the skins.
2. Place a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, add the olive oil and all the chopped and diced vegetables except the tomatoes and fry, without browning, for 4–5 minutes.
3. Add the haricot beans, fill with enough water to cover, and bring to the boil.
4. Meanwhile, wrap the spaghetti in a clean tea towel and crush it on the edge of a worktop, pressing it backwards and forwards to break it into small pieces, then add these to the soup.
5. Add all but one of the chopped tomatoes (reserving this last one for the pistou), bring back up to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. After 10–11 minutes, add the French beans, broad beans and peas. (It’s best to add these at the end of cooking in order to preserve their fresh colour.)
6. While the soup is cooking, place all the pistou ingredients in a blender and purée to a paste.
7. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the pistou. Season well with salt and pepper and serve straight away.
CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP WITH ROASTED VINE TOMATOES
It was tomatoes that got me interested in food in the first place; as a kid, the smell of them growing in my grandad’s greenhouse intoxicated me. I still love them so much and the first thing I did when I last moved house was to build my own greenhouse in which to grow them. Every time I open the door the smell sends me back 30 years. For this soup, the tomatoes must be the best you can get, and vine tomatoes are ideal because they are usually the freshest.
SERVES 4
VEGETARIAN
1.5kg (3lb 4oz) vine tomatoes
100g (3½oz) butter
½ large onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 stick of celery, trimmed and chopped
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 sprig of thyme
200ml (7fl oz) double cream, plus extra to serve (optional)
Salt and black pepper
FOR THE ROASTED VINE TOMATOES
4 bunches of 3–4 small vine tomatoes
2–3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas 6.
2. Remove the 1.5kg (3lb 4oz) of tomatoes from the vines and chop each tomato into 6, keeping the vines.
3. Melt half the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, then add the onion, tomatoes, garlic and celery. Add the ketchup and tomato purée, cover with a lid and bring to the boil.
4. Strip the thyme leaves from the stalks and add the leaves to the pan, reduce the heat to a simmer, then place the vines from the tomatoes on the top, cover with the lid and simmer for 15 minutes. (Be careful not to let it boil, as the vegetables may catch on the bottom of the pan.)
5. Meanwhile, place the 4 bunches of small vine tomatoes (keeping them on the vines) on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil and the vinegar, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 5–6 minutes or until softened.
6. Remove the lid from the saucepan, discard the vines and pour in the cream. Remove from the heat, transfer to a blender and pulse until smooth, then pass though a sieve to remove the tomato seeds. Pour the soup back into the pan and reheat gently, trying not to let it boil, then season well with salt and pepper.
7. Serve the soup with a bunch of roasted vine tomatoes in the bottom of each bowl and, if you like, a spoonful of cream swirled on top of the soup.
MUSHROOM SOUP WITH CORIANDER CRESS
I remember going mushroom picking in the New Forest when I was a junior chef. The head chef said it was an inspiring exercise – looking back now, I can see his point, but I also reckon it was cheap forced labour! Fast forward 20 years however, and I’m still doing it. Most recently I went with Nick Nairn up in Scotland. Rowing across the loch on our way to find mushrooms, neither of us exactly looked like Captain Jack Sparrow, but the treasure we came back with was much better than pirate gold – delicious fresh wild mushrooms with a great intense flavour.
SERVES 4
1kg (2lb 3oz) field mushrooms
100ml (3½fl oz) rapeseed oil
2 large shallots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
Juice of ½ lemon
500ml (18fl oz) chicken stock
250ml (9fl oz) double cream
125g (4½oz) butter, diced
250g (9oz) mixed wild mushrooms (such as chanterelle, cep, trompette, girolle or oyster)
5g (¼oz) chervil, chopped
50g (2oz) coriander cress or micro salad leaves
Salt and black pepper
1. Remove the stalks from the field mushrooms and, using a spoon, scrape away and discard the dark gills, then cut the mushrooms into slices about 5mm (¼ in) thick.
2. Place a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, pour in half the rapeseed oil, then add the shallots and garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes or until softened. Add the sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3–4 minutes.
3. Stir in the lemon juice then pour in the stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the contents of the pan into a blender and whizz to a smooth purée – this should take a good 2–3 minutes. Pour back into the pan, add the cream and mix thoroughly. Gently warm over a low heat, then stir in the diced butter, adjust the seasoning, if needed, and keep warm on the hob.
5. Pour the remainder of the oil into a frying pan over a medium heat and sauté the mixed wild mushrooms for about 3 minutes or until cooked through, then season and set aside.
6. To serve, divide the cooked wild mushrooms between bowls, ladle over the soup and sprinkle with the chervil and coriander cress or micro salad leaves.
This Scottish soup from the town of Cullen in Moray is one of those great classic soups, with most of its flavour provided by the main ingredient – smoked haddock. Traditionally, it should be made with
