Lamb soup (Icelandic meat soup with a twist)

Spring time is here you might say, still a bit cool in Iceland though so a last chance to warm up with a hearty Lamb soup.  What I love a bout spring is the longer days, the daylight that is.  It is bright 6 in the morning and until about 21.00   I am one of those who really love the almost 24 hour daylight in the summer.  But I also like to take a break from it with the darkness of winter because then I appreciate it when it comes again, I don´t mind the darkness in winter either.  Two different seasons but I am always glad for spring and to get up in the morning more easily.

The meat of lamb in Iceland is delicious.  Try it if you ever come here.  The lamb runs free and it is more like a meat of a game.  They wander around the mountains where they nibble on the fresh country side and often they go to the shore to eat the seaweed, plain healthy!  When I got left overs from the leg of lamb for example I sometimes make a soup.  The classic Icelandic lamb soup has lamb, on the bone, onion, rolled oats (or rice) carrots, rutabaga and cabbage.

I on the other hand love the Icelandic Barley.  It is perfect with lamb.  Then I use can of tomatoes.  I usually never make the same soup twice because this is a good way to clean your fridge.  Therefor I use what I have.  This time because it was after Easter I had leftovers from the Easter dinner, leg of lamb and bigotto (barley cooked inspired by risotto).  I cooked the barley in water with a handful of dried wild mushrooms.

Lamb Soup

• 1 cup cooked barley (with the dried mushrooms)
• 1 orange pepper
• 1/2 onion
• 1 can organic plum tomatoes
• 1/2 cup cooked cannelloni beans
• 1 cup chopped lamb meat
• 2 teaspoons curry
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil, 3-4 tablespoons
• As much water as you like the soup to be thick

Sear the veggies with oil.  Add the rest and bring to boil, simmer for 15 minutes or so.  I didn´t use much water, maybe a cup,  because I liked it on the thicker side.  If you have fresh cilantro that would be lovely.

Anything goes here, if you use the cooked barley, cooked lamb and can of tomatoes you could endlessy improvise.  Once I had an indian dinner I threw in a soup like that.   Potatoes or pasta instead of barley would be nice too.

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Two very different cauliflower soups and the underestimated Calzone

My next door neighbor and I decided to cook together, though separately, as we do rather often. She cooks at her home and I cook at my home, then me meet up at either home and our families eat together.  We slightly talk about what we will be cooking to have some Ideas what the other is doing to synchronize the food and every time what ever we cook it always goes perfectly well together.

Even when she made a carrot soup and I did chile-sour cream flatbread and a calzone.  While we ate,  a huge calzone, full of salami, cheese and other goodness was baking in the oven. I was very sure we wouldn´t have room for a slice of that.  I was wrong.  I put it on the table after we finished the soup and chili bread and it was gone in 10 minutes.

It was the best calzone ever.  I have underestimated calzone.  I will be making it again veeeery soon.  Can´t wait.

Anyways… This time my neighbor and I had some cauliflower.  We decided to do a cauliflower soup contest, we both won!

It´s remarkable how many completely different soups you can make with cauliflower.  I don´t have very accurate recipe this time, but i doesn´t matter.  Just use what ever ingredients you have with the cauliflower and taste it until you´re happy with the taste.

Cauliflower and potatoes are good base for a soup.  I never use the little msg soup cubes.  I find the ingredients I use when making soups give me enough flavor.  Fresh herbs and little salt can also help flavor up a good soup.

I did not have heavy cream or milk this time.

Cauliflower soup with good bacon

• 1 cauliflower
• 4-5 potatoes
• 3-4 good quality bacon
• Walnuts, a good handful
• Bit of butter
• Black pepper
• garlic cloves
• Heavy cream if you like
• 2 apples

Boil Cauliflower, potatoes and apple in some water.

Fry the bacon and add to the cauliflower pot.

In a mixer make a paste of the nuts and tiny bit of water

Add the nuts, pepper, butter and pressed garlic cloves to the soup.  Put the soup in a blender for few spins.  Use as much water from the pot as you like , depending on how thick you want your soup.  If you are adding cream put the soup back in the pot with some cream and heat it up.

Cauliflower soup with grilled pepper

• 1 cauliflower
• 5-6 potatoes
• Grilled red pepper
• Garlic cloves
• Fresh basil
• Curry
• Milk or heavy cream

Broil the red pepper in the oven.  Boil everything in a water in a pot.  Add the grilled pepper and spices.  Puree in a blender.  Serve.

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Pregnant or not? …Tomato soup with broiled peppers and homemade croutons

It´s funny to see how my cooking changes depending on if I am pregnant or not.  If not I am into gourmet food paring it with some good wine.  If… It´s all about baking and desserts.  So now you can figure it out by browsing through my Icelandic blog  for the last 9 months or so (if you don´t speak Icelandic the pictures will tell you…)

Of course I  eat food as well when I am pregnant, but it´s  often “dull” healthy food like simple boiled salted cod with potatoes and butter, recipes I don´t think many would be interest in. And I love making homemade pizzas.  In between I do some good stuff like a Tomato soup with broiled peppers, and of course the homemade rye bread and the crisp bread.

But once not pregnant I have no urge for the sugar in desserts and cakes and bake very little for the sweet tooth I don´t have.

I have been eating lots of good veggie soups, this is one of my favorite.  It´s tasty and easy to make.  The essential part is the broild peppers.  I did tell you how to broil peppers here.  That is a total must for this recipe.

