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SOUPSCabbage Soup with BaconIn the not so long-ago days, cabbage was much in use among the Irish. Both cabbage and bacon were normally cooked in the same liquid and there was far less bacon than cabbage in the soup. Cabbage, bacon and potatoes were often cooked together and served as the main meal.Serves: 4 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 30–35 minutes Ingredients: 1oz butter or margarine 25g 11/2 level tablespoons 8oz finely chopped lean bacon 225g 11/3 cups 2 finely chopped onions 2oz thinly sliced mushrooms (reserve mushrooms stalks and skins) 50g 1/3 cup small head cabbage (stalks removed and finely shredded) 3 diced potatoes black pepper 35 fl oz vegetable stock 1 litre 5 cups 5–6 cloves Method: Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan. Add bacon, onion and sliced mushrooms; fry for a minute, stirring continuously. Add the cabbage, potatoes, black pepper and stock.Put mushroom stalks and skins along with cloves into a piece of muslin and tie up neatly, add to soup. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve piping hot. To economize: Leftover cooked bacon may be diced and used instead of fresh bacon. Put this bacon into the soup ten minutes before cooking time is completed, bring back to boiling point, then simmer for 10 minutes. Garden Green Pea SoupDuring the summer months we always picked peas before they had gone tough and stringy. The flavour of peas fresh from the field was far superior to those bought in any shop. It was a shock, though, when we were children and had picked, say six pounds of peas, to learn that by the time they were podded there were only enough for eight people.It is best to cook fresh peas for about ten minutes in fast boiling water, strain them and then bury knobs of butter in them. Serves: 4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Ingredients: 2oz butter 50g 1/4 cup 2lb young garden peas 1kg 5 cups 1 medium-sized diced cucumber 3 finely chopped spring onions 1oz sugar 25g 11/2 level tablespoons finely chopped mint 35 fl oz vegetable stock 1 litre 5 cups salt and pepper a little cream Method: Melt butter in a saucepan. Fry vegetables in the butter. Add sugar, mint and stock, bring to the boil and season to taste. Simmer approximately 10 minutes until tender. Liquidize soup or put through a sieve. Bring back to the boil and serve immediately with a little cream poured over the top. Watchpoints: Pea soup is best made when the peas are young and fresh from the garden.The thin light green pods can be cooked as they are, and the soup then sieved to remove fibres. If the peas are old, remove the shucks or pods before adding the peas to the soup. Cold Spinach Cream SoupIn Ireland there are two main kinds of spinach. Summer spinach is light in colour and more delicate in flavour. The darker-coloured winter spinach requires a slightly longer cooking time. To cook spinach wash it thoroughly, place the wet leaves in a covered saucepan, and cook over a gentle heat until leaves wilt. Strain and chop.Serves: 4–6 Preparation time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 1lb chopped cooked spinach 500g 4 cups 10 fl oz sour cream or plain yoghurt 275ml 11/4 cups 20 fl oz light or vegetable stock 21/2 cups 575ml 2 tablespoons lemon juice 30ml 1 fl oz nutmeg seasoning thin slices of lemon (to serve) Method: Blend all ingredients together in liquidizer and season to taste. Pour into soup tureen and serve with lemon slices. To vary: Substitute cucumber or lettuce for spinach. Watchpoint: Cooking spinach reduces its size to about half. Cold spinach soup should be chilled for about an hour before serving. |
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