ROOT AND SHOOT SOUP

While I am certain that the temperature has not dropped quite as far as was predicted it there is no doubt that the lovely warm weather we have been enjoying has gone for now With that on mind and having made a crown loaf yesterday I decided to make soup for our evening meal, both the boys love hot tasty home made soups and as they cost so little to make they appear regularly in variety of forms. Today’s soup is a good one for this time of the year as there are still plenty of last seasons root vegetables to use up and a few squashes and sweet potatoes and the addition of some of the tender young greens more sprouting in the garden give the soup a real lift.

ROOT AND SHOOT SOUP

2 large onions
2leeks
1 medium sized parsnip
2 large carrots
about half of a small butter nut squash
6 oz swede peeled and chopped
2 swede
2 small sweet potatoes
a good handful of sorrel leaves or spring greens but sorrel is best
1 peeled Hamburg parsley root OT a hand full of fresh parsley
1pint of chicken or vegetable stock
1 dessert spoon of ground coriander
1 dessert spoon of paprika
salt and pepper
fresh chives
I tub crème fraiche

Peel and chop all the vegetables and sweat in a littler olive oil for ten minutes then add the stock, it the vegetables are not covered by the stock add a little more stock or some water. Bring to the boil cover and simmer for 39 minutes.

Remove from the heat and blitz in batches in a blender adding a little of the creme fraich to each batch. Return to the heat but do not allow to boil Serve with fresh bread and a garnish of chopped fresh chives
A little bacon or ham may be added to the soup or a hand full of red lentils at the boiling stage .

We all enjoyed our soup and there was enough left over for the boys next door for their supper this evening. We often swap food with our neighbours, when I was ill a few weeks ago they made some wonderful old fashioned chicken broth for me as they had heard that I was not eating. Cakes cookies ,bread, soups and cauliflower cheese travel between out houses to the point where we have forgotten whose dishes are whose...who cares?

Tomorrow the men are coming to measure the bathroom so we may be getting our new shower quite soon and Pa is a pleased as Punch, with the addition of a down stairs lavatory things will be so much easier for us all.

Rain came at last this evening and for a time it became so dark that the birds stopped singing and took themselves off to bed thinking that night had come and the white damson flowers looked wonderful against the blackening sky. Rain is just what my new strawberry bed needs and all the young wild flower plants I put in recently, I hope it rains all night! Twiggy is not impressed and refused to come in in spite of the rain, she sat on the front step looking grim until a particularly nasty squall had her running for cover. Silly old, lovely old puss.