my desk the other day when I came across a recipe scrawled on the back of a primary school maths exercise sheet (from my wife's scrap-paper pile, no doubt). The recipe was one I copied down hurriedly over the phone from my mum whilst planning an entry for a Soup Cook Off with some friends of mine.
I'm glad I found the piece of paper now, as it's a recipe I was really happy with and think it's time to file it in a more permanent, and more organised, medium. The recipe itself claimed to be for Love-Apple Soup. This is the only time I've ever heard tomatoes referred to as Love-Apples.  With a few on the fly additions to the ingredients list, I came up with the following recipe for: Cream of Chill Tomato Soup.

serves....plenty
Ingredients

700g tomatoes, peeled and chopped

125g butter

3 sliced carrots

60g chopped bacon

120g flour

2L water

2 bay leaves

1 large handful of basil, corsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 - 2 tsp  cayenne pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt, pepper, and caster sugar to taste

Method

1. Melt butter over a medium heat, add carrots and bacon and sweat them in a covered pot for 5 - 10 minutes
2. Add flour and cook for 2 - 3 minutes to make a rue
3. Remove from heat, add tomatoes, water, basil, garlic, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper
4. Bring to the boil and season to taste, then cook for 1 hour on a low heat, skimming the surface when necessary.
5. Blend in batches and serve with a dash of cream, some freshly ground pepper, and crusty bread.

I absolutely love this recipe, and it went down a treat in the Soup Cook Off, earning a second place behind an amazing French Onion Soup (which was the inspiration for the recipe I came up with).

Tearfully Delicious

A couple of weeks ago I tried my hand at a French Onion Soup. I looked at a few different recipes from taste.com.au and, in the end, picked and chose from a few to concoct my own recipe.

serves 4

Ingredients
80g Unsalted butter
1 Kg brown onions, halved and sliced.
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbs plain flour
1 L Beef Stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 bouquet garni
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 30cm baguette, sliced
1 tbs dijon mustard
1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
sea-salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat butter in a large pot. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until the onion softens. Add the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes until the onion is golden.
2. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually add the beef stock and red wine, stirring until combined.
3. Place the mixture over medium heat. Add the bouquet garni, bay leaf, and thyme and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until soup thickens slightly.
4. While soup is simmering, grill baguette slices until bread is dried, but not browned. Spread one side of each slice with dijon mustard and sprinkle with cheese. Place under grill and cook until cheese is golden brown.
5. Remove bouquet garni and bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. To serve, ladle soup into serving bowls and top with the baguette slices and a sprig of fresh thyme to garnish.

All in all the soup was a winner, though the cheesy croutons are a definite must as they contrast the flavour of the soup perfectly and turn a ho-hum meal into something wonderful. As an aside, the Gruyere was quite pricey ($50/kg) and from a flavour perspective I think you could probably get a similar result with a decent parmesan mixed with a little shredded mozzarella for the elasticity.