Stilton, Apple and Parsnip Soup

A hearty winter soup with a delicious medley of flavours.



Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1 garlic
  
• 1 bunch leeks
  
• 1lb parsnips
  
• 3-4 large apples
  
• 1/2 cup apple wine
  
• 3-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  
• 1 oven roasted garlic
  
• 300g Stilton cheese
  
• 2 cups light cream or half & half

Directions:

Melt butter in large pan with lid.
Mince garlic.
Dice leeks (whites and "solid" pale green portion of shoots).

Cook garlic, leeks and butter until leeks are translucent. (Approximately 5 minutes.)
Remove pan from heat and allow to sit, covered, for 5 minutes.
Peel and dice apples and parsnips.

Add apples, parsnips, wine and stock to pan.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until parsnips are tender. (Approximately 20 minutes.)

Add oven roasted garlic.
Crumble cheese into soup and stir until cheese is melted.
Purée soup in a food processor.
Return mixture to pan.
Add cream.
Heat gently until soup is hot.
Serve immediately.

Saffron Mussel Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs live mussels
  
• 3/4 cup dry wine
  
• 1/4 cup butter
  
• 1 yellow onion
  
• 6 small leeks
  
• 1 lb potatoes
  
• 3 cups fish or vegetable stock
  
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
  
• parsley to garnish

Directions:

Scrub and rinse mussels.
Steam mussels in wine in a covered pan until mussels open. (Approximately 5 minutes on high heat.)
Remove mussels from liquid, discarding any which failed to open.
Set aside both mussels and liquid.
Peel onion and potatoes.
Wash leeks thoroughly.
Dice onion, leeks and potatoes.
Fry vegetables in butter for five minutes.
Add stock and reserved wine/mussel juice and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat.
Add saffron.
Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
Purée soup in a blender or food processor.
Set aside some mussels in half shells -- one to garnish each bowl.
Discard shells from remaining mussels.
Divide mussels amongst soup bowls.
Ladle puréed soup over mussels.
Garnish each bowl with a mussel in half shell and a sprig of parsley.
Serve immediately.

Seafood Linguine

A truly decadent seafood linguine, simmered in a sun-dried tomato pesto and white wine cream sauce.



Ingredients:

• 4 servings whole grain linguine
  
• 1 pound live mussels
  
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
  
• 1 cup shucked scallops
  
• olive oil for frying
  
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
  
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
  
• 1 cup cooked lobster meat, broken into small pieces
  
• 1 cup shrimp
  
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook linguine until al dente.
Scrub and rinse mussels.
Place mussels and wine in a large saucepan with a tightly fitting lid.
Steam mussels over high heat until they open. (Approximately 5 minutes.)
Strain wine off mussels and reserve.
Remove cooked mussels from their shells, discarding any that have failed to open.
If using large sea scallops, chop into 1/2 inch cubes.
Stir fry scallops in olive oil over medium heat until they turn opaque (2-3 minutes).
Add cream and wine to scallops and bring to a boil.
Simmer until sauce thickens slightly. (Approximately 5 minutes.)
Add pesto and mix in well.
Add lobster, mussels and shrimp.
Continue cooking another 5-6 minutes, until everything is heated through.
Serve seafood mixture over linguine, garnished with Parmesan and black pepper.

Sandra Waugh's French Onion Soup

I first sampled this authentic French Canadian recipe (taught to me by an anglophone from Quebec) as a teenager. I had been out tobogganing with two of the Waugh children and about 15 other youths and the Waugh family had us all back to their home afterwards where Mrs. Waugh had cooked up a huge vat of this soup. It was delicious!

Mrs. Waugh graciously shared her recipe with me, and it has been in high demand at my dinner parties ever since.



Ingredients:

• 3 huge Spanish-type onions
  
• 1/4 cup butter
  
• 1.8 litres beef broth
  
• 1 garlic
  
• 1 bunch spring onions
  
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
  
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  
• freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1/2 cup dry wine
  
• freshly baked bread
  
• freshly grated mozzarella cheese
  
• freshly grated Swiss cheese

Directions:

Slice Spanish onions thinly.


Sauté onions in butter until onions turn soft and translucent.


Peel papery skins from garlic and slice cloves thinly.


Wash and slice spring onions.


Combine sautéed onions, garlic, spring onions, beef broth, corn starch, sugar and black pepper in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and heat to boiling, stirring frequently to combine flavours and keep the onions from burning on the bottom of your pot.

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for one hour or more.
Add wine during last half hour of cooking.

To serve:

Place thick slices of fresh bread in the bottom of oven-proof bowls.
Pour soup over bread to fill bowls.
Top with grated cheeses.
Grill under the broiler for a few minutes to brown cheese.
Serve immediately (on a trivet or other heat proof mat!)

Wild Mushroom Crêpes

An excellent crêpe filling -- especially for those not quite up for the heat of my chicken curry.

Ingredients:

• crêpes
  
• 6 cups mushrooms (portobello, cremini, shitake & oyster)
  
• 1 garlic, peeled and diced
  
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
  
• 1 cup whipping cream
  
• butter for frying

Directions:

Prepare crêpe batter and chill.
Stir fry garlic and mushrooms in butter until mushrooms are soft.
Add wine and cook until liquid has evaporated.
Purée mushrooms in a food processor.
Return mushrooms to pan, add cream, and heat gently while mixing well.
All mushroom mixture to simmer over low heat until thickened.
Cook crêpes.
Spoon mushroom mixture in a line across crêpe, 1/3 of the way in from one edge.
Fold near edge up over mushroom mixture and roll up crêpe to surround filling.
For best results, serve crêpe immediately.
When large quantities are required, place filled crêpes in a singler layer in a large baking pan (such as a lasagna pan) and warm in oven to heat through just before serving.