Page 10 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2023

Recipes from 20 years ago!
The following recipes came from the NVS bulletin of January 2003, and I feel are still relevant today and for this time of the year. The first one broad bean soup came from Mrs E. Hutchinson from Sheffield.
Broad Bean Soup
1 lb fresh (shelled) or frozen broad beans 1 small leek
1 small onion
1 pint vegetable stock
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small spring of mint finely chopped Salt and pepper to taste
Roughly chop the onion and leek, cook both gently in the oil until soft; add the stock and bring to the boil. Season to taste, add the broad beans and chopped mint then simmer until the beans are soft. Liquidise in a blender or food processor then strain through a sieve, return to a clean saucepan and reheat before serving; or this soup can be served cold.
Also from Mrs Hutchinson is the following recipe...
Pea Soup
1 lb fresh (shelled) peas
or frozen peas
2 medium or 1 large onion
1 leek
2 sticks of celery
2 cloves of garlic
2 rashers of bacon
1 good knob of butter
1 dessertspoon of vegetable oil Grated cheese
(Parmesan for preference)
Chop the bacon and fry it in the oil in a saucepan until the fat starts to run. Chop the leek, onions, celery, and garlic and add them to the bacon frying them gently until soft. Add
the butter and allow to melt, once
it has melted add the peas and stir until they are all well coated, then add water to about 1 to 2 inches (25 to 50mm) above the contents of the saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer until the peas are cooked. Liquidise the mixture, add more water if the soup is too thick and put through a sieve. Return to the saucepan and reheat, serve topped with a sprinkle of cheese.
From the Kitchen...
Potato Crisp
Crisps are a very expensive way of buying potatoes, just look a how many grams are in the packet and what you have paid for them! It is not that difficult to make your own and set out below are two methods.
Some cultivars make better crisps than others and the floury type like Maris Piper are very good as is the old Golden Wonder cultivar (older readers may remember the name from the product name). It does
not matter too much about the size of the potato but if too small they are difficult to slice. Use your very small potatoes to make soup like leek and potato and they are useful to thicken soups and bulk them up. 1 kilo of potatoes should make a large bowl of crisps.
Slice the potatoes to about 3mm thick, take care not to cut your fingers, or use a mandolin slicer which is safer and easier (you can still cut the tip of your finger, I speak from experience!).
Rinse the cut potatoes in cold water and then put into a bowl of cold water to soak for 30 minutes. Once soaked, drain the water and dry the potatoes on a tea towel ready for cooking.
Frying
Use a deep pan and add plenty of vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil,
heat to 160°C to 180°C. if you have a thermometer this will give an accurate gauge of the temperature. Carefully add the potatoes in batches and cook until golden brown colour. When cooked remove using a spoon with slits in and allow the oil to drain back into the pan. Place the crisps onto kitchen towels to remove excess oil and then add salt and other flavourings if wanted.
The crisps can be eaten when cool enough or left to cool completely which should make them crispier.
Baking
Once drained and dried as above coat them with oil and add salt and flavourings / seasoning and place on a baking tray. Heat the oven to 200°C and cook for approx. 30 minutes until they are golden brown and look crispy.
Again, they can be eaten when
cool enough or cooled and stored in a Tupperware type container until wanted.
As well as potatoes I am told that parsnips and beetroot make good crisps and are a healthy option especially for children if they do not eat many vegetables.
10 Simply Vegetables