Spicy roasted sweet potato and red pepper soup - the results!
I asked a question about rice the other day, and mentioned that as part of the rest of the meal I was giving this soup a go. Well, it turned out very succesfully, so here are the results!
The soup was actually quite delicious, if I do say so myself. Just the right amount of sweetness and spice, and it got several compliments. A lovely bright colour too!
I took hints from some of the comments left as to what to do with my rice, and ended up adding fried over red onions and the middle sections of the marrow. The stuffed marrows also turned out very well, the meat was very flavoursome and the vegetable also soaked up a lot of flavour.
The only minor drawback was the salad i'd bought to go alongside, which turned out to be herb salad containing coriander... everyone else enjoyed it, but i'm not a fan of the stuff so had to pick it out!
For dessert we had ice cream, rhubarb pie (not homemade, this time) and chopped fruit.
Spicy roasted sweet potato and red pepper soup
n.b. - I made this up as I went along, so the amounts are estimates, especially the stock which was 'pour it in until it looks about the right volume'
5-6 small sweet potatoes
3 red sweet bell peppers (I actually used 2 red and one orange, because that was what was in the bag)
1-2 pints stock
chilli infused olive oil
dried chilli flakes (to taste)
salt and pepper
I peeled the sweet potatoes and chopped them into smallish chunks. I put them in a baking dish with the halved and deseeded peppers, drizzled over some chilli oil and then put them in the oven for about an hour. When they came out they were slightly blackened and caramelised. I put the sweet potato in a large pan, and added the stock and a sprinkle of chilli flakes. I boiled it for a minute or so, then added the roasted peppers. I then took it off the heat and using a hand mixer liquidized it into a smooth soup. Finally I reheated the soup through just prior to serving it (alongside some crusty bread rolls!)
Stuffed Marrow
1 medium marrow
500g minced beef
tomato puree
herbes de provence
1 large onion finely chopped
olive oil
I sliced the marrow into pieces about 2 inches wide. Mine made 7 slices, two of which were somewhat smaller (these got eaten as seconds by the hungriest!). For each slice, I cut out the middle section of softer flesh to leave a ring. I've had some marrows where the middle is seeds which are fairly unappetizing and can be discarded. But this was nice and young and so I reserved the central flesh to add to the rice (see below).
I softened the onions in a little olive oil, and then added the beef and browned it over. I added a good squeeze of tomato puree, and lots of herbs de provence. This I simmered for about half an hour. Meanwhile I put the marrow slices in a baking dish, added a splash of water in the bottom, covered with foil and put in a moderate oven.
After the mince mixture was looking nice and tasty (and smelling good!) I spooned it into the now slightly softening marrow rings, packing it in quite tightly. (It turned out that I had more mince than would fit, so I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, left it simmering and ended up with a tasty bolognaise sauce which I finished off this evenign with spaghetti! A nice side effect.) Then I returned the dish (covered) to the oven for around 40 minutes. When it came out the juices from the meat had spread through the marrow, and it was slightly browned on top.
Wild rice
I didn't do anything particularly fancy with the rice. I chopped a red onion finely and fried it over in a pan on a moderate heat, then added the chopped inner section of the marrow (see above). To this I added boiled wild rice - I was going to boil it in stock but I forgot! I mixed it all together in the frying pan with a little seasoning, and then put in a dish in the oven with the marrows to keep warm until serving.
I served all this with the aforementioned herb salad. Here's a picture!
The soup was actually quite delicious, if I do say so myself. Just the right amount of sweetness and spice, and it got several compliments. A lovely bright colour too!
I took hints from some of the comments left as to what to do with my rice, and ended up adding fried over red onions and the middle sections of the marrow. The stuffed marrows also turned out very well, the meat was very flavoursome and the vegetable also soaked up a lot of flavour.
The only minor drawback was the salad i'd bought to go alongside, which turned out to be herb salad containing coriander... everyone else enjoyed it, but i'm not a fan of the stuff so had to pick it out!
For dessert we had ice cream, rhubarb pie (not homemade, this time) and chopped fruit.
Spicy roasted sweet potato and red pepper soup
n.b. - I made this up as I went along, so the amounts are estimates, especially the stock which was 'pour it in until it looks about the right volume'
5-6 small sweet potatoes
3 red sweet bell peppers (I actually used 2 red and one orange, because that was what was in the bag)
1-2 pints stock
chilli infused olive oil
dried chilli flakes (to taste)
salt and pepper
I peeled the sweet potatoes and chopped them into smallish chunks. I put them in a baking dish with the halved and deseeded peppers, drizzled over some chilli oil and then put them in the oven for about an hour. When they came out they were slightly blackened and caramelised. I put the sweet potato in a large pan, and added the stock and a sprinkle of chilli flakes. I boiled it for a minute or so, then added the roasted peppers. I then took it off the heat and using a hand mixer liquidized it into a smooth soup. Finally I reheated the soup through just prior to serving it (alongside some crusty bread rolls!)
Stuffed Marrow
1 medium marrow
500g minced beef
tomato puree
herbes de provence
1 large onion finely chopped
olive oil
I sliced the marrow into pieces about 2 inches wide. Mine made 7 slices, two of which were somewhat smaller (these got eaten as seconds by the hungriest!). For each slice, I cut out the middle section of softer flesh to leave a ring. I've had some marrows where the middle is seeds which are fairly unappetizing and can be discarded. But this was nice and young and so I reserved the central flesh to add to the rice (see below).
I softened the onions in a little olive oil, and then added the beef and browned it over. I added a good squeeze of tomato puree, and lots of herbs de provence. This I simmered for about half an hour. Meanwhile I put the marrow slices in a baking dish, added a splash of water in the bottom, covered with foil and put in a moderate oven.
After the mince mixture was looking nice and tasty (and smelling good!) I spooned it into the now slightly softening marrow rings, packing it in quite tightly. (