Christmas and New Year have been and gone for another year, leaving many of us feeling slightly worse for wear after a month of feasting and culinary extravagance. I am sure that many people are now setting about the dreaded New Year diet in an effort to overcome the festive bulge, acquired from endless stream of mince pies, but fear not the winter brassicas are at hand to help us all through this time.
The brassica family consists of a multitude of hearty green vegetables including cabbage, broccoli, and (yes, you’ve guessed it) sprouts. Now, many of you will feel that it was enough of a struggle eating your way through the scattering of little green goblins that adorned you Christmas dinner plate but there is more to this vegetable than first meets the eye.
Sprouts are often very badly treated, boiled away for hours until they are left grey and shrivelled, but this doesn’t have to be the way. They are a wonderfully versatile green and can be used raw in coleslaws and winter salads, fried up with a handful of chestnuts or added to a creamy potato bake.
Personally I feel they work wonderfully in soup, and on a cold January night what could be nicer to return home to that a warm and yielding bowl of soup? So give the little guys another chance, after all sprouts aren’t just for Christmas!
Sprout Soup (4)
Ingredients
· 2 shallots
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· 500g sprouts
· 1 litre vegetable stock
· Salt and pepper
· 100g chestnuts (optional)
Method
1. Finely chop the shallots, and fry in the olive oil over a low heat until golden.
2. Trim the sprouts and add in to the pan along with the salt, pepper and stock.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. At this stage you can add in the chestnuts, which will bring a wonderfully luxurious texture to the finished soup.
4. Blend the soup to a smooth puree, adding more stock is required.
5. Serve straight away with chunks of bread
This soup freezes well, so you can enjoy warming soup for supper throughout the winter months.
No comments:
Post a Comment