greens

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

| adamcockle

brocsoupblog

I honestly can’t remember when I stopped eating vegetables because they were ‘healthy’ and started eating them because they’re fricking delicious (well, most of them anyway.  Sprouts can do one frankly).  This soup is packed with broccoli, and I’m sure that it has loads of health benefits yadda yadda, but mostly its just totally yum.  Try it.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • Two ‘heads’ of broccoli (about 500g)
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 stock cubes (vegetable or chicken)
  • 100g mature cheddar cheese (grated)
  • 4 Tbsp double cream (optional)
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large, deep saucepan until the butter starts to foam.  Dice the onion (don’t worry about being too neat, its going to get blended anyway) and add to the pan.  Cook the onion until translucent – 2 to 3 minutes.

Chop up the broccoli and dispose of the hard central stem.  Add to the pan and stir through with the butter and onion for a couple of minutes.  Add enough water to the pan so that it comes up to about half the level of the broccoli.  Turn the heat down low and cover the pan with a lid or foil.  Cook for about 10 minutes until the broccoli is streamed and tender.

Blend the contents of the pan (use a stick blender or transfer to a standing one) until smooth.  Return to the pan on a low heat.  Crumble in the stock cubes and add enough water until you’ve achieved your optimum soup consistency (I like mine thiiiiiiick).  Stir in the cheese and cook for a few minutes until it has melted in.  Add the cream and stir.  Do a quick taste test and season to your liking.  Serve immediately with shed-loads of crusty bread – see if you can eat an entire bowl without needing a spoon.

 

Steamed mushroom buns and greens in miso butter

| adamcockle

dumplr3

Ingredients:

For the dough:

  • 2/3 cup warm water
  • 2tsp instant yeast
  • 2tbsp sugar
  • 1tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
  • 1 + 1/4 cup bread flour
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1/4tsp baking powder

For the mushroom filling:

  • 250g mushrooms (I used a mixture of chestnut and shitake)
  • 5 spring onions
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2tbsp oil
  • 2tbsp soy sauce
  • 1tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
  • 1tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1tsp chinese five spice
  • 1/2tsp ground szechuan pepper

For the greens:

  • 1tbsp butter
  • 1tsp miso paste
  • Greens of your choice (I used a mixture of spring greens and baby bak choi)

For the dipping sauce:

  • 4tbsp soy sauce
  • 2tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
  • 2tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1tsp chilli oil (or more if you like it spice)
  • 1tsp sesame oil

Method:

For the dough:

Mix the water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl until the yeast has dissolved.  Add the oil and then stir in the flour and salt.  Once the dough comes together in a sticky lump, transfer onto a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 5 to 10 minutes).  Put the dough aside in an oiled, covered bowl until risen to double its size.

For the mushroom filling:

Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium high heat.  Finely chop the garlic and spring onion and cook until the garlic has started to turn golden.  Add the mushrooms and cook until reduced in size and the pan starts to look dry (about 10 minutes).  Add the remaining ingredients and cook for a few more minutes until rich and dark brown.  Transfer to a clean bowl and allow to cool.

For the dumplings:

Punch down the risen dough and separate into small walnut sized balls (you should have about 8 – 10).  Press each ball into a flat circle (about 4inches across) and pop a heaped teaspoon of the cooled mushroom mixture into the centre. Lift the edges of the dough to enclose the filling and pinch and twist the dough to seal.

Place each dumpling on a small square of parchment paper and leave aside for about 20 minutes under a damp cloth. Meanwhile, heat some water in a pan until simmering.  Load the dumplings into a bamboo steamer (or more than one stacked on top of each other) keeping them on the parchment paper pieces.  Leave to steam over the bubbling pan for 10-12 minutes.

For the greens:

Melt the butter in a medium hot pan until it starts to froth and bubble.  Add in the miso and whisk until it has incorporated with the butter.  Toss in your greens and allow to cook until just tender.  Depending on your miso you may need to add a bit of extra seasoning at this point.

For the dipping sauce:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Easy!

Serve the dumplings straight from the steamer with a little bowl of dipping sauce on the side.  Best enjoyed with an ice cold bottle of Tiger beer.

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