Out & About November 2017

OA food & drink

Recipe

Cream of carrot soup with mini potato puffs I have often found carrot soup rather disappointing, but I love this version. It is velvety smooth and the rosemary goes so well with carrots – a welcome change from the coriander often used in carrot soups. The puffs are great fun and go well with the soup.

Serves 6 4 leeks, trimmed 50g butter 650g carrots, peeled and sliced 3 sprigs rosemary 1.5 litres chicken stock 150ml single cream sea salt freshly ground black pepper

Mini potato puffs 1 tbsp olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 250g potatoes, peeled and quartered and cooked until tender 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tsp curry powder 40g cheddar cheese, grated 2 tbsp crème fraîche flour, for dusting the work surface 1 x 230g pack of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry 1 egg yolk, for glazing sea salt freshly ground black pepper

n Cut the leeks lengthways through the middle just before the root end and fan out under a running tap. Rinse out any grit that may be sitting between the lay- ers, then shred the leeks finely widthways. n Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the leeks, carrots and rosemary sprigs. Sauté for five minutes, stirring occasionally. n Add the stock and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook gently for 50 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprigs and purée the soup in a blender. Tip the soup back into the pan, reheat and season. Stir in the cream just before serving. To make the mini potato puffs n Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Remove from the heat. n Add the potatoes, breaking them up into bite-sized pieces as you do so. Add the parsley, curry powder, cheese and crème fraîche, taste and adjust seasoning. n Take a 12-hole fairy cake tin. You won’t need to grease it as the pastry is buttery enough not to stick. Dust your work surface with flour, lay out the ready-rolled puffed pastry and use pastry cutters to cut out 12x7 cm circles and 12x6 cm circles. Seal the edges by pressing around the pies with the end of a teaspoon or your fingertips. n Brush each little pie with the egg yolk glaze and then bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

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What’s for dinner? Second helpings by Romilla Arber, £20, directly from the group, or plus p+p www.honestygroup.co.uk

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