Potato, Leek, ‘Bacon’ and Bean Soup

From a pamphlet by Sydney Markets

I was shopping at the market and walking past a display of recipe cards when my eye caught the word ‘leeks’ and I knew I had some leeks just desperate to be used up so I picked up the card.

The recipe was basically for a variation on a leek and potato soup. One of my favourite soups is such a variation: a leek and potato with chickpeas. This soup was not far different, using a can of cannellini beans. The ‘bacon’ I had picked up when I was buying some vegetarian ‘chicken’ breasts. I guessed it wouldn’t be anything like real bacon, just a highly salty flavoured soya bean product so expected it would work all right in the soup.

The soup was started by sautéing two finely chopped leeks, 2 chopped garlic cloves and some of the ‘bacon’ pieces in some olive oil. They needed to be stirred often but after about 5 minutes they had cooked down and softened. I now added 3 potatoes peeled and cut into pieces. These were stirred in for a few minutes.

Four cups of stock were added with a can of cannellini beans that had been drained and rinsed. The mixture was now brought to the boil and then reduced to a simmer to cook for another 20 minutes with the lid on.

A hand blender was used to puree the soup. About ¼ cup cream was stirred in and, when it was time to eat, the soup was gently brought back to heat for serving.

This was an easily made, full-bodied soup with plenty of flavour. The saltiness of the ‘bacon’ meant that no extra seasoning had to be added though a little black pepper was sprinkled on top with a few strips of the ‘bacon’. While the cannellini beans gave it a nice dimension, I still prefer the soup with the chickpeas.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

In One Word: Satisfying

A Double Soup and a Simple Spaghetti

Parmentier (Potato and Leek Soup)

Zucca (Pumpkin Soup)

from The Vegeterranean: Italian Vegetarian Cooking, Malu Simões & Alberto Musacchio, Simon & Schuster, 2008

Cooking two different soups for one dish seemed a little over the top but when the two were poured into the one dish the result was a visual delight. 

I managed holding a saucepan in each hand pouring the two soups at the same time into the plate to make a reasonably straight line down the middle of the plate where they met. But my partner, much more creative, took a spoon and turned it into a yin and yang design.

The two soups went together well taste wise. The pumpkin was slightly sweet while the savoury parmentier complimented the other with its overlaying flavour of the green olives cooked in it. Of the two the parmentier was my favourite.

I had cooked plenty of soup so on the night after we had just the pumpkin and on the night following that the potato and leek.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

A Satisfying Pasta Supper

from The Country Cookbook: seasonal jottings and recipes, Belinda Jeffery, Lantern, 2010

Pasta is one my favourites meals so this easy recipe appealed. It does have anchovies in it, but I left them out. I did however make two sauces, one without for me and one with anchovies for my partner.

The ingredients were simple: parsley, chillies, capers and breadcrumbs plus parmesan. It was all very straightforward though I do think I did something wrong in the last stage as I tried to separate things and add the anchovy to one. I suspect that the fish flavoured one had more of some elements than my plain one did.

It all went down well nevertheless.

Taste: ✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