Smoky Lamb and Root Soup

Would you believe I saw some blossom this week Dear Readers?


That may not seem all that interesting if you live in the warmer regions, but down here where we're still hitting the minuses most nights, it was very exciting indeed!

Despite the bit of watery Winter sunshine shining through my window today, it's still the season for hearty wholesomeness and Soup is still at the top of my list. One of the really great things about cold weather though, is the abundance of top quality root vegetables. A lot of people think of these as a bit old fashioned and a lot of them haven't had quite the renaissance that beetroot seems to have had the last few years, but they are really quite lovely and very sweet indeed this time of year


Turnip, Parsnip and Swede

I also happen to have a smoked Lamb Shank languishing in my freezer so this is also destined for the pot to add a bit of extra flavour and depth. A smoked ham hock or ribs would be great as well, or leave them out all together if you prefer a meat free version

Smoky Lamb and Root Soup

1 large Parsnip
1 large Swede
1 large Turnip
2 Onions
2 large Carrots
half bunch of Celery
375gm/1 packet dried Soup Mix or mix of dried beans & peas- make sure there's no barley!
Smoked Lamb/Ham Hock
1.5 lt Stock- veggie or chicken
big pinch dried Thyme or few sprigs fresh
couple of Bay Leaves
splash Oil

Chop the onion, carrot and celery into fairly small pieces. I like to use a food processor to save some time and to save my wrists the hassle. In a long simmered soup like this they all meld together anyway and the rustic presentation means that painstakingly chopping each veggie to look it's best just doesn't matter

I like the Mckenzie's Italian Style Soup Mix. It has a great combination of beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils but no nasty gluten containing barley

Dried herbs because it was raining and I was too lazy to go outside for fresh- it wasn't the rain that worried me, it was the soggy, smelly dog that would want to jump all over me and make me muddy :)

Definitely too good to waste- just look at how much meat is left on the bone!

Sweat off the onion, carrots and celery in the splash of oil until they have a touch of colour

Add in the herbs and mix through well

Whizzy up the turnip, swede and parsnip into smallish chunks. I don't worry about the odd bit that misses the blades, it will certainly cook down anyway

Stir through the bean mix

Bury the hock in the veggie and beans- don't add any salt yet as it can toughen the beans and the hock could have a fair bit in it anyway

Top up with the stock and simmer for a couple of hours or until the beans are nice and tender but not mushy OR pop it all into a slow cooker in the morning and it will be hot and hearty by the time you get home from work in the evening

Keeping the soup warm, pull out the hock and remove the meat from the bones. The meat should just pull off easily by now, then just roughly chop it into bite sized pieces. I always include the gelatinous gristly bits too, they just melt away to nothing in the soup

Stir the meat bits back in, check for seasoning, then serve up big, steaming bowls of Yum

See how a lot of the veggies have broken down and thickened up the soup- this is a real 'Stick-to-your-ribs' type of meal indeed!

So Dear Readers, do you enjoy the old fashioned Root Vegetables and is it still Soup Weather in your neck-of-the-woods?




 

Octopus's Garden

What a perfect name for my Octopus Salad

Soft as butter braised octopus, crunchy fresh vegetables, smooth sweet pepper strips and a tangy vinegar dressing- all tossed together to a Glorious Garden Salad with a bit of Extra Excitement!


I used to work at a Greek Cafe that specialised in Seafood

They also owned a fresh seafood market stall in the same complex, so the produce really was quite lovely. One of the many behind-the-scenes secrets of this establishment was the cement mixer that was in constant use out the back of the shop. We sold hundreds of dozens of oysters each weekend, and the main duty of the mixer was to tumble the un-opened oysters around in it a couple of times to knock the sharp edges off the shells so the little man who did nothing-all-day-every-day-but-shuck-oysters didn't have his hands cut to ribbons in the first few minutes. In the odd time in between oyster loads, the mixer would be hosed out and loaded up with octopus. Slosh, slosh, slosh, around and around they would go, all the while breaking down the texture and sloshing away the slime. Much easier than the traditional method of beating the octopus on a rock for ages in a rock pool by the sea- especially in land locked Canberra


I bought some medium small fresh octopus at the markets this morning. Not the tiny little baby ones that you can get frozen, or a Leviathan of the deep either, but nice manageable octopups of about 250 grm each. Now you either need to cook octopus super hot and super fast, or slow and lovingly to have it at it's best. I went the slow way, so start this recipe by braising the octopus the day before, or a few hours earlier than you intend to eat it. If you really want, you can also cook the octopus in the pressure cooker for 15-20 minutes if you're in a hurry

Tangles of Tentacles

Your friendly Fishmonger will be able to clean the little beasties up for you, but otherwise it's fairly easy- just a bit messy :)
Just split open the head carefully and scrape out all the goopy bits. Be careful though, try not to break the ink sac! There is a beak between the tentacles that needs to be cut out, and you can cut the eyes out too if they bother you

For braising I used 1/4 cup of Red Wine Vinegar, 3 Bay Leaves and 3 whole Garlic Cloves- I didn't bother to peel them

Pop the vinegar, garlic and bay leaves in a pot with the octopus and cover with water

Bring to the boil, then simmer away for about an hour and a half to two hours, or until the octopus is lovely and very tender.
You might want to do this with the window open or with the kitchen fan on. The smell isn't bad or all that fishy- just rather pervasive

The water will change colour as they cook, so will the skin of the octopus too- don't worry though it's still OK, it's meant to do that :)

Let the beasties cool in the liquid, then drain well

See how the meat has firmed up and gone a lovely pinky colour? Don't worry about the skin colour- if it bothers you, you can peel it off, but that's a lot of work on the smaller ones

While it cools down, get on with the salad part
I liked the idea of a Greek style salad with capsicum, cucumber, sweet little tomatoes, olives, and I threw in some pepper strips that I had marinating in the fridge too for another texture and more sweetness

Cut the octopus into bite sized pieces, leaving nice sections of tentacles whole to look pretty

Fry them off in some olive oil on high heat until nicely golden on the lighter bits. I like to use some of the oil that the peppers were marinated in to add a bit of extra flavouring

When done, quickly splash in an extra couple of tablespoons of the red wine vinegar and deglaze the pan while tossing the octopus around to coat all the pieces nicely

Pull off the heat and let them rest and cool a tad while you assemble the salad

On a bed of nice crunchy greens, place the olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and capsicums then add the octopus. Drape some bits of pepper strips over it artistically and carefully toss around. Drizzle it all with the pan liquid from deglazing and some lovely extra virgin Olive Oil

A lovely hearty salad for lunch or dinner, or you could use the octopus as part of an antipasta platter or mezze plate instead- yummo!

So Dear Readers, would You Like to be Under the Sea, in an Octopus's Garden with me?

We would be so happy you and me, No one there to tell us what to do, I'd like to be under the sea In an octopus' garden with you :)

(Octopus's Garden lyrics by The Beatles, 1963)