Baked courgettes with leeks and blue cheese

Not a capital offence surely?

I'm talking about unpremeditated blogging here, the kind that happens spontaneously when one makes a new recipe just for fun, it turns out successfully and only then does one realise that one should have had the camera handy before the finish line.  I'm hoping that my punishment won't be eternity slaving over a hot stove for this one.

We're having a rare, make that unprecedented, week in our flat in town.  In the more than four years we've owned High Windows, I've only ever spent three consecutive nights here at a time.  We've planned, on several occasions, to take a week and play tourists in town but never managed to pull it off (perhaps because it's too close to home to really make it a proper holiday) and now, with the insane atmosphere in the capital, it's not the place to be playing anything except perhaps sports for one's country.

But we're here anyway and one of my intentions on this break was to make a new recipe every night.  We've been here for three so far and the first dinner had to be something last minute, easy and familiar.  The second night we went out as I'd been at work all day and didn't want to be getting my head around unfamiliar recipes at the end of it.  So it wasn't until last night that I hauled out what was to have been my kick-off on Night One and away I went.

This is an easy one.  It's vegetarian and would make a good side dish for grilled chicken or fish but it also works as a stand alone and we both agreed it worked well.

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 medium courgettes, halved lengthwise and then cut again into quarters

25g butter

2 leeks, washed and sliced
100g blue cheese, crumbled (David is not a fan of blue and goat's cheese works very well too)
50g walnut pieces (and for once, with Kit no longer living here, I went out on a limb and added these too)

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the courgettes, in batches, cut side down.  Transfer to an oblong ovenproof dish. 

Melt butter in the same pan and fry the leeks gently for 4 to 5 minutes until they begin to soften.  Season then spoon on top of the courgettes.  Sprinkle the cheese and walnuts evenly on top.  I also added some grated cheddar which, in our opinion, improved the whole but it's not necessary.

Bake at 200ºC for about 20 minutes until walnuts are crisp, vegetables are tender and cheese is melted.  Scatter a few halved cherry tomatoes over the top to add colour and a loaf of hot ciabatta wouldn't go amiss either.

Now of course I realise I could and should have done this on the first night as it's so easy.  But I was too tired to be chopping and slicing at that point, and I think we enjoyed it more as it was planned beforehand, unlike this blog entry!

Five-confession baked potato soup

Soup’s on!

But it comes with a few caveats.  Ready? 

First one:  I’m not a fan of soup.  I acknowledge that it’s hearty, healthy, filling and warm.  The accompanying soft rolls or bread or, as it is tonight, warm ciabatta are usually the best part for me.  I grew up in a house where there was often a stock pot on the hob or stove, boiling the hell out of the bones – chicken, lamb or beef – from the last roast.  And one of our cats only ate chopped boiled liver so I have a vivid memory of that simmering alongside (in a different pan of course!), and can still visualise the pan and smell the contents if I close my eyes.

Confession two:  soups R not Alison.  I don’t tend to make or eat them.  But now and then, at lunch, usually at a National Trust property, I will eat a bowl of soup (as a main, never ever a starter) with the necessary and more enjoyable crusty or fluffy carb accompaniment.

My family loves soup.  I love my family.  The tinned variety (soup, not family) is full of salt and some include nitrites.  There isn’t much of nutritive value in the varieties that fill the shelves in the supermarkets.  Messrs Baxter and Campbell take note.

Deep breath……………… please don’t judge me but I asked for (here’s the third confession) a soup maker for Christmas.  It does everything from frying the onions through mixing, boiling simmering, stirring at the press of a button and then blending to finish.  It’s the lazy woman’s soup companion.  It’s my new best friend.

So I’m putting it to good use and trying a recipe that Alex passed on which is originally from Smitten Kitchen and which I offer as my first attempt at making soup for pleasure (I’ve done the duty variety before).

Oh, and better get that fourth confession out of the way now:  although the title is ‘baked potato’ soup, the potatoes are not, in fact, baked.  They are boiled.  I have since found a recipe which requires them to be baked first and I will certainly try that but I think the idea here is that one puts toppings on the soup, of the kind that one might put on a baked or  jacket potato.

