Cream of mushroom soup served in crusty bread rolls
Serves: 4
Preparation and cooking: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 35ml olive oil
- 1 onion, about 100g, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 pinch fresh thyme
- 450g white or chestnut mushrooms, cut into quarters
- 600ml vegetable, beef or chicken stock
- 150ml crème fraîche or double cream, plus extra to serve
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 4 large crusty bread rolls
- 2tsp butter
- 8 fresh chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- Parmesan, grated
Preheat your oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6 – do this 15 minutes before baking
the bread rolls.
Heat 30ml olive oil in a medium-sized pan and sweat the onion, garlic, celery
and thyme for 10 minutes on a medium heat. Once the onion is translucent,
add 430g of the mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes until golden.
Add your choice of stock, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and
simmer for 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the crème fraîche
or cream and season. Blend using a hand blender or a food processor and set
aside. Re-heat 15 minutes before you serve.
Bake the rolls in the oven for 5 minutes. Slice off the tops and gouge out the
bread inside. Put the rolls back in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up
the crust. Heat 5ml olive oil in a small pan and cook the remaining
mushrooms for a few minutes until golden.
Once done, smear the inside of each roll with ½tsp of butter and fill with
soup. Top each with crème fraîche, mushrooms, a sprinkling of black pepper
and a little grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Nutrional information: 354 calories, 23g fat per serving
- FYI Crème fraîche has a similar consistency to double cream but it doesn’t
curdle when heated making it great for sauces. It also has a longer
shelf life – store it in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Smoked salmon fishcakes
Serves: 4
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
- 400g mashed potato
- 50g spinach
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1tbsp dill, roughly chopped
- 3tsp lemon juice
- 1tbsp crème fraîche
- 1½tbsp mayonnaise
- 150g smoked salmon, roughly chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 2tbsp plain flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- Spray oil or dash of olive oil
- Red chard and rocket leaves
- Sliced radish
- Lemon wedges
Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6 – do this 15 minutes before you are
ready to cook. Put the mashed potato into a large bowl and leave to cool.
Wilt the spinach in a small pan over a low heat with 1tbsp of water. Then tip
the spinach into a large bowl of cold water and drain. Squeeze out any
excess water by hand, roughly chop and then mix with the potato.
Tip in the spring onion, dill, lemon juice, crème fraîche, mayonnaise and
smoked salmon, then mix well. Check the flavour and season as required.
Cured or cooked salmon can also work here in place of the smoked, just
adjust the seasoning accordingly.
In a separate bowl, season the breadcrumbs and mix well. Divide the fishcake
mixture into eight roughly-shaped balls, then press them lightly to form
patties. Coat one pattie in a little plain flour, then dip into the egg
mixture before covering with breadcrumbs. Repeat the process for the other
fishcakes. These will keep in the fridge for 24 hours.
When you’re ready to eat, place the patties on a baking sheet, pour or spray a
tiny bit of oil on the fishcakes and cook for about 20 minutes until the
coating has become crisp and golden.
Serve two fishcakes per plate with a bitter salad, such as a mix of red chard
and rocket leaves and sliced radish, with lemon wedges on the side.
Nutritional information: 292 calories, 12g fat
