GARLIC SOUP & HARISSA

This is a soup I associate with friendship.

I adapted the recipe from a delightful book PLENTY by Yotam Ottolenghi. Ebury Press 2010. A good friend gave me a book voucher for my birthday a while back and I decided on this book. Otto uses some things not included in my life these days including butter and yogurt. Somehow my adjustments do not seem to leave you dissatisfied.

Garlic is often thought of as unfriendly but once cooked and combined with fresh parsley it seems not only delicious but also quite sociable. Certainly this soup disappeared pronto

4 medium shallots

3 celery sticks, finely diced

2 tbls olive oil

25 medium garlic cloves , peeled and finely sliced

2 tsp of fresh ginger chopped

1 tsp of thyme*

200 ml Chinese cooking wine.

Generous pinch of saffron

4 bay leaves

1 litre of vegetable stock

4 tablespoons of roughly chopped parsley*

Serve with a dollop of Harissa( see recipe below)

• Fry the shallots and celery with oil until translucent or soft
• Add the garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes
• Stir in ginger and thyme
• Pour in wine and leave to bubble for a minute then add saffron, bay leaves and stock.
• Simmer for about 10 minutes
• Remove the bay leaves and blitz with a blender
• Serve and with plenty of chopped parsley and harissa

HARISSA

This is one recipe. I have seen others that use more chillies. I will try that out when my garden is providing a crop of Chilies. I have some sprouting just now.

I red capsicum

I small red onion

3 garlic cloves

2 – 3 medium to hot fresh chillies deseeded and roughly chopped

½ tbsp of tomato paste

2 tbsp of lemon juice

2-3 tsp of salt

¼ tsp coriander seeds

¼ tsp caraway seeds

¼ cumin seeds

• Grill the capsicum until blackened (about 10 to 15 minutes) . Place in a brown paper bag and allow the capsicum to cool. Then peel and discard the seeds.
• Dry Roast the coriander, cumin and caraway seeds for about 2 minutes and grind to a powder. ( I use a coffee grinder I keep for spices instead of the more laborious mortar and pestle but please yourself)
• Sauté onions, garlic and chillies until a smoky colour
• Cool then blend in food processor with capsicum and spices
• Sterilise some jars ( this will make two small jars).
• Transfer your Harissa to the jars.. and use a dollop in your soup.

Don't forget to label and date. This chilie paste keeps well and goes well in lots of recipes.