WITH temperatures plummeting, I have added an additional element of spice to this week's soup recipes, giving the dishes a more heart-warming flavour – which is sure to heat you up on a cold winter's day.
As we approach soup season, I would recommend stocking your spice cabinet with basic spices as this will help add an additional level of depth to your soups and stews.
The first of this week's recipes will be a delight for seafood lovers as it contains both crab meat and mussels and is both fragrant and spicy in taste. For those who don't like seafood, we have a classic tomato and red pepper soup, which is quick and easy to prepare and ideal for mid-week lunches.
For more information about our cookery demonstrations at Waterman Cookery School, visit waterman.house.
THAI CRAB AND MUSSEL SOUP (Serves 4-6)
- 1kg mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
- 1 bottle white wine
- 1 medium crab, cooked & prepared with meat removed
- 4 tins coconut milk
- 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 limes juiced
- 1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped
- Coriander leaves to serve, picked and chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- Pinch of sesame seeds
- :: For the Thai paste
- 50g ginger peeled and grated
- 50g galangal, peeled and chopped
- 2 sticks lemongrass, chopped
- 2 red chillis, deseeded, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 lime leaves
:: Method
Start by cleaning the mussels and discarding any that are open and which do not close after tapping them on the kitchen counter. Place the mussels in a pot (with a lid) and add the white wine. Cook over a high heat until all the mussels have opened.
Strain the mussels from the wine liquor, reserving for later. With the mussels, keep some in the shells, remove the rest from the shells and discard any shells which have not opened.
To make the paste, blend the ginger, galangal, lemongrass, chillis, garlic and lime leaves until smooth.
To make the soup, open a tin of coconut milk, but do not shake as you will want the ingredients to have separated in the tin with the cream on top and water below.
Take all the cream from the tins and place in a wok on a medium heat. Once melted,mix thoroughly and add the wine liquor.
Keep this on the heat until the mix has infused (approximately five minutes). Once this is done, add in the palm sugar and Thai fish sauce and cook for a further five minutes. At this point you need to taste to ensure that you have the right mix – you may need a little more fish sauce or palm sugar
Once you are ready to serve, add in the crab meat and the mussels and finish with spring onions and serve in bowls with a squeeze of lime juice, a pinch of coriander leaves, the shallot and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
TOMATO AND RED PEPPER SOUP
- 500g ripe plum tomatoes
- 5 red peppers, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 large onion
- Salt & black pepper
- Olive oil
- 20g crème fraiche to garnish
- 500ml vegetable stock
:: Method
Preheat an oven to 200C. Mix the tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onion and season with salt and pepper and cover with olive oil.
Place in a roasting tray and cook for about 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and place in a pan with vegetable stock.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Place in a food processor and blend until smooth and serve with a teaspoon of crème fraiche.
