potatoe RECIPES

Leek and Potato soup

This tasty recipe comes from: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/leek-and-potato-soup
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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

Ingredients
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 2 medium onions
  • 400 g leeks
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 400 g potatoes
  • olive oil
  • 2 organic chicken or vegetable stock cubes
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Method
 

Instructions
  1. Peel and roughly slice the carrots.
  2. Slice the celery.
  3. Peel and roughly chop the onions.
  4. Cut the ends off the leeks, quarter them lengthways, wash them under running water and cut them into 1cm slices. Peel and slice the garlic.
  5. Place a large pan on a high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
  6. Add all your chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon.
  7. Cook for around 10 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened, but are still holding their shape, and the onion and leeks are lightly golden.
  8. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1cm dice.
  9. Put the stock cubes into a jug or pan and pour in 1.8 litres of boiling water from the kettle.
  10. Stir until the stock cubes are dissolved, then add to the vegetables.
  11. Add your potatoes.
  12. Give the soup a good stir and bring to the boil.
  13. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on
  14. Remove the pan from the heat.
  15. Season with salt and pepper.
  16. Serve like this or pulse until smooth using a hand blender or liquidizer. Divide between your serving bowls.

BAKED CREAMY CELERIAC AND POTATO GRATIN

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

INGREDIENTS:
  • 200 ml vegetable stock
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 200 ml double cream
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 large celeriac
  • 3 medium potatoes
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley

Method
 

DIRECTIONS:
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6.
  2. In a saucepan, bring 200ml vegetable stock to the boil
  3. Add 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed, then remove from the heat and stir in 200ml double cream.
  4. Set aside to cool and infuse.
  5. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and gently fry 1 large onion, chopped, for 10 minutes, until very soft.
  6. Peel and quarter 1 large celeriac, then slice to 3mm thickness.
  7. Put in a bowl with 3 medium potatoes, sliced to 3mm thickness.
  8. Toss with 1 tbsp plain flour, 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and some seasoning.
  9. Butter a 1.2-litre ovenproof dish and layer up the celeriac, potatoes and the softened onion.
  10. Strain the cream mixture (discard the garlic) into a jug and pour over the gratin.
  11. Bake for 1-1¼ hours, until golden brown and bubbling and the potatoes are cooked through.

ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 cups Baby spinach fresh
  • 1/4 cup Dill
  • 3 Garlic cloves minced (2 tsp)
  • 10 cups Root vegetables
  • 1 Sweet onion chopped (about 1 1/2 cups), medium
  • 1 tsp Thyme
  • 1 tsp Salt or more or less depending on broth used
  • 7 cups Water or vegetable stock
  • 1/3 cup Pearl barley
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper ground
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil or butter

Method
 

DIRECTIONS
  1. Heat oil or melt butter on medium heat in a large soup pot.
  2. Add onions and sauté 5 minutes until translucent. Stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
  3. Add root vegetables and stir for another 3 minutes.
  4. Add broth (or water), barley, thyme, salt, pepper and dill (if using).
  5. Bring to boil, cover, then reduce heat to low.
  6. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until vegetables and barley are soft and tender, but not mushy.
  7. Soup will thicken on standing or in fridge overnight. If too thick, add a little bit of water or broth.
  8. Stir in spinach for 1 minute to let it wilt.
  9. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more thyme, salt, dill etc as you like.
  10. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with crusty warm bread, homemade croutons (Note 4)
  11. Can also add grated Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil or a couple drops of lemon juice

Notes

• Root Vegetables and quantities: To get 10-12 cups of diced vegetables, I used 1 large sweet potato (~3 cups), 2 medium-large carrots (~2 cups), 1 large celery root (~2 cups), 1 large white turnip (~2 cups) plus 2 cups cubes of butternut squash (not actually a root vegetable but great in this soup). Feel free to use any combination of these or other root veggies you like including parsnips, rutabaga and white potato.
• Broth or Water options: Use any combination of water and vegetable broth. You can even use chicken broth. I use part vegetable broth and part concentrated undiluted canned chicken broth (adding my own water) if I’m not serving to vegetarians. I find it has more depth. Needless to say, homemade vegetable or chicken broth is even better.
• Barley – soak or not? Pearl barley, the kind of barley sold in most grocery stores, has its outer husk removed, so technically there is no need to soak it. To make it cook faster, I do give it a quick rinse and soak while I’m cutting up the vegetables. Feel free to ignore.
• Homemade Croutons (for 2-4): Cut 2 slices bread into 1/2-1 inch pieces. Most breads will work. Stale is good but not essential. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan to medium. Add bread cubes in a single layer in pan. Sprinkle with salt (and garlic powder if desired). Continue to toast, stirring occasionally until nicely browned, about 4-5 minutes.
• Make Ahead: Root vegetable soup can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for 4 days. Or frozen for up to 4 months. It gets thicker on standing or freezing, so add some additional broth or water when reheating.