Roasted Apple and squash soup, Light and Spicy Kedgeree and Welsh cakes, whipped cream and fresh fruit

Hello friends

Yesterday I cooked a 3-course meal for 2 friends, John and Mike to help the charity in Romania.

The starter and main course were spicy (very hot indeed!). The first course was a butternut squash and apple soup. I put 2 whole red chilies and, even if all the men thought it was ok, it was quite spicy, I could just eat it. I started roasting everything in the oven, the butternut squash, apple, onions, garlic and chilli then blended all with vegetable stock and spices. I advise the less adventurous to start with half a chilli. If you can bear spicy food, 2 chillies are ok.

The main course was a Haddock Kedgeree and even though it was supposed to be a dish for breakfast, it suited dinner very well. It was even spicier than the first one and again, I suggest if you are not used to hot food, start with half a chilli, I bet it is plenty. The kedgeree is a quite heavy dish for breakfast in my opinion.

You can find a good Kedgeree recipe at Jamie's site but I will publish it here to cut time, you can find it at the end of this article.

For dessert I made some welsh cakes and served them with whipped cream and fresh fruit, very nice indeed.

Here are last evening's pictures:

Welsh cakes baking

 Cooling

Spices for kedgeree all chopped up

Frying 

Ey voila le final result of the Apple and squash soup!

John and Mike

John Mike and David

Kedgeree served up

John and Mike, slightly more red after all those spices!

It is very good I only had men as they would never say it was too hot for them, real blokes don't admit they can't handle hot food!!!

I forgot to say I am back to cooking in the AGA and I love it! It is so practical to have it ready for when you want it!

Monday I did another seared peppered steak, for my husband and I. I think it is definitely his favourite.

So far I have cooked 22 recipes including the apple sauce. A lot of recipes still to come, keep posted!

See you soon

Gisele

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© David Loftus kedgeree method This is a traditional British breakfast from colonial India and it’s a lovely little dish, with a nice balance of spicy and smoky flavours. It makes a tasty lunch or supper too – so get stuck in! Boil the eggs for 10 minutes, then hold under cold running water. Put the fish and bay leaves in a shallow pan with enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from pan and leave to cool. Remove the skin from fish, flake into chunks and set aside. Cook the rice in salted water for about 10 minutes and drain. Refresh in cold water, drain again, and leave in the fridge until needed. Melt the butterghee in a pan over a low heat. Add the ginger, onion and garlic. Soften for about 5 minutes, then add the curry powder and mustard seeds. Cook for a further few minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and lemon juice. Quarter the eggs. Add the fish and rice to a pan and gently heat through. Add the eggs, most of the coriander and the chilli and stir gently. Place in a warm serving dish. Mix the rest of the coriander into the yoghurt and serve with the kedgeree.

serves: 6 ingredients • 2 large free-range or organic eggs • 680g undyed smoked haddock fillets, pinboned • 2 fresh bay leaves • 170g long grain or basmati rice • sea salt • 110 pure butterghee • a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated • 1 medium onion or 1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped • 2 heaped tablespoons curry powder • 1 tablespoon mustard seeds • 2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped • juice of 2 lemons • 2 good handfuls of fresh coriander, leaves picked and chopped • 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped • a small pot of natural yoghurt

Jamie Oliver's Wonderful Welsh Cakes

‘I love serving these warm as they are or filled with a spoonful of cream and a few berries.’ 

MAKES 35 TO 40 WELSH CAKES 

For the Welsh cakes
• 500g self-raising flour,
plus extra for dusting
• 75g caster sugar,
plus extra to serve
• 1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice • 250g cold, unsalted butter
• a pinch of sea salt
• 150g mixed raisins and sultanas • 1 large free-range egg
• a couple of splashes of milk
For the filling
• 300ml double cream
• 1 heaped tablespoon caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 400g fresh berries, such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries
• 1 lemon

1. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and mixed spice.
   
2. Cut up the butter and add to the bowl with a pinch of salt. Use your hands to rub it all together until you get a fine breadcrumb consistency.
   
3. Toss in the dried fruit, then make a well in the centre of the mixture and crack in the egg.
4. Add a splash of milk and use a fork to beat and mix in the egg.
   
5. Once combined, use your clean hands to pat and bring the mixture together until you have a dough. It should be fairly short, so don’t work it too much.
   
6. Put a large heavy-bottomed non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. While it’s heating up, dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out until it’s about 1cm thick.
   
7. Use a 5cm pastry cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can. Scrunch the remaining scraps of dough together, then roll out and cut out a few more.
   
8. To test the temperature, cook one Welsh cake in the pan for a few minutes to act as a thermometer. If the surface is blonde, turn the heat up a little; if it’s black, turn the heat down – leave for a few minutes for the heat to correct itself, then try again.
   
9. When you’ve got a golden cake after 4 minutes on each side, you’re in a really good place and you can cook the rest in batches. It’s all about control.
   
10. As soon as they come off the pan, put them on a wire rack to cool and sprinkle them with caster sugar. You can serve them just like this, as they are. Or, if you want to do what I’ve done, gently cut each cake in half while turning so you get a top and a bottom.
    
11. Whipthecream,sugarandvanillapastetogetheruntilyouhavesoftpeaks.
    
12. Puttheberriesintoabowl,slicingupanybigones,andtossthemwiththe juice of 1 lemon and a sprinkling of sugar.
    
13. Openthecakesup,andaddalittledollopofcreamandafewberriesto each one.
    

Jamie's Great Britain is published by Michael Joseph/Penguin 

Spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

• Yield Makes 8 cups
  Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated (2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• Dash ground cloves
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 fresh chilli chopped
• 1 tart apple, peeled, quartered, and chopped
• 4 cups chopped butternut squash
• Coarse salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, apple, squash, and 3 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil; cover partially and reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
   
2. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
   
3. Working in batches, puree until smooth in a blender. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.
   

RECIPES 23, 24, 25