Our friends at Love the Garden are running a Vegetable Garden competition for all bloggers out there. The prize is a £200 meal at a restaurant of your choice (so don’t choose the chippie – you’ll be in there forever).
This month’s theme is potatoes, so all you need to do is post a potato recipe to your blog, send the link to the Love the Garden competition page and their readers will vote for their favourite.
I’ve posted my entry below. It’s a fish soup but don’t let that put you off - I promise you that your family and friends will think you have morphed into Delia Smith when you make it. Even my kids love this and they’re a tough crowd. Another great thing is you can drop frozen fish into the soup – you don’t need to defrost it beforehand. In fact, the most labour intensive part is the dicing and slicing. And the fighting the kids off with a ladle as they scramble to tuck in.
Potty Potato and Fish Soup (serves 4)
• 250g diced potatoes ( did I mention this potato features potatoes)
• a knob of butter (to fry leek and shallots)
• a large leek, sliced thinly
• 2 finely chopped shallots
• 125ml cider
• 300ml fish stock
• bay leaf
• 200ml milk
• 200ml natural yoghurt
• 350g of any white fish you like, (cut into 1 inch pieces if fresh, or if frozen, dropped in whole and flaked when cooked)
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the leek and shallots and cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. You want everything soft and buttery – not browning. Add the cider and bring to the boil. It will already smell fab!
2. Stir in the stock, potatoes and bay leaf. Fish stock is usually really salty so I don’t add salt, but I’ll leave that to your palate. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes
3. Whisk your flower with a bit of milk out of your 200ml – you’re aiming for a smooth liquid, not a thick paste, so just keep stirring.
4. Adjust the heat until the soup is bubbling gently. Stir in the flour mixture and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the remaining milk and half the yoghurt. Cook for a further 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
5. Add the other half of the yoghurt, and your fish. If fresh fish the soup will be ready in about 3 minutes. If frozen will take a few minutes longer but is still surprisingly quick. If you’ve dropped in filets you can gently flake them or break them up in the soup.
6. Taste the soup, swoon theatrically and serve!!
