A happiness of vegetables

These three vegetables I have heard an Italian Chef refer to as the Holy trinity of Italian Cuisine; they form the base of many sauces and casseroles. 

The photograph above was taken whilst preparing a warming bowl of Carrot and Coriander soup. After a few hot days cool weather descended again on the Alt Empordà plains bringing with it a series of particularly cold nights; and the ditching of the salad bowl in favour of the soup bowl. 

Whilst each vegetable makes a tasty soup in its own right, but it is when they are combined  that you start to understand what the Italian chef Antonio Carluccio was talking about.

 

Photography by Alastair Hendy.

Antonio is an excellent chef and an infectious character with a larger than life personality. His television programmes get to the heart of Italian regional cooking giving an insight into the traditional Mediterranean diet of his homeland. 

Celery is also recommended for sufferers from Gout, that most painful of medical conditions. When searching for celery in the supermarket I found it was named Apio, now when I feel a gout attack coming on I remember to reach for the celery, because Apio makes me happy once more.

         

Harvest Gold

Cooler days have been beneficial in respect of renewing our interest in making soup. If you have never tried your hand at making your own potion, try it and you will be amazed at just how good homemade soup can be. Many Mediterranean vegetables are ideal candidates for the soup pot. One recent addition to our menu has been the butternut squash; this vegetable a member of the gourd family grows well here but has often been overlooked by us.

 Only last night, I made a Butternut Squash soup that will become a regularly used recipe by us, if you would like to try it here is the method. 

Ingredients:

Large Butternut squash

Large onion

1 tsp ground cumin 

1 tsp ground corriander

Parsley

Thyme

Salt & Pepper    (to taste)

2 pints of stock (chicken or vegetable)

Dry white wine or fino sherry

Fresh Cream

Method:

Peel and de-seed the butternut squash, cut into large chunks (2") and place on a baking tray.

Sprinkle both the cumin and corriander over the squash. Place the tray into a hot oven 180C and roast the squash for 2o mins.

Sweat the chopped onion in a pan. Add the roasted squash and cook for 2 min's. on a high heat.

Add the stock, salt and pepper, and a splash of either dry white wine or 'Fino sherry', now add the parsley and thyme. Cook on a medium heat for 5 min's.

Place the vegetable mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. and then return to pan. Taste and season with  salt and pepper if required. (Tip: adding more parsley and thyme will reduce the need for salt).

Add more water if you desire a thinner soup. Passing the mixture through a sieve is another optional step

Warm the soup before adding a splash of cream. 

Savour the flavour of this soup.