Asparagus soup with shaved asparagus #172

Asparagus is in full season and at this time of year I always try to have some at home since it such a versatile vegetable and can be used for so many things. This time I made some soup using some left over white asparagus and some fresh green ones. You don´t need to use any white asparagus for this recipe since I only used them since they got left over and was getting dry and boring. This is also why my soup is not very green in my photos, it will of course be more green if you´re only using the green ones.

If you´re in the mood for some green asparagus and don´t feel like serving soup why not try some of my other asparagus recipes like Crayfish lasagna with asparagus or Grilled asparagus with Parmesan cheese. But since it´s been cold for a few days here in Sweden (yes colder than our usual cold) I felt like soup.

Asparagus soup with shaved asparagus

green asparagus

shallot onion

chicken or vegetable stock

cream

water

salt, pepper

olive oil

Slice the asparagus, save some of the tips for serving. Chop the onion and add asparagus and onion to a pot and sauteé with the olive oil on medium heat, add the chicken stock and leave to simmer for about ten minutes. Blend into a smoot soup, add the cream, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Adjust flavor to taste. 

Using a potato peeler slice the saved tips into thin slices, add the soup to a bowl and decorater with the sliced asparagus and a little bit of olive oil.

New Years recipe ideas on a budget

New Years Eve is coming up and if you haven´t decided on what to serve I have picked some of my own favorite recipes from Delicious Tapas and have some great suggestions for you!

This is part three in this series and for this post I will focus on when you want to have a great celebration but you´re budget is limited. All of these recipes are really cheap to make but still taste great.

All recipes can be found in their original post that I have linked for each dish. I haven´t suggested any dessert but since I´m not that much into desserts. But if I have to recommend something I would go for any great ice cream, because who doesn´t love ice-cream?

New Years menu when you´re on a budget

Appetizers - we are starting off with some simple and great tasting appetizers, pimientos de padrons, a simple hummus on toast and some nachos with an avocado mayonnaise. This actually goes really good with beer but also with some cold white wine or something sparkling.

Nachos with pepper and avocado mayonnaise
Pimientos de padron
Hummus on toast

Starter

After some great tasting appetizers I suggest a potato soup with bacon and lemon oil, this is really simple yet refined and can be prepared way ahead of time and will give you time to spend with your guests.

Potato soup with bacon and lemon oil

Main course

For the main course I´m serving lamb skewers with a tomato salsa and yoghurt, since my original recipe is served as a tapas you can add some roasted potatoes and vegetables to make a complete dish. And why not a glass of red wine on the side?

Lamb skewers with tomato salsa and lemon yoghurt

Miso soup with roasted pork belly & wakame and egg #146

This may look a bit complicated but the only thing that´s hard is to wait for the pork belly to get ready. I use an instant miso soup that I season with a little bit of soy, holy basil and add dried wakame algae to. With the miso, the roasted meat and a creamy egg it´s look and taste way more unusual and complex than what it is. If you have the time you can serve this same dish with a home cooked broth made with beef or chicken stock and season it with the holy basil and soy. Try to make the pork belly a day ahead, and make more than
you´ll need because if you happen to have ready made roasted pork belly sitting in the fridge you tend to need in the end.

Miso soup with roasted pork belly & wakame and egg

fresh pork belly
instant miso soup
Japanese soy
dried wakame algae
eggs
holy basil
salt, pepper
vegetable oil

Brush the pork belly with vegetable oil and season heavily with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven on medium heat until it´s tender, this usually take somewhere between six and ten hours. Make sure to baste the meat every hour or so. Chill the meat if you are making a day ahead, otherwise leave it to cool until serving and then slice it.

Bring the instant miso to the boil with some wakame and check the flavor, season with soy and a few leafs of holy basil, set aside. Boil the eggs for about five minutes and then quickly chill and peel it. Slice the meat and serve it in a bowl with half an egg and the warm miso soup and some wakame. Chop and sprinkle a little bit of holy basil on top.

Jerusalem artichoke soup with parsnips & salami #118

Jerusalem artichokes are in full season and probably the most classic way to serve them is to make a soup, so let´s keep it simple and do just that. If you are serving it as an tapa I recommend serving it in a cup or smaller plate than in my photos.

I used some left over salami that I fried with some parsnips and onion for this recipe but bacon or pork are great as well so feel free to replace the salami with that.

Jerusalem artichoke soup with parsnips & salami

Jerusalem artichokes
cream
water
garlic
butter
shallot onion
white wine
parsnips
salami
chives
olive oil

Peel the artichokes and put in cold water with some lemon juice, this will keep the artichokes from going brown. Chop the garlic and shallots and fry them until soft with the butter, add the artichokes and fry them for a few minutes without browning.

Add salt, pepper and white wine let the wine reduce until half is left and the cover with water and simmer until the artichokes are cooked through. Add some cream and bring to a boil and then blend the soup until completely smooth. Season with salt, pepper and a splash of olive oil. Adjust the thickness and creaminess with water and cream if necessary.

