Green pea soup with cream & Champagne #151

Green peas is one of the few great stuff that you can buy frozen. It´s a great vegetable to use for loads of stuff and making a habit of having some sitting in the freezer is always a good idea. I usually use peas to make sure I always eat some extra vegetables and you can add it to lots of dishes. One of my favorite recipes that I do at least a few times every year is a pasta with bacon, green peas and feta cheese. You don´t even need a recipe to do it, just fry bacon, add cooked pasta, peas and some feta cheese and serve.

You can also do other stuff like smashed peas on toast that I´ve posted before here on Delicious Tapas, check that recipe by following the link. Smashed peas on toast recipe.

OK, on with the soup which is very easy to make, only thing you need to worry about is not to keep it warm for too long since this will make the green color go dark. If you are preparing it ahead of serving then chill it before and then quickly heat it before serving.

Green pea soup with cream & Champagne

frozen green peas
Champagne (or any dry sparkling white wine)
onion
butter
light chicken stock or vegetable stock
cream
milk
lemon juice
salt, pepper

Dice the onion and saute it on low heat in butter until it´s soft, add the peas and cover with chicken stock a little bit of milk and cream and quickly bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and mix the soup and then strain the soup through a sieve to get rid of any bigger pieces. Season the soup with salt, pepper and a little bit of lemon juice.

Whip the cream until it thickens, you don´t want to whip it too hard, just the get it semi-thick, the cream is suppose to almost melt when you add it to the soup. Add about two spoonfuls of Champagne to a glass and then pour over the soup. Top the soup with the whipped cream. Serve.

Cod with fennel, champagne sauce & fresh herbs #125

This is more of an traditional appetizer but as long as it tastes good it´s good enough. I shaved the fresh fennel and then wrapped it around the cod fillets and fixated it with cling film. Then I poached the fish in water for about ten minutes.

This may look a bit tricky and it can be but it´s a fun way to present the fish in a new way. It makes no difference for the taste of the dish so if you don´t want it to get to complicated then just serve the fish with the fennel lightly cooked on the side.

Cod with fennel, champagne sauce & fresh herbs

fresh cod fillets
champagne
fennel
fish stock
cream
shallots
fresh herbs, dill, cress, fennel dill,
salt, pepper
butter

Season the cod with salt and pepper, shave the fennel lengthwise and put them side by side on top on a sheet of cling film so that almost the whole piece of film is covered. Put the cod fillets on the fennel and wrap the whole thing around the fish. Make sure the film don´t get stuck in between the fennel. Steam or poach the fish for about ten minutes, you can carefully stick a thin knife to check if it´s done before opening the package.

Dice the shallot and cook on medium heat in butter until soft, season with salt and pepper and then add the champagne, let it reduce by half and then add fish stock and once again let it reduce by half. Add a bit of cream to the sauce and let i reduce a little bit more, season to taste and the mix the sauce using a handheld mixer. Before serving add a few drops extra of champagne.

Remove the film from the fish and carefully slice it and place in a deep plate, add the sauce and fresh herbs. Serve.

Borettane onions with red wine, lemon & balsamic vinegar # 79

Great on it´s own if you´re into Borettane onions but it´s also perfect as a side dish for grilled meats. You don´t have to use Borettane onions so feel free to replace it with any small onion but make sure it´s small enough to eat in one bite.

Borettane onions with red wine, lemon & balsamic vinegar

Borettane onions

red wine

balsamic vinegar

sugar

salt, pepper

parsley

lemon

Peel and wash the onions, add the onions into a pot and add wine until it´s almost covered, the add the vinegar. Use about four parts wine to one part vinegar. Bring to a slow simmer and let it reduce, when you´re getting low on liquid turn the onions so they´ll cook evenly. Keep reducing until the liquid starts to get thicker. If the onions are not cooked through by then just add some water and reduce it again. 

Remove the onions from the liquid and add some lemon peel and let simmer for a minute, season with salt, pepper and if needed a pinch of sugar. Let the sauce cool for a minute and then put the onions back and cover them with the sauce. Add some finely chopped parsley and some more lemon peel for decoration. Serve.