Soup – the best way to warm up this winter!

With winter well underway, the chilly air and long cold nights call for warm, hearty meals that are filling, tasty and nutritious to be added to one’s dinner menu.The Granny Mouse Executive Chef’s favourite meal on the menu in winter is the Soup of the Day and gives us a soup recipe to try out at home – as well as a recipe for tasty Focaccia to mop it all up with.

For the Focaccia:

Ingredients:

  • 20 g Fresh yeast
  • 350 ml Luke warm water
  • 45 ml Extra virgin olive oil
  • 500 g White bread flour
  • 10 ml Salt
  • 15 ml chopped fresh herbs (i.e. rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley)

Mix the fresh yeast into the Luke warm water and stir in the oil.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre, pouring the yeast mixture in and mixing into soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 – 10 min. The dough must become smooth and elastic.

Place the dough onto a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to double in size, 1 – 1 ½ hours.

Turn the dough out again onto a lightly floured surface and punch it down or Knock back.

Gently knead in the chopped fresh herbs and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3 cm onto an oiled baking tray. Poke the dough with your finger tips to make deep holes in the surface. Cover and prove again till doubled in size. Uncover and drizzle the dough with some more olive oil and sprinkle some chopped garlic into the holes. Place into a pre- heated oven of 200?c.

Bake for about 25-30 min or until the bread has come to a golden brown colour.

After baking, immediately remove the bread from the tray and transfer to a wire rack and let it cool slightly.

This bread is delicious warm, with some freshly made soup. Also try and place a couple of sundried tomatoes sliced up, inside the dough for extra flavour. This will compliment the soup as well.

Then for the soup – ever tried Roasted butternut and tandoori Soup? Well now is your chance.

What you will need:

  • 3g Butternut
  • 2x Star anise
  • 2x Stick Cinnamon
  • 2 sprigs of Thyme
  • 2x Bay leaves
  • 60ml Honey
  • 2 TblsTandoori paste
  • 2x Onions
  • Salt
  • Water
  • 30 ml Oil
  • 200ml Cream (optional)

Here are the steps to make this delicious winter soup.

Step 1:

  • Peel and cut the butternut into big chunky pieces ,remove the seeds and the hairy membrane from the core with a tablespoon
  • Place the butternut (spread out) on a large deep oven tray
  • Add in the oil, honey and thyme with the star anise and cinnamon sticks
  • Add in water to cover the bottom of the tray and cover with foil making sure that there is no air that will escape
  • Place the tray in the oven for about 20 min on 180?c
  • Remove from the oven but keep foil in place (this will help keep the moisture in) and then set aside.

Step 2:

  • Cut the onions into slivers and sauté (fry) in a large pan over medium heat
  • Add in one bay leaf and allow the onions to reach a golden brown colour
  • Once the onions are ready, remove from the heat and set aside

Step 3:

  • Set the oven to 200?c
  • remove the foil from the butternut and remove the star anise, cinnamon and bay leaf
  • place the tray into the oven once hot to allow the roasting process to take effect (this should take up to 10 minutes)
  • in a large pot, add in the roasted butternut and caramelised onion and top up with water until the butternut and onion is covered with the liquid
  • bring the pot to medium high heat and cook until the butternut starts breaking down
  • add in the tandoori paste and blend with a hand blender until smooth and thick
  • add in the cream and simmer until ready for use
  • season with salt to taste, serve and enjoy.

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