Tag Archive: Soups & Stews

  1. Shin Beef Stew with Dumplings

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    The clocks have gone back, the leaves on the trees are turning … winter is coming! But it’s OK because that means slow-cook season is back.  

    In my opinion a delicious beef stew will bring warmth and comfort to even the coldest day. Shin of beef is perfect for stewing, it is a reasonably cheap cut of meat with a lovely gelatinous grain running through it. When you cook it slowly in a delicious broth the ingredients transform into a rich, melt-in-the-mouth ‘wonder-dish’. 

    I’ve included a few of Sheffield’s finest ingredients in our recipe. Henderson’s Relish has been made in Sheffield since 1885. It is a secret blend of tamarinds, cayenne peppers, vinegar, garlic and cloves. A splash or two of Hendo’s adds layers of sweetness and spice to the stew. I chose Bradfield Brewery’s Farmers Brown Cow for the ‘ale’ element of the stew. Bradfield is a picturesque village nestled away in the Peak District. The brewery uses natural spring water from a borehole on its own farm, together with the finest malts and traditional hops to brew their award-winning beers.

    You might notice something a bit different about the pan that we’ve used for this recipe. This is the first outing of our premium copper base stockpot. We developed the new range of cookware to complement the existing copper tri-ply. The bodies are made from one thick sheet of 18/8 grade stainless steel, making them lighter than the copper-tri-ply. The base is a combination of stainless steel, aluminium and copper utilising the same energy-efficient and heat-dispersing technology that you find on the professional tri-ply range. The stainless steel doesn’t tarnish in the same way the copper does so it is really easy to keep the pan bodies looking pristine. The pans have deep bodies to ensure that they have serviceable, family-friendly capacities. We also opted for glass lids which means that you can keep an eye on your food bubbling away on the hob-top and we included a soft grip section on the handles for a bit of additional comfort when the pans are being used. We are so excited about the pans making their way to market and we hope that you love them too.

    Written by Faye

    ProWare Copper Base Range Stew

    Serves:  6 as a main dish

    Prep time: 25 minutes

    Cooking time: 3 hours

    Ingredients

    For the Stew

    • 1kg shin of beef, cut into ‘egg-size’ chunks
    • A handful of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
    • Beef dripping (or another fat such as butter or olive oil)
    • 2 onions
    • 400ml beef stock
    • Bottle of ale (300 – 400ml)
    • 2 bay leaves
    • A few sprigs of thyme
    • 10 – 12 chantenay carrots
    • 1 large parsnip, cut into chunks
    • 4 small turnips, cut into chunks
    • A few splashes of Henderson’s Relish, to season

    For the Dumplings

    • 75g suet
    • 150g plain flour
    • A pinch of mustard powder
    • Salt and pepper for seasoning

    Equipment

    Cooking Method

    1. Toss the chunks of beef in the seasoned flour.
    2. Heat the fat in the stockpot until it is very hot. Fry the meat in batches, ensuring that the meat is evenly brown. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon, leaving some fat behind in the pan.
    3. Fry the sliced onions in the fat left in the pan. Cook the onions gently for 5 minutes until they are a medium brown colour.
    4. Return the fried meat cubes to the pan and combine with the onions. Deglaze the pan by adding a splash of the stock and scraping up the flour and any of the seasoning which might be starting to stick to the pan. 
    5. Add the beef stock, the beer and the bay leaves. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 to 2 and a half hours.
    6. Prepare the dumplings by mixing the suet, flour and mustard powder together in a bowl. Add a few tablespoons of water, just a little bit at a time to ensure that the dumplings don’t become too sticky. Don’t overwork the mixture, the dumplings should be just about moist enough to ensure that the ingredients hold together when rolled into balls. Separate out into 8 balls, cover & refrigerate.
    7. After about one hour on the hob top add the thyme and the vegetables.
    8. 20 – 25 minutes before you are ready to serve sit the dumplings on the top of the stew and cover with the lid. The dumplings will increase in size so remember to leave plenty of space between them.
    9. Once the dumplings are cooked through serve the stew in pre-heated bowls. Season with Henderson’s relish to taste and enjoy!