1 head garlic (I gulped and then shuddered when I saw this but it’s for flavour, not for chopping and including and hopefully we’ll all keep our friends in the coming days)

3 tbsp unsalted butter (olive oil works just as well)

2 medium leeks, washed and chopped into rounds which then become individual circles as the leeks cook

1litre chicken or vegetable stock (I always use vegetable so that the chicken doesn’t overpower other flavours unless it’s a chicken dish of course)

2 bay leaves

dash of salt (although most stock cubes, gels, powders have enough salt to see you through so really not necessary)

2 ½ lb (1 kg approx) russet potatoes cut into ½ inch cubes.

100 ml sour cream or crème fraîche   

I couldn’t find russet but any baker will do and I’m using Albert Bartlett Rooster potatoes.  I reckon the rooster is the russet.  The fifth and final confession (in this recipe) is that I can’t follow any recipe exactly.  I add subtract and substitute at will but for this blog I’m staying within the limits of the suggested ingredients and amounts.  You will be able to chop and change no doubt.  I will give recipes as written and my own suggestions as well. 

No more diversions and here is the rest of the recipe if you’ve not opened a tin of ready made by now!

Rinse the head of garlic to remove any grit.  Chop off top third and then peel down to the cloves, leaving the whorl intact. 

Melt butter or oil over medium heat.

Into melted butter put the leeks and cook until soft but not brown (5 minutes will do it).  Add the garlic head, stock, bay leaves, and a dash of salt if you want it.  Reduce heat and simmer until garlic is soft and the cloves are beginning to separate (perhaps 25 minute)s.  Add potatoes and continue to simmer for a further 15 minutes until potatoes are soft. 

Remove bay leaves and garlic head and discard.  If you want an extra garlic boost, mash a couple of the cloves and return to the pan.  Add sour cream and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. 

Now remove a couple of ladlefuls of the chunky bits and put aside.  Blend the remaining mixture in blender in batches or with a hand blender until smooth.  Return the vegetable chunks to the mix to give it texture.

Serve in big bowls and offer a variety of toppings:  snipped chives, more sour cream or crème fraîche and chopped and fried bacon bits for authenticity.   Or simply eat it unadorned and enjoy.

  

Bacon and leek quiche

I was looking through the freezer this week - partly because it is in desperate need of being cleaned out and defrosted, but partly looking for ingredients that might inspire a new blog post.  At the back was an ice-encrusted quiche from Sainsburys, stored in there for a night where I didn't really feel like cooking.  Quiche is one of those things - like pastry and yoghurt - that I used to think life was too short to make from scratch.  Well, I've started making my own pastry and aim to try yoghurt at some point this year, so why not quiche?

This recipe was given to me by my grandmother (on my father's side) - an excellent cook all her life, notwithstanding her habit of buying beautiful cuts of meat and then broiling the flavour and texture right out of them!  It comes from the bottom of a pie plate she had bought years ago, but she swore it worked well.  And she was right - I can tell that I'll be making quiche rather than buying it in the store from now on.  Wish I could call her tonight and thank her for it.

(Grandma's) Quiche Lorraine

For the pastry:
6oz (175g) plain flour
4oz (110g) butter, cubed
pinch of salt
a little cold water to mix (4-5 tbsp should do it)

For the filling:
2 eggs and 1 yolk
3oz (75g) bacon, diced
5oz (150g) cream
2oz (50g) grated cheese (the recipe called for gruyere but I used cheddar)
1 small onion (or 2-3 spring onions), chopped (I had leeks that needed using up so I substituted these for the onion - it seems like the kind of recipe that you can add or subtract all manner of ingredients to depending on preference)
1/2oz (10g) butter
seasoning, to taste

Store-bought pastry works just fine, but if you feel like making your own (and it really isn't as daunting as it seems!), sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Make a well in the centre, and add the cold water a tablespoon at a time, stirring until the mixture forms a dough.  Knead it lightly until it is smooth and then wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 20 minutes.  Roll the pastry out into a crust and place in a (9-10") pie dish.

Make the filling by beating the eggs and the extra yolk in a basin, and then adding the grated cheese, cream and pepper and salt.  Melt the butter in a pan and add the bacon and onions.  Cook slowly until onions are translucent and then turn into the egg mixture.  Mix and pour into the pastry case.  Bake at 375-400F (190-200C) until firm and golden.  This should take about 40 minutes.

The quiche can be eaten hot or cold (looking forward to using up the leftovers in my packed lunches this week!) and goes nicely with a green salad.