A soup that’s the perfect starter for entertaining, both for its elegance and its ease of preparation. The broccoli soup can be prepared a day in advance, ready to reheat just before serving. It is best to peel and roast the pears to serve, but if you decide to prepare them earlier, put them in water with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown, then drain and pat dry with kitchen paper before roasting so they caramelize nicely.
SERVES 4
2 large heads of broccoli, about 1kg
800ml hot chicken or vegetable stock (see pages 258-9)
100g stilton, crumbled
2 firm but ripe pears
25g butter
handful of toasted flaked almonds, to garnish
Cut the broccoli into florets, but do not waste the stalks. Peel off the tough skins from the stalks and roughly chop up the tender core.
Bring the stock to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add the broccoli and cover the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the broccoli is tender but still bright green. In 2 batches, blend the broccoli into a smooth soup, adding half the stilton as you do so. Return the soup to the pan. Taste and adjust the seasoning and reheat just before serving.
Peel the pears and cut them in half lengthways. Remove the cores with an apple corer. Melt the butter in a pan and add the pear halves, cut-side down. Spoon over the foaming butter to baste as you cook the pears. Pan-roast them on one side for 1-2 minutes until they are golden brown around the edges, then flip them over to roast the other side. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, then remove to a plate and drain off the excess butter.
Pour the soup into warm bowls and rest a pan-roasted pear half in the centre. Scatter over the remaining crumbled stilton and the flaked almonds. Serve at once.
Conger eels are considered a delicacy by the French and Japanese, and rightly so. Here I’ve used the eel as a base for a flavourful fish soup. It’s rich, so serve it in small bowls as a starter with a few garlic croutes on the side.
SERVES 4-6
2kg conger eel fillets (get your fishmonger to remove the skin and cut the meat into
boneless fillets) pinch of saffron strands olive oil, for cooking 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced
1 carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 star anise
generous pinch of cayenne pepper
250ml Pernod or Noilly Prat
1 large potato, about 300g, finely diced
5 vine-ripened plum tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
sprig each of basil and flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
1 litre hot fish stock (see page 262)
squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
Season the eel fillets with salt, pepper and saffron, then drizzle over a little olive oil. Toss well to coat evenly. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a wide pan. Fry the eel fillets in batches over a moderate heat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Add a little more oil to the pan and toss in the fennel, carrot, celery, shallot, garlic, star anise and cayenne pepper. Stir frequently over a medium heat for a few minutes. Pour in the Pernod and boil until reduced to a syrupy consistency. Add the potato, tomatoes and herbs, then return the eel to the pan. Pour in enough stock to cover and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are very soft.
Fish out and discard the star anise. In batches, blend the soup until smooth, holding a tea towel over the blender as you blitz to avoid hot-soup splatters. Strain the soup through a fine sieve into a clean pan, pressing down to extract all the liquid.
Return the soup to a gentle simmer and reheat for a few minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a squeeze of lemon juice if you wish. Pour into warm soup bowls and serve immediately.
This is a great quick and healthy soup for a weeknight supper. It is also ideal for vegetarians – simply omit the bacon and use vegetable stock. You also could add a mixture of root vegetables and replace the rice with macaroni or other pasta.
SERVES 4-6
knob of butter
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra
to drizzle 3 rashers of streaky bacon,
chopped 1 medium onion, chopped
into 1cm dice 450g turnips, chopped into
1cm dice 150g risotto rice, such as
carnaroli, vialone nano or
arborio 800ml hot chicken or
vegetable stock (see
pages 258-9) 5-6 heaped tbsp freshly
grated parmesan handful of flat-leaf parsley,
leaves chopped
Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan. As the butter begins to foam, add the bacon and fry for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Stir in the onion, turnips and some salt and pepper and cook for another 6-8 minutes until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden. Tip in the rice and stir well, adding a little more oil if necessary. Toast the rice for a minute, then pour in the stock to cover. Give the mixture a stir, then partially cover the pan. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until the rice is tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and add a little boiling water as necessary to increase the broth.
Just before serving, stir in 2 tbsp of parmesan. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and sprinkle over the remaining parmesan and the chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
This crab soup instantly transports me to lovely holidays by the Cornish coast. It may seem like a lot of effort to pick out the flesh from