Cannellini, Apple and Celery Salad

From The Bean Book, Rose Elliot, Fontana, 1979.

Sometimes the simplest of combinations can make a perfect dish.

I took a can of cannellini beans, rinsed the contents and added them to a bowl. Into this went some finely chopped stalks from the heart of a stick of celery. An apple was peeled and chopped and added. That was it. I added some olive oil to moisten the mixture and the juice of half a lemon to give it a tang. Salt and pepper went in to taste.

The apple and celery gave crunch and sweetness to the comforting beans.

Taste: ✔✔✔ 

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔✔

Chilled Split Green Pea Soup with Mint

From The Bean Book, Rose Elliot, Fontana, 1979.

This recipe was for a chilled soup but when I tasted it after making it I decided it was worth having heated. Any left over was to be saved for serving chilled the next day. And the next day we had it chilled and it was very good, even a little better than when warm.

An onion and a celery stick were chopped and added to a hot pan with olive oil. When they had softened, into the pan went a litre of stock, 125g split green peas, 10 mint stalks denuded of their leaves and tied into a bundle, a pinch of ground cloves and a bay leaf. This was brought to the boil and simmered for about ¾ hour when the peas had softened completely. The bay leaf and the mint stalks were rmoved and, using a stick blender, I pureed the soup. It was tasted for seasoning.

At serving time it was spooned into bowls, a drop of cream was added and on top some chopped mint leaves were sprinkled over.

A pleasing soup, very cheap and easy to make. Worth remembering.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔✔

Honeydew Melon, Strawberry and Mint Compôte

From Vegetarian Supercook, Rose Elliot, Hamlyn, 2006.

Strawberries are tops at the moment and cheap. Time to use them up in this compôte.

In a bowl I scattered some mint leaves and bruised them with the back of a spoon. I added a couple of tablespoons honey and stirred it into the leaves.

I took half a honeydew melon and scooped out the seeds then used a melon baller to take out the flesh. The melon balls went into the bowl with the honey and mint.

Now a punnet of strawberries was washed, sliced and added to the melons. These were gently stirred in, the bowl covered and left for 3 hours, occasionally giving it another gentle stir.

The compote was delicious. The fruit juices had blended into a wonderful liquid so the fruits were able to be served in it. The mint leaves tended to be a bit too overpowering to eat but had imparted their flavour to the dish.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔✔

Twice-baked Cheese Soufflés on Mushroom Steaks

From Vegetarian Supercook, Rose Elliot, Hamlyn. 2004.

I had a spare egg white so looked for a recipe that needed one. I found this one.

First I greased two ramekins with butter then set the oven to heat up to180ºC.

Now I set about making the filling. In a bowl I placed 125g soft cream cheese and 2 egg yolks and beat them until well combined. To this I stirred in 75g grated gruyere cheese. I whisked 3 egg whites until they were firm then folded them carefully into the cheese mixture. This was spooned into the ramekins. They were placed in a casserole and boiling water poured in until half way up the ramekins. Into the oven they went to cook for a little over 15 minutes. I took them out and let them cool.

I now took two field mushrooms, removed the stems and sautéed them on both sides until cooked. 

Just before serving time the oven was turned up to 220ºC. The soufflés were turned out of the ramekins and one placed on top of each mushroom. They were placed in a dish for the oven and a little cream dribbled over the top. Some grated parmesan cheese was now sprinkled over and they went into the oven for another 15 minutes.

The soufflés had become a little crispy on top that went well with their creamy texture. The flavour of the gruyere came through well. I found that the mushroom was a little too strong to eat with the soufflé and I found that I soon took the mushroom out from underneath and ate it separately so that the more delicate flavour of the soufflé was not overpowered.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Beetroot Soup

From A Foreign Flavour, Rose Elliot, Fontana, 1982.

I had some cooked beetroot left over from another recipe so decided to use it up in this beetroot soup. The soup has several extra vegetables in it so I thought I'd also use some roasted capsicum that was also left over.

Firstly I chopped an onion and put it into a pan with a little oil and on a very low heat. I now continued to prepare the other vegetables and add them to the pan, letting them all cook a little. I added a carrot diced, a celery stalk chopped, and a good slice of cabbage sliced.

After about 10 minutes I added two chopped tomatoes and 500ml water and a stock cube. This was brought to the boil and then simmered for another 20 minutes. The beetroot and capsicum were now added and the whole lot pureed. It made a quite thick soup so I thinned it just a little with some water and then tasted it for seasoning. I added a pinch of sugar and some ground black pepper. It did not seem to require any salt.

The soup was served in bowls with a good dollop of yoghurt.

This was a satisfying beetroot soup. It was thick with the sweet richness of the beetroot and though it was not strictly the recipe of the author’s it worked well and was a good way to use up my leftovers.

A Foreign Flavour is an old paperback cookery book that has obviously been on the shelf a long time. It is about the size of a paperback novel and looks just like one. There are no coloured illustrations, in fact, no illustrations at all but it is such a useful vegetarian recipe book. It’s usefulness is obvious from the fact that the first section in the book has come loose from the spine. Rose Elliot’s recipes generally work well, are easy to follow, and down-to-earth without all the fiddly bits that are so often in modern cookery books.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