SOUP KITCHEN

Try Steve Cumper’s comforting broccoli and kale soup — the perfect winter warmer.

BACK IN THE DAY, winter Sunday nights at chez Cumper often ended with bowls of steaming soup and doorstops of toasted white bread drenched in butter. We’d then settle down in front of the telly to watch the procession of warbling hairstyles in spandex on the ABC’S Countdown, followed by Tom Baker’s excellent elucidation of Doctor Who. The notion of family companionship, keeping warm and seeing out the end of a week over a bowl of hot soup has stayed with me all these years. I write this column here in wintery Hobart after a busy lunchtime service, during which I ladled out numerous steaming bowls to people huddled over tables… and wished I could pull up a chair and join them. Soup restores you like that. I love all kinds of soup — from fine-flavoured broths to thick purees and all the chunky soups in between. It still amazes me that how, in the hands of a master ‘soup conjurer’, a bit of council stock (water), a liberal use of seasoning and some vegetables can render into something so desirous to our tastebuds. Let me tell you, soup cooking doesn’t get any better than when you use the freshest produce possible. As a chef, I am lucky to have access to a working farm in which nearly the whole food pyramid is grown. Richard and Belinda Weston, owners of Weston Farm Produce and Pigeon Hole Café, where I work, have a small holding on the outskirts of Hobart where they grow commercial peony roses, olives for oil and countless other vegetables for discerning restaurants in the city. They also make an award-winning smoked paprika. But for this month’s recipe, it’s their broccoli and kale I’m after. Yes, I know, I’ve bagged kale in the past as a hipster must-have but now I’ve seen the error of my ways and have come to empathise with its plight as an oft-misunderstood vegetable. Kale is nutrient-rich and the ways to prepare it are as delicious as they are varied. I love cooking it in warm olive oil, chilli, garlic, sea salt and a squeeze of lemon; it’s divine tossed through pasta with parmesan, or simply served on grilled sourdough with goat’s cheese. And therein lies the key to appreciating kale: cheese. And what better cheese to partner it with than some Gorgonzola? Smeared over warm sourdough bread, it will add a veneer of luxe sophistication to your humble soup bowl, as well as a flavour kick that’ll have you coming back for more. To ensure a green soup retains its vivid verdant hue, here’s another trick: cook the soup base first and add the green vegetables later. In my version, the potatoes provide the body of the soup, letting the brassicas shine in their own right. Another top tip is to cut the broccoli in equal-size florets to ensure even cooking (same goes for the kale). Anyway, now those fairweather hipster friends have swapped kale for kelp there’s probably more of it to go around, so I trust you enjoy my recipe this month. I just wish you could slurp it while watching Countdown because, even with Boy George, The Voice just isn’t the same! Steve Cumper is a chef and funnyman who lives in Tasmania and dreams of one day owning a fleet of holiday vans called Wicked Cumpers.

BROCCOLI & KALE SOUP WITH GORGONZOLA TOASTS

Serves 4 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 100g butter 1 medium onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed 1 teaspoon dried tarragon ½ teaspoon nutmeg 3 large potatoes, peeled, quartered 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock ¾ cup pure cream 1 head broccoli, stalks removed, cut into florets 1 bunch green kale, stalks removed, roughly chopped 4 slices sourdough bread 100g Gorgonzola

In a large heavy saucepan, heat fennel seeds over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until aromatic and roasted. Remove pan from heat and cool slightly. Add butter to pan and cook over medium heat until melted. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic, tarragon and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add potatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Add cream and bring to the boil. Add broccoli florets and cook for 10 minutes or until softened. Add kale and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Using a stick blender, puree until soup is a velvety consistency. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. To make Gorgonzola toasts, toast sourdough slices until lightly golden. Spread each slice evenly with Gorgonzola. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with Gorgonzola toasts.