Peel and dice the parsnip, dice the salami and slice the chives. Roast the diced parsnip in some butter, remove from heat and combine with the salami and chives. Serve the soup with the parsnip and salami mix and a few drops of olive oil. Good luck.

Potato soup with bacon & lemon oil #114

Potato soup can be one of the most boring things you can serve but if you add some love, bacon and lemon olive oil it will make a huge difference. Use any good tasting potato, be generous with the olive oil, cream and bacon and it will make a boring potato soup turn into a great tapas dish.

Potato soup with bacon & lemon oil

potatoes

cream

water

onion

garlic

thyme

olive oil

lemon flavored olive oil

parsley

bacon

salt, pepper

Peel and dice the potato, garlic and onion, save some onion and garlic for the bacon and add the rest to a pan with some olive oil and gently let it cook for a few minutes, add some thyme and cover with water. Let the potatoes simmer until cooked through and then add a little bit of cream. Blend the soup until smooth, you may need to thin it with some more water and cream. Season to taste and the bring it to the boil before serving.

Finely dice the bacon and fry until almost crispy in a pan, add the onion, garlic and some chopped parsley and season with some pepper. Pour the soup into cups and add the bacon and onions. Top of with a little bit of lemon oil and a few drops of cream.

Chanterelle soup with Parmesan bread #111

Chantarelles are in season and besides serving them on toast or as a side to mets I also like to make a soup and serve them as a starter or light lunch, or like here served in a small cup like a tapas or an appetizer while sipping on a drink.

Chantarelle soup with Parmesan bread

fresh chanterelles
shallot onion
garlic
thyme
butter
black pepper
cream
salt
fresh bread
Parmesan cheese

Dice the onion and garlic, add butter to a pan and add the chanterelles, garlic and onion and fry until golden and they start to dry out. Season with salt, black pepper and thyme. Add water until the mushrooms are covered and simmer for about fifteen minutes.

Add a little bit of cream and bring it to a boil and then blend into a smooth soup, adjust the thickness with cream or water if necessary and season to taste.

For the Parmesan bread I just take a good fresh bread and grate loads of Parmesan on top and roast it in the oven until golden. Serve warm with the soup.

Scallop in dashi with wakame and chili oil #106

For this broth I use a store bought dashi powder that you can get at an asian supermarket. I follow the instructions on the package and I use dried wakame that I soak in water and then add to the dashi. 

There are several brands of dashi so feel free to season it to taste, I simply add a little bit of japanese soy to mine but everything goes.

Scallop in dashi with wakame and chili oil

scallops

dashi powder

dried wakame

fresh red chili

chives

leeks

japanese soy

vegetable oil

olive oil

dried chili

Combine water with the dashi powder and bring to a simmer, season with the soy. Soak the wakame in water for ten minutes. Discard the water after soaking and add the wakame to the dashi. Roughly chop the red chili and mix in a blender with a little bit of vegetable oil until smooth.

Slice the leeks and chives, sear the scallops in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Slice the seared scallop in a few slices. If the scallops are small then serve more than one. In a bowl add the wakame from the dashi and put the scallop on top, add the leeks, chives and a few drops of chili oil and some sprinkles of dried chili. Finnaly add the dashi broth on top. Serve varm.

Green gazpacho with cream cheese crostini #88

The classic Spanish Gazpacho soup is a must for me at least once a week throughout the summer, this version is made using only green vegetables except for the tomatoes which are yellow. The flavor gets a bit different but equally good and fresh. 

Green gazpacho with cream cheese crostini

cucumber

green pepper

green chili

yellow or green tomatoes

white wine vinegar

olive oil

white bread

salt, black pepper

garlic

cream cheese

Cut all vegetables into pieces, add a few pieces of white bread and splash over some vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let sit out for half an hour to let the vegetables marinate. 

Blend the vegetables into an soup, season with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Cut bread into thin slices and toast, spread on some cream cheese. Serve the soup ice cold.

Lobster soup with basil cream # 81

This is a classic lobster soup, only served in small portions with some basil cream. I served it without any lobster meat but feel free to add some. Also for the soup you can replace lobster shells with most other seafood shells like shrimp or langoustine.

Lobster soup with basil cream

lobster shells
onion
carrot
tomato puré
bay leaf
garlic
thyme
water
white wine
cream
olive oil
salt, pepper

creme fraiche
basil
salt, pepper

Crush the shells, finely chop the vegetables and gently roast the shells with the vegetables for a few minutes in some olive oil, add wine, tomato puré, bay leaf, thyme and cover with water.

Simmer for about half an hour, turn of the heat and let the stock rest for another hour. Strain the stock and reduce until about half is left, add some cream and reduce until it starts to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.

Finely chop the basil and combine with the creme fraiche, season with salt and pepper.