Tomato soup

• 1-2  cans tomatoes, some good organic, I like the ones from Eden.
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red pepper
• 1-2 dl heavy cream
• Good olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Cut the red pepper in half, put it in an oven prove dish, with the cut down, season with olive oil salt and pepper if you like. broil it.  See here how it´s done.

Heat olive oil in a pot, on medium heat cook some onion and garlic.  Add tomatoes and the red pepper (after you remove the skin). Simmer for 15 minutes.

Place everything or half of the soup in a blender. Or not at all if you like it chunky.

Put it back in the pot, add the cream, season with salt and pepper.

What also makes this soup really good are the croutons, because I have the soup mild in spices the croutons totally spice it up.

Croutons

• A day old bread, like baguette or something good
• Italian spices, like Basil, Oregano or Rosemary
• Salt
• Fresh black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil, as much as you need.

Cut the bread into bite sized squares.  I used bread, baguette,  I made from a home made pizza dough

Fry the bread  squares on a pan with oil, we are not deep frying, just add 3-4 table spoons at a time to the pan, if you find the croutons dry, just add some more oil, little at a time.  You can also use butter.

Serve with the soup

And for the last extra touch, a fresh Parmigiano Reggiano…NOT the fake powder in a box…it has to be fresh and real 😀

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Carrot – orange soup

You might have heard about the extra Virgin Olive Oil scandal.  The oil was not pure olive oil and nothing extra virgin about it most of the time.  It even had artificial flavors and coloring to look like EVOO.

It is hard to trust people in the food industry now a days.

Here is a list over the olive oils that failed and passed the test.

Here is the report

And a whole book was written about this.

And good reading about the olive oil in one place.

Since I am posting all these link here is one more about olive oil.

I am lucky we have a little gourmet shop called Frú Lauga.  They have a great olive oil from Sicily. And I got those purple carrots there as well.

This is a really good soup and healthy. Very simple and super good. Makes a great starter.

CARROT ORANGE SOUP

• Ca 6 carrots
• 1-2 ts. fresh grounded ginger
• 1 shallot onion
• Olive oil
• 1 cup orange juice, freshest one, even with pulp
• Ca half a liter water
• Half a veggie stock cube
• Salt and pepper

Chop the carrots roughly and boil with the stock cube. In another pot in the olive oil brown the shallot and ginger. When the carrots are boiled put them in a blender with about 2 cups of the stock from the pot, and the shallot and the ginger. Add the orange juice to it. Blend until it´s pureed. If you want it less thick use more of the stock. Put the pureed soup back to the pot and heat as needed. Salt and pepper by taste.

Cooking with Jamie Oliver – Chick pea soup

I didn´t know Jamie Oliver had 4 kids. He is very original when it comes to naming his kids.We have a committee in Iceland that controls what you are allowed to name your kids, aha we do! But we do have lots of options it´s not that. But the committe mostly makes sure the grammar is correct, we have rather complicated grammar in our language.

Jamie Oliver named his kids Pippy Honey, Daisy Boo, Petal Blossom, Buddy Bear. I would not be able to name my kids any of that…

I am still cooking from the book Naked Chef, I do change the recipes a little bit, like if I don´t have something.

This time I cooked Chickpea and Leek Soup.  It was kind of tasty. If you have chickpeas and a leek it´s totally worth the try.

Chickpea and Leek Soup (serves 3)

 

• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 medium potato, peeled
• 1 medium leeks
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Knob of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced s
• alt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 L chicken or vegetable stock
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Extra virgin olive oil

 

Cook the potatoes until tender, about 1 hour.

Cook the potatoes until tender, about 1 hour.

Remove the outer skin of the leeks, slice lengthwice from the root up, wash and slice finely.

Warm a pan, and add the tablespoon of oil and the butter.

Add the leeks and garlic to the pan and add a pinch of salt.

Cook for a bit Add the drained chickpeas and potatoes and cook for 1 minute.

Add about two-thirds of the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.

If you want to puree the soup put it in a processor, or leave it chunky and brothy, or like Jamie does puree half and leave the other half whole.

Now add enough of the remaining stock to achieve the consistency you like.

Season to taste, and add freshly grated Parmesan.

Drizzle wit a good EV olive oil, black pepper and an extra springling of Parmesan.

Serve with homemade bread or any other good bread, like baguette .

Pho, Vietnamese soup

This Vietnamese soup is very tasty and fun to eat.

It´s a noodle soup and the broth is made from ox tails. Then you slice thin slices of raw quality beef into the hot soup and the broth cooks up the beef.

If you wanna know more about Pho you can read about it on wikipedia.

The key to a successful soup here is to have fresh ingredients, fresh cilantro and good cut of beef. Rice noodles are must.

Pho

Start making the broth:

• 1 ox tail
• 1-2 cm fresh ginger
• 4 anise stars
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 msk fennel seeds
• 6 cloves
• Few coriander seeds (1 -2 tsk)

Boil the ox tail for 4 hours with fresh ginger, anise, cinnamon, fennel, cloves and coriander seeds.

Take away all fat that floats and run the soup through a sieve.

On the table you serve the condiments and dinner guest choose what they put in their soup, but of course we reccommend using everything!

• Rice noodles, one bag, cooked.
• Beef, thinly sliced (f.x sirloin)
• 2 lime, cut into boats
• 2 chili peppers, finely chopped
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• Spring onion, chopped
• Fresh coriander, chopped
• Scriracha sauce

Put every thing in separate bowls or on dishes and serve on the table.

Serve with Scriracha sauce.

Put the noodles in a bowl and pour hot broth in the bowl.

Serve right a way.

Dinner guests take care of the rest.