LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

Spinach leaves can take as little as 3 minutes, 7–8 minutes if tough. Chard leaves will take about 10 minutes. Add the herbs and again watch the cooking time very carefully – 2 minutes will be enough to release the flavour from the herbs. Taste one last time to ensure the seasoning is spot on. Serve immediately.

      Wild garlic leaf and flower broth

      There are two types of wild garlic that grow in profusion in Ireland. They are both part of the allium family. Around where I live in East Cork, the first variety generally starts to appear as early as March, though it is not unknown to see it in January or February. This is the long, skinny-leaved garlic, sometimes called three-cornered garlic or snow bell. It produces at the end of the stalk a little bunch of white bell-shaped flowers, hence the name snow bell. This variety seems to thrive on the sunny side of the road but will also succeed in the shade. The other variety, called ramsons, arrives later and is happiest growing in the shade. It has long, wide, elegant and shiny leaves and the flowers on this variety are in a little typical allium pom-pom. Either of the two types of wild garlic will do for this recipe. Don’t forget that they can be used in other soups, with grilled or braised fish, meat and poultry, in salads, flavoured butters, sauces and so on. It is well worth trying to get a little patch of either type of garlic established in your garden. However, beware, as both varieties will spread in all directions if given the chance, so you may have to limit their progress.

      The key to the success of this recipe is the addition of the wild garlic to the broth just a few minutes before you are going to eat it. This way the garlic will still be bright green in colour and vibrant in taste when it arrives at the table. Sometimes the little flowers, which I urge you to use, will float to the surface of the hot broth and sit there like little water lilies or lotus flowers. Now that’s a bonus.

      The ingredients

      The wild garlic, when in season, is readily available for those who live in the countryside and for urban dwellers is increasingly found in vegetable shops and farmers’ markets. Every part can be used, bulbs below the ground and leaves and flowers above.

      An optional addition of grated Parmesan is delicious here. Allow your guests to sprinkle a light dusting on each bowl of poured soup rather than you adding it to the cooking pot. It will taste sweeter and fresher this way. One generous teaspoon of Parmesan is plenty on each serving.

      Serves 6 50g butter

      175g potatoes, peeled and cut into neat 1cm dice

      175g onions, peeled and finely chopped into 5mm dice

      2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed to a paste

      Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

      1.2 litres chicken stock

      600ml finely chopped garlic leaves, tightly packed into the measure

      50ml garlic flowers, if available

      Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and allow to foam. Add the potatoes, onions and crushed garlic. Stir to coat in the butter and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a butter wrapper or greaseproof paper and a tight-fitting lid. Cook on a very low heat to allow the vegetables to sweat gently until barely tender. This will take about 10 minutes. Don’t overcook and allow the diced potato to collapse.

      Add the stock, stir gently and bring to a simmer, then cook gently for a further 10 minutes. The broth should be barely bubbling. If it cooks too fast at this stage, the delicacy of flavour of the chicken stock will be lost. Taste and correct the seasoning. This is the base and can be put aside until later.

      To finish, bring the base back to a simmer. Add the garlic leaves, cook uncovered and allow just to wilt. This will only take a couple of minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning again. Finally, sprinkle in the flowers, and watch and marvel as they float on the surface. Serve immediately.

      Kale broth with lemon zest and Parmesan

      Kale: the mention of the name is enough to wrinkle many a face in disgust. What a shame, because kale is fantastic. Boiled until soft, and puréed with a grating of nutmeg and a splash of cream, it is one of the best winter vegetables. Again cooked until soft, drained and dressed with olive oil and lemon, it is also marvellous, particularly when served on grilled bread that has been lightly rubbed with a little garlic. You can introduce it to chilli, garlic, Indian spices, south-east Asian flavours, Spanish smoked paprika and chorizo and you aren’t even beginning to scratch the surface of the flavours it will marry with. Its winter seasonality also seems to add to its charm, as it doesn’t have much green competition and it almost stands alone in the coldest months as the bearer of badly needed vitamins and iron.

      For the gardener, it is a thing of beauty, as its tiered, plumage-like foliage looks almost like an exotic in the winter garden. Viewed under snow or frost on a clear sunny morning, its handsome bearing rivals anything in the garden at any time of the year.

      The trick with kale is to cook it enough. It needs to be soft and comforting. If you want crisp, have a carrot stick. You are not being clever by undercooking kale. It will be tough and more like fodder and your family and friends will not thank you for it.

      Subtle seasoning is required here when finishing the broth to get a good balance between the salt, lemon and Parmesan. Too much lemon zest or Parmesan will overpower. Think of the lemon and Parmesan as added seasonings as you sprinkle them on, and go with a light hand and careful tasting.

      As always with the addition of any green vegetable to a broth or soup, once the greens go in the saucepan lid stays off.

      The ingredients

      The kale in this recipe can be one of several varieties. The most easily available variety, which starts to appear in the shops around October, is the dense and compact curly kale. You can also use cavolo nero, with its long slightly sinister-looking plume-like leaves. It is sometimes called Tuscan kale or Nero di Toscana. Watch out for other varieties, such as Red Russian kale with its serrated leaves. All these kales become sweeter and more tender after the first frosts.

      Try to get an unwaxed lemon for this recipe. Failing that, scrub the lemon well before grating the zest.

      Parmesan always tastes best when freshly grated off a larger piece. Pre-grated Parmesan in my experience is not great, and if I could only get that I would just leave it out. Don’t spoil all your hard work by adding a substandard ingredient.

      Serves 4–6 50g butter

      175g potatoes, peeled and cut into neat 1cm dice

      175g onions, peeled and cut into 5mm dice

      2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed to a smooth paste

      Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

      1.2 litres chicken stock

      600ml curly kale leaves, measured after removing the stalks and gently torn into small bite-sized pieces

      Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (you may not need it all)

      4–6 heaped teaspoons grated Parmesan

      Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and allow to foam. Add the potatoes, onions and crushed garlic. Coat in the butter and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a butter wrapper or greaseproof paper and a tight-fitting lid. Cook on a very low heat to allow the vegetables to sweat gently until barely tender. This will take about 10 minutes. Don’t overcook and allow the diced potato to collapse.

      Add the stock, stir gently, bring to a simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes. The broth should be barely bubbling. If it cooks too fast at this stage, the delicacy of flavour of the chicken stock will be lost. By now the potato and onion should be completely tender but still holding their shape. Taste and correct the seasoning. This is the base and can be put aside until later.

      To finish the broth, bring the base back to a simmer. Add the kale and allow to cook very gently and uncovered until quite soft. This can take up to 10 minutes. Taste a little of the kale when you think it is ready, to be certain

Скачать книгу