     

  2. Thai Red Curry Soup with Seared Scallops

    2 Comments

    This soup, based on a recipe in the Rebar Modern Food Cookbook called the Thai Dragon Bowl, is great because it’s simple and very versatile. I’ve made it so many times with different variations so I’d recommend experimenting with the ingredients to suit your fancy or what you have to hand.

    Thai Red Curry Soup prep

    I increased the quantity of curry paste in the stock to make it more flavourful and spicy too. I also added the shallots as well as the scallops but you could easily change these for prawns or a seared steak, sliced after frying. This is the first time I’ve made this soup with Thai Basil, if you can’t source Thai basil then Italian basil will be fine but the Thai basil does add a unique peppery, liquorice flavour.

    Thai Red Curry Soup on the hob with our Copper Tri-ply Stock pot and Frying Pan

    I’d also like to introduce my new little side kick, Luna who enjoyed a piece of pak choi as I cooked.

    luna 2

    I’m entering this recipe in Elizabeth’s Shop Local blog event as the pak choi is UK grown and was in my veg box last week. I am also entering it into Simple and In Season, hosted by Ren Behan.

    Written by Corin

    thai_soup40 resize

    Serves: 4
    Prep time:  20 minutes
    Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

    Equipment

    Ingredients

    • 2 litres vegetable or chicken stock
    • 3 lemongrass stalks, top 2 inches trimmed off and the remainder finely sliced
    • 3 tablespoons galangal or ginger, finely chopped
    • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    • 1 tablespoon coconut oil (can replace with groundnut or vegetable oil)
    • 4 shallots, finely sliced
    • 1-2 tablespoons red curry paste to taste
    • 2 tablespoons palm sugar
    • 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
    • 60ml fish sauce
    • 250ml coconut milk (optional or use less for a healthier option or light coconut milk)
    • juice of one lime
    • 150g noodles (thick rice or udon noodles)
    • 200g firm tofu, cut into 1-2cm cubes
    • 12 scallops
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 4 Kaffir lime leaves, stems removed and finely sliced
    • 200g of pak choi, chopped
    • 1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped into diagonal rounds
    • 200g of cherry or plum tomatoes, cut into quarters
    • 60g fresh coriander, stems removed and chopped
    • 120g Thai basil leaves, roughly torn
    • 2-4 Thai red or green chillis, finely chopped

    Cooking Method

    1. Heat the stock in the stockpot and bring to a gentle simmer before adding the lemongrass, galangal and garlic. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes then strain the stock through a sieve into a medium bowl.
    2. Return the stockpot to the hob over a medium heat and add the coconut oil. Once melted add the shallots and gently fry until translucent, but not brown. At this point, return the stock to the pan and bring to a gentle simmer again.
    3. Stir in the curry paste, palm sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and more soy sauce or fish sauce if desired.
    4. Now add the noodles, tofu, kaffir lime leaves and cook for about 5 minutes or until the noodles are ready.
    5. After about halfway through the cooking time of the noodles, add the pak choi.
    6. Meanwhile, in the frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of butter until it starts to bubble then add the scallops flat side down, cook for around 2 minutes per side until slightly browned being careful not to overcook them.
    7. Once the noodles are tender add the spring onions, tomatoes,  lime juice, coriander,  and Thai basil. Stir well and serve immediately with 3 scallops per bowl and sliced chilli rounds.

    Shop Local Blog EventSimple and In Season Badge

  3. Creamy Broccoli Soup with Almond Rocket Pesto

    4 Comments

    In my veg box last week I received some lovely Purple Sprouting Broccoli, which according to Beanies blog has been growing well in all the Spring sunshine we’ve had.  I decided to try a Broccoli Soup recipe based on one from a restaurant called Rebar in my home town of Victoria, BC, which I’ve made a couple of times before.  

