Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

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.
Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Orzo risotto with spinach

Orzo, also known as risoni, or in french, langue d’oseau is a form of pasta, shaped like a grain of rice. It is a staple in our house and everybody loves it, especially when we make it risotto style. We always prefer eating risotto on its own with a vegetable or a salad. I served this orzo risotto with a plain fresh tomato salad with sliced spring onions. It is what I had in the fridge…the tomatoes were not in the fridge though, never keep tomatoes in the fridge!

Recipe

  • I small onion
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 cup orzo
  • 2 cups of hot vegetable stock
  • 1 TBSP of butter
  • 1 TBSP of créme fraiche
  • 1 TBSP parmesan cheese
  • 2 large handfuls of washed and drained spinach leaves
  • freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Slice the onion finely and sauté in the olive oil until translucent.
  2. Add the orzo and sauté for a minute or two.
  3. Add a ladle of hot vegetable stock and simmer over medium heat until dissolved, while stirring all the time. Repeat the process until all the stock has been used or until the orzo has become al dente. Take care not to cook the orzo until dry, because with standing time it will become more dry and might then become sticky and clumpy. You want the risotto creamy and runny.
  4. Add the butter and créme fraiche when the risotto is still creamy and still has some liquid. Remove from the heat. See image below.
  5. Stir in the parmesan cheese.
  6. Add the spinach, a drizzle of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Mix gently.
  7. Serve on its own with some more grated parmesan cheese and a fresh tomato salad or serve with roasted chicken.

Serves 4

Pinch of salt

  • Use a large shallot instead of an onion.
  • Like with risotto, you can serve this with any vegetable you choose, steamed asparagus, roasted butternut for autumnflavor, plain with saffron, broccoli, or roasted sweet potato.
  • Add fresh herbs of your choice at the end of the cooking process.
  • Keep the risotto creamy by removing it from the heat until it is still runny and still has some liquid, or else it will become sticky and clumpy if you cook it until dry.
  • Serve the risotto as soon as possible. The longer it stands the drier it becomes.
  • Constantly stir the risotto to keep it from sticking to the bottom.
  • The cooking time is more or less about the same as for risotto, 20 minutes.

à bientôt

Ronell