Sweet potato and orange velouté.

A sweet potato soup is very similar in taste to a butternut soup, but it is much creamier. With fall in full swing, we make full use of all the root vegetables available, roasted in the oven, in soups, sautéed, braised. And sweet potatoes lend itself to all those cooking methods. Just in a soup, you can enjoy it in so many ways, see Pinch of salt down the post.

Recipe:

  • 1 large sweet potato(or about 800 g)
  • 1 large onion
  • 250 ml vegetable stock
  • 1 large orange
  • Peel of an orange, washed with the white flesh of the orange removed from the peel.
  • fresh sage leaves
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 slices of thinly sliced serrano ham
  • Cream to taste
  • Créme fraîche or thick cream
  1. Peel the onion, slice and add to some olive oil in a casserole. Sauté until translucent.
  2. Peel and cut the sweet potato in chunks. Add to the onions along with the stock and the orange peel.
  3. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until very soft and tender.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the juice of the orange.
  5. Mix the soup with a hand blender until smooth and without lumps.
  6. Season with salt and pepper and add cream to taste. Mix and set aside.
  7. Heat some olive oil and fry the sage leaves for about 2 minuts until crispy. Drain on some kitchen towel.
  8. Fry the serrano ham in the same oil until slighly crispy and drain on kitchen towel.
  9. Serve the soup in bowls and to with a dollop of créme fraîche, a slice of ham and some crispy sage leaves.

Serves 4

Pinch of salt:

  • Omit the orange juice and add a clove of garlic, fresh thyme, chicken stock and grated nutmeg to the soup.
  • Add chopped fresh ginger along with the orange juice.
  • Add 125 ml white wine.
  • Add a bouquet garni (parsley stems, thyme, bay leaves & lemon peel wrapped and tied in the green part of a leek) along with the stock.

Cherry tomato and feta bake with pesto.

This tomato feta bake is a recipe that’s been going around for a few years. I’m a bit late on the wagon, but here it is, with a twist. In summer we devour tomatoes. We are accustomed to picking our own tomatoes from the potager for the last 10 years, but here in Provence we don’t have a potager yet, having moved here only January this year. It is in the pipeline for next season, but in the meantime we rely on the Provencal markets of which there is one in a town each day of the week. So no excuse not to have fresh local tomatoes in the bowl!

We serve this tomato dish with just about everything as a side or on its own with crusty, rustic country bread. It makes a delicious sauce which all goes to waste if you don’t mop it up with bread. Originally on the internet and on TikTok it is served over pasta. It can be lunch or dinner or apero. I serve it here with baked salmon and I can’t tell how well they match together. You have to try it for yourself.

The ingredients are very simple and available. And of course you can play around with herbs and onions, omit the onions if you wish, or even change the feta cheese for goats cheese.

Recipe

  • A handfull of cherry or grape tomatoes
  • half a red onion
  • block of feta cheese
  • several branches of fresh thyme
  • Fesh basil leaves
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • olive oil
  • balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  1. Clean the tomatoes and add to an ovenproff dish.
  2. Add the block of feta cheese and press it inbetween the tomatoes.
  3. Clean and finely slice the onion, add to the tomatoes and feta.
  4. Chope the garlic and sprinkle over the tomao feta.
  5. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and drizzle finally with olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
  6. Season with salt and freshly milled pepper.
  7. Bake in a preheated oven at 210 degr C for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are shrivled.
  8. Remove from the oven and serve with pesto and fresh basil.

Serves 4

A pinch of salt

  1. Use goats cheese instead of feta cheese
  2. Use any other fresh herb of your choice.
  3. Add some drizzled freshly squeezed lemon juice.
  4. Sprinkle grated lemon peel over the feta
  5. Use shallots instead of red onion.
  6. Use a mix of grape and cherry tomatoes.
  7. Bake at a higher temperature for a shorter time, until the tomatoes are charred.

A bientôt!

Ronell