Best laid plans beaten by the weather

The return of the cold weather will not be welcomed by our farmers. Last week's newsletter from Riverford, best laid plans beaten by the weather, complained that their cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, and purple sprouting broccoli have hardly moved on, so they are having difficulty balancing the root vegetables in the weekly boxes. Instead, last week's box contained aubergines and red peppers from Spain and broccoli from Italy.

Although unseasonal, these made a refreshing change: should I dip aubergine slices in flour and fry in olive oil? what about aubergine fritters, coated in a light batter? or an Italian-style aubergine Parmigiana? In the end I opted for this baba ghanoush recipe from Riverford. Right now, some dough is proving for flat breads to be cooked under the grill tomorrow.

As for the peppers, I made a batch of pepperonata, following a recipe from Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book. Thinly slice an onion and finely chop 1 or 2 cloves of garlic; cook in olive oil until just starting to colour. Deseed and finely slice the pepper and add to the pan; cover with a lid and allow to stew gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and simmer gently, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, by which time most of the liquid will have gone. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, and a splash of red wine vinegar. This is delicious hot or cold - I used half of this batch to make some individual tartlets (pictured).

Of course, there were root vegetables to be used up too, and the parsnips went into another of Grigson's recipes:  curried parsnip soup - sweet and spicy, and the perfect way to counter the winter weather.

Granny Cook's potato soup

When I was home for Christmas, my dad described a potato soup his grandmother, Granny Cook, used to make. It was one of his favourites, warming and soothing - perfect for a winter's day. "What did she put in it?" I asked.

"She used a ham hock," he replied, "...onions, leeks, and potatoes - obviously." He remembered she added some milk, too, and served it up as a rustic broth, swimming with chunks of potato.

I set out to make my own version. Unfortunately, the local butcher had sold out of ham hocks. Instead, he provided me with some bacon trimmings. I cut these into medium dice and fried them gently in in beef dripping until they started to render their fat. To this I added an onion, a leek, and 2 sticks of celery, all finely chopped, and let them sweat, with a lid on, for 10 minutes or so. Next went in a good 500g peeled and diced potatoes, a bay leaf, 200ml milk, and enough water to cover (ham stock would be better). I brought this to a boil then let it simmer until the potatoes were tender and falling apart - about 30 minutes. Seasoned well with salt and pepper and served piping hot - not fit for a king, perhaps, but good enough to invite a neighbour to join us for supper.

I decided to give this another go when I got back to Cambridge and could get my hands on a ham hock - this is where last week's ham stock went to. I also wanted to intensify the earthy potato flavour, so cut down on the other vegetables and, following the lead of Heston Blumenthal, who cooks his potatoes in a stock made from their skins, included the potato skins in my soup. Here's the recipe I came up with.

Ray's potato soup

• 25 g butter
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 kg floury potatoes, peeled and diced, skins reserved
• 1 lt ham stock 
• 300 ml whole milk
• salt and pepper

As you see, this is a soup of few ingredients. It's important to use a floury potato variety (I used King Edward), otherwise the finished soup will have an unpleasant gloopy texture.

Melt the butter and sweat the onion, without colouring, for 2-3 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook gently, with a lid on the pan, for at least 10 minutes. You will have to stir them from time to time to prevent the potatoes from sticking. Now add a bay leaf, 1tsp salt, and the stock and milk. Tie the potato skins up in muslin and add this to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently until the potatoes are cooked through. Remove and discard the package of skins.

To finish, blend in a liquidizer until smooth. (In retrospect, I think simply pushing the soup through a fine sieve would result in a better texture, as it would work the starch less.) If you have ham left over from your stock-making, add this to the soup when you reheat it. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Other ideas


For a real treat, omit the ham and serve each bowl of soup with a generous drizzle of truffle-infused olive oil.

Jane Grigson, in her Vegetable Book, gives a recipe for potato soup flavoured with lard and garlic, "...which both blend wonderfully with potato." She suggests serving this with croutons, also fried in lard and garlic. This is definitely something I'll try soon.

In Fergus Henderson's Beyond Nose to Tail, he gives a recipe for Potato and back fat soup. This recipe also plays on the pork fat and garlic theme: the soup is made with 10 cloves of garlic and topped with chunks of salted back fat rendered in a frying pan. Henderson writes: "But our possibilities do not end there. You could instead sear off a generous slice of fresh foie gras per bowl of soup, pop on top of the hot soup and give it a few minutes to do a little melting, then eat."

Who said that potato soup had to be boring?

Ham stock and what to do with it

Ham stock is cheap and easy to make, and is an excellent foundation for a number of soups. You can buy a ham hock from your local butcher for about £2, and this will be enough to make a good 2lt of stock. The ham hocks come smoked or unsmoked - I prefer the latter, as I don't like the smokey taste that is otherwise infused into the stock.

You might want to soak the ham hock overnight to remove some of the salt, but if you forget or are short of time simply place the hock in a pot, cover with cold water, and bring slowly to the boil; simmer for 5 minutes, then discard the water and start again.

For the stock itself, place the soaked ham hock in a pot along with a carrot split lengthways, a peeled and quartered onion, two bay leaves, half a dozen peppercorns and a couple of cloves (optional). A stick or two of celery and some parsley stalks are also a good idea if you have them (I didn't, so made do without). Cover with cold water, bring slowly to a boil, and simmer gently for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, skimming off any grey scum that rises to the surface. The meat will have shrunk away from the bone when it's done.

Strain the stock, reserving the meat but discarding the vegetables. Cool and refrigerate overnight, then lift off the deposits of fat that have settled on top. The stock is now ready to use in your favourite soup recipe, but take care not to over-salt: taste the stock before you begin and, if it's too salty, dilute with some water.

When the ham hock is cool enough to handle, peel off the fatty skin, then pull the chunks of meat from the bone, discarding any bits of fat as you go. The reserved meat can be added to your soup, kept for sandwiches (with a good mustard), or used in another recipe (for example, added to a quiche or a chicken and leek pie).

Some recipe ideas

Lentil soup

This is one of my favourites, and is very easy to make. Finely chop an onion and a carrot, sweat gently in butter to soften, then add red split lentils and your ham stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the lentils are done. Blend until smooth, then reheat gently with some cream. Sprinkle with snipped chives and serve.

Vegetable broth

Cut a selection of vegetables into small dice (carrot, onion, swede, leek, celery - anything else you fancy). Sweat gently in melted butter, with a lid on the pan, for a good 10 minutes, then add the ham stock and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. Stir in some cooked pearl barley (if liked), and plenty of chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, tarragon, mint). Delicious served with fresh, crusty bread.

Pea and ham velouté

Sweat a finely-chopped onion in melted butter until it is soft but not coloured. Sprinkle over plain flour and cook, stirring continuously, until it is a sandy texture. Gradually ladle in the hot stock, whisking until smooth after each addition. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture thickens slightly. Now add green peas (frozen peas work well with this, but let them defrost first), and simmer until the peas are done. Liquidise until smooth. This is nice with minted cream: whisk together double cream with fresh, chopped mint leaves, a squeeze of lemon juice, and salt and pepper; spoon a dollop into the centre of each bowl just before taking them to the table.