My go-to source for substantial, comforting soups has always been the first Avoca book and this one certainly hits the spot on a cold winter's day.
Tomato, Lentil and Orange Soup
50g butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 orange, zested and flesh chopped 50g red lentils 1 x 400g tin tomatoes 300ml vegtable stock ( I use Marigold boullion)
melt butter and cook onion for approx 10 mins until soft
add garlic for 1 min
add orange zest and flesh, lentils, tomatoes and stock
At Christmas time it's always a good idea to have something in the fridge that can spice up those leftovers. I made this a few years ago and it disappeared in a flash so I decided to do it again, as well as being good with leftovers it really jazzes up a cheese sandwich. The recipe comes from Paul Flynn's 'An Irish Adventure with Food, The Tannary Cookbook', which has recently been re-issued with a new cover (and hopefully some more proof-reading - the font changes on random pages in the original).
Red Pepper and Chilli Relish makes approx 5 jars (750g)
50g caster sugar 60ml white wine vinegar 5 red peppers, de-seeded and chopped 1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped 2" piece of fresh ginger, grated 1 clove garlic, grated 2 x tins (400g each) tomatoes, blended 2 leaves gelatine
put sugar and vinegar in a pan and bring to the boil
add pepper and cook for 2 mins
add chilli, garlic, ginger and tomatoes, season, cook for another 15 mins and then remove from the heat
soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water
when gelatine is soft, squeeze off excess water and stir into pepper mix off the heat
fill sterilised jars with relish
To sterilise jars either:
run through a dishwasher cycle and fill while still warm, or
place in 150 deg C oven for 15 mins - again fill while still warm
In theory this should keep in the fridge for 2-3 months, however it never lasts that long in my house!!