     

    ProWare's broccoli soup prep photo

    This time I replaced the regular broccoli with the sprouting purple variety. I also swapped the parsley and the Parmesan cheese in the pesto for peppery rocket or arugula as Canadians call it, and a hard goats’ cheese. The original recipe only uses the broccoli florets, but I used the leaves and stems (where possible) in order to limit waste and in my view… the more veg the better!

     

    ProWare's Broccoli Soup cooking photo

    I love how the pesto in this recipe adds a punch of flavour to the soup however don’t be tempted to add more garlic to the pesto! As a garlic lover I often add more than a recipe calls for, but I can attest to the fact that there is no need in this case as the first time I tested this recipe I got a wicked headache from adding extra garlic to the pesto, so be warned!

    I’m linking this recipe to Helen and Michelle’s Extra Veg blog event for March, a brilliant and healthy idea which is all about adding an extra portion of veg to your meals/snacks therefore filling you up so you’re less likely to munch on the bad stuff! I’m also entering this recipe for Ren’s Simple and in Season blog event and Elizabeth’s Shop Local blog event.

    Written by Corin

    Serves: 4
    Prep time: 20-30 minutes
    Cooking time: 40 minutes

    Ingredients

    For the Soup

    • 1400ml vegetable or chicken stock
    • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    • 1 yellow onion, chopped
    • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
    • 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
    • 1200g of purple sprouting broccoli including leaves and useable stem
    • If unavailable you can use 3 large heads of green broccoli instead
    • 225g spinach, stemmed
    • 240ml double cream
    • 1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper

    For the Pesto

    • 70g of rocket
    • 120g of flaked almonds, toasted
    • 1 garlic clove (medium sized or 2 smaller cloves)
    • 75g hard goats’ cheese, grated
    • 70ml olive oil
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Equipment

    Cooking Method

    For the Pesto

    1. Put the rocket, almonds, garlic clove and goats’ cheese in the food processor.
    2. Pulse to combine and then slowly pour in the oil.
    3. Mix until smooth and season to taste.

    For the Soup

    1. Prepare the broccoli by cutting off any of the stems that are too tough, and then peel the remaining outside of the stems to remove any further toughness.  Reserve 2 cups of broccoli florets generally the same size including about an inch or 2 of the stems and set aside for later.  Roughly chop the remaining broccoli, leaves, and stems.  Make sure you cut out the stems of the broccoli leaves if these are tough, or at least cut the stems up the middle lengthwise to soften them up.
    2. Gently heat the vegetable or chicken stock in a saucepan and keep it warm while preparing the rest of the soup.
    3. Over a medium to high heat, heat the vegetable oil in the stockpot and sauté the onion until it is translucent.  Add the garlic, salt, thyme and chilli flakes and cook for a few more minutes.
    4. Mix in the broccoli, leaves and stems as well as the potato.  Cook for a few minutes and then add the stock to cover. Simmer, partially covered until the potatoes and broccoli are just cooked.
    5. While the soup is simmering, bring a small/medium saucepan of water to the boil.
    6. Prepare a bowl of iced water with 5-10 cubes. You’ll be plunging the reserved florets of broccoli into the iced water when you take it off the heat. Quenching in cold water will prevent it from loosing it’s colour.
    7. When the saucepan has reached a rolling boil add 1 teaspoon of salt (which will increase the boil) then carefully add the reserved broccoli florets. The broccoli is done when it is slightly softened although still bright green and firm. This takes around 1-2 minutes after the water has started to re-boil after the broccoli florets have been added.
    8. When the broccoli is done remove it using a skimmer or slotted spoon and put it into the bowl of iced water.
    9. Let the broccoli cool and then remove it from the water on to a clean towel to dry.
    10. Remove the stockpot from the heat and stir in the spinach. Once the spinach wilts, puree the mixture with a hand blender or soup blender until almost smooth. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper.
    11. Reheat the soup if necessary, and then serve with a garnish of broccoli florets and a dollop of pesto in each bowl.

    Extra Veg Badge Simple and In Season Badge ShopLocal

     

     

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