Posts tagged mint

Pea and Edamame Bean soup

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Pea and Edamame Bean soup

My pea and mint soup recipe is my default lunch when I fancy a bowl of warming comfort and I’m in a rush or can’t be bothered to simmer away a pot of vegetables. This time however, I added a few extra twists on my usual standby which were a nice change. In the January months when its cold and you want to be healthy, I often find I resort boringly to the same old recipes. This can be knocked out in about 15 minutes however and kept as pain or as fancy as you like.

Soup

  • 280g frozen garden peas
  • 400ml good quality hot chicken or vegetable stock (trust me it will make all the difference if its a good cube or a homemade stock)
  • 100g edamame or soya beans
  • 25g butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • Handful of fresh basil or mint leaves, finely chopped or shredded
  • Olive oil
  • Nigella seeds to garnish
  • Yoghurt to garnish
  1. Melt the butter and a splash of oil in a saucepan until bubbling.
  2. Add the onion and cook gently over a low heat for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent
  3. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a few more minutes.
  4. Add the frozen peas and coat in the buttery onions
  5. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from the heat and puree with a hand blender
  7. Return to the heat and stir in the frozen edamame or soya beans. If it is too thick for you at this stage, add a splash of water.
  8. Simmer for a few minutes. Then stir through the chopped herbs.
  9. Season to taste and serve garnish with a swirl or natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of nigella seeds

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Green Chutney

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This green chutney is undoubtedly packed full of herby flavour and is the PERFECT addition to the Indian marinated lamb (or chicken) we scoffed…

  • About 35g coriander, stalks included (or a big bunch)
  • 35g mint leaves
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2.5cm ginger, grated or chopped
  • ½ small onion
  • 1 green chilli, seeds removed
  • 15-20 pistachio nuts
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice, grated zest of half a lemon
  • salt
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1-2 tbsp yoghurt
  1. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.

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  2. Process until thoroughly chopped. I added a couple of heaped tablespoon of natural yoghurt just to make it more ‘spoonable’ but feel free to add lots more if you’re after a more cooling chutney! Toasted coconut is also a nice addition!image

Goose egg- Mint Ice Cream

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Goose egg- Mint Ice Cream

 

This sounds weird but really I just had some boisterous goose eggs knocking around the kitchen. This recipe, courteous of Skye Gyngell, calls for 6 egg yolks, so I replaced 4 of them with 2 large goose yolks. This ice cream has a refreshing and cleansing flavour which is not too sweet. Laced with ribbons of our garden mint which was in desperate need of a a ‘hair’ cut, this is a perfect summery ice cream alone of with something fruity….

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Custard Base

  • 600ml whole milk
  • 1 vanilla pod, split ans seeds scarped out
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 100g caster sugar

Mint flavour

  • 220g caster sugar
  • 500ml water
  • bunch mint
  1. For the base, pour the milk into a pan and add the vanilla seeds from the pod. Warm gently and bring to the a simmer and then remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 20 minutes.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and thick. Reheat the infused milk and then slowly pour over the yolks, whisking continuously to prevent it scrambling. Return the smooth mixture to the pan, and over a very low heat, stir with a wooden spoon. Stir all the time until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leave a mark when you run your finger over it. Keep the heat low or the mixture will curdle.
  3. When thickened, remove from the heat, sieve and leave to cool.
  4. For the mint flavour, put the sugar and water in a pan and dissolve on a medium heat. Add half the mint and bring to the boil. Then simmer on a lower heat for 15 minutes to infuse, then leave to cool. When cool, remove the mint.
  5. Add ¼ of this mint syrup to the cooled custard base. The rest can be used as a cordial or in other recipes.
  6. Pour the custard into an ice-cream maker and churn until thick and silky, about 30 minutes for most. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, transfer the mixture to the freezer for a few hours. Then, put it into a food processor and pulse a few times or manually whisk to prevent ice crystals forming in the custard. Return to the freezer again. Repeat this process a couple of times to prevent the ice forming before allowing to completely solidify.
  7. Chop the rest of the mint finely, and add to the ice cream before placing into a container and freezing until solid!

Trout stuffed to the gills

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Just as we were deliberating what we would devour for dinner the other night, an obviously psychic neighbour bought around a freshly caught trout wrapped obligingly in yesterdays paper! Perfect…..now to create a delicious recipe…..

I’m not a fan of seafood dishes where you constantly have to probe your hands into unwanted shells and tails, picking- if you’re lucky- small bones from between your teeth or in drastic cases, performing the heimlich maneuver on your friends from your fishes splintering skeleton! However, I thought it would be nice to stuff this lovely trout, so I decided to fillet it first and follow an original Jamie Oliver…

Serves 3

  • 1 whole large trout, filleted into two or 4 small fillets
  • 1 handful of flaked almonds
  • 1 bunch of mint, shredded
  • 1 generous handful of breadcrumbs
  • zest and juice of 2 lemons
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 3 slices of Parma ham/streaky bacon
  • Handful of artichokes in oil- drained and chopped roughly
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • Creme fraiche to serve
  • String
  1. Toast the almonds in a hot, dry frying pan for a couple of minutes until fragrant
  2. Crush in a pestle and mortar until fine, leaving some more chunky pieces
  3. Tip into a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, crushed garlic, mint, thyme leaves, lemon zest and juice and a glug of extra virgin olive oil to moisten. Season with lots of cracked black pepper and salt.
  4. Cut about 3 lengths of string and lay one trout fillet on a lined baking tray on top, skin side down. Spread the fleshly upside with the mixture and then place the second fillet on top, skin side up.
  5. Lay the Parma ham/bacon slices on top and tie tightly with the string. Scatter any remaining filling around the edge.
  6. Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C for about 15 minutes until crisp and cooked.
  7. Serve with a lemony creme fraiche.

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