A bowl of comfort food
The signs of spring are starting, but hearty fare is still the way to go
Even with the pleasures of January’s beautiful blue skies and crisp, cold days, it’s great to have moved into February and be heading for spring.
New green shoots of wild garlic will appear, bulbs will poke their noses through cold soil and wild leeks will provide us with a delicious allium hit.
At this time of year our ancestors would have eaten stews and soups made with grains, and possibly some meat. My gran, and then my mum, always had a pot of soup on the go.
I keep the tradition alive, using up bits and bobs from my veg box from Phantassie Organics in East Lothian. I make a batch for the fridge to be warmed up when folk are hungry at lunchtime, or after a long dog walk. Served with a hunk of good bread and lashings of butter of course.
It’s also a great idea at this time of year, when the oven is on with a slow braise or a stew, to use the heat to bake. And nothing beats a fresh scone. I know it’s simple, but the humble scone is a pleasure to be enjoyed with a cup of steaming hot tea.
Make the most of the daylight, wrap up warm and come home to a house full of delightful cooking aromas.
Pumpkin soup with toasted seeds and crème fraîche
This is warming, satisfying and easy to make.
Serves four
1 large or 2 small onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled and chopped
500g flesh of a good firm pumpkin or a butternut squash, chopped 1 cinnamon stick
1 bouquet garni
2 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil 50g unsalted butter
1 large tbsp of toasted pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp of toasted hazelnuts, smashed a few chives, finely chopped
4 tsp crème fraîche
2 tbsp of cream for blending, optional good salt and pepper good oil for a drizzle
1 Heat oven to 210C. Heat one tablespoon of rapeseed oil in a pan and fry the onions with a little salt for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the butter and lower the heat to moderate and continue to cook the onions for 15 minutes or so until they are caramelised but not burnt.
2 As the onions cook, place the chopped pumpkin onto a baking tray and drizzle with the remaining rapeseed oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes until soft and browned. Remove from the oven and add to the onions in the pan. Then add the cinnamon stick, bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper. Pour in just enough boiling water from the kettle to cover the contents and turn the heat back on.
3 Cook the soup on a moderate heat – turning down if too bubbly – for 15 minutes or so until all the flavours are combined. Remove the cinnamon stick and bouquet garni and blitz in a food jug blender or with a hand blender until silky. Sometimes I add a little cream to the soup as I’m blending, but it’s up to you. Then I would recommend passing the soup through a fine sieve to remove any fibres from the pumpkin.
4 Ladle the soup into warm bowls and top with toasted hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, a dollop of crème fraîche, a sprinkling of chives and a drizzle of oil.
Pheasant breast with star anise, crispy bacon and red onion
Whole pheasant is relatively cheap, so use the legs for a terrine, or a stew.
Serves four
4 pheasant breasts, skin on is best 8 small red onions, peeled and halved
8 star anise
8 rashers streaky bacon a few sprigs of thyme
100g butter good salt and pepper cold-pressed rapeseed oil for frying
1 Heat oven to 180C. Place a pan on the hob and get it hot. Add a tablespoon of rapeseed oil, and when it’s hot add the bacon to the pan. Fry until golden and crisp. Remove from the pan and leave somewhere warm on a bit of kitchen paper.
2 Use the same pan to heat another tablespoon of rapeseed oil then add the onions, cut-side down, to the pan. Season and add a couple of sprigs of thyme. Cook on a high heat for about 6 to 8 minutes then place them in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden and soft. Season the pheasant breasts whilst the onions are cooking.
3 Remove the onions from the pan and replace with the pheasant, skin-side down. Using the same pan ensures the pheasant will take on all those wonderful bacon and onion
flavours. Add the butter to the pan and after 2 to 3 minutes you should achieve a nice, golden brown colour. Turn the pheasant over and add the star anise to the pan. Season again, and place in the oven to roast for 8 to 10 minutes, checking all the time so as not to over-cook. Pheasant can be eaten slightly pink, but not raw. Remove the meat from the oven and allow to rest.
4 Once rested place each pheasant breast onto a warmed plate and top with the cooking juices and star anise. Accompany with the warm onions, crispy bacon and perhaps some bread sauce and watercress.
Treacle tart
A classic and a best-seller of ours at the Edinburgh Farmers’ Market.
Serves four
1 blind-baked 10-inch sweet pastry case
750g golden syrup
300g bread or cake crumbs 1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 egg, whisked
1 Pre-heat the oven to 160C. Mix all the ingredients well and spread into the sweet pastry case.
2 Place on a tray in the middle of the oven (for even cooking) and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the tart is golden brown on top.
3 Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature.
4 Serve with clotted cream or custard. This is perhaps best eaten warmed up the next day as the mix soaks up all the syrup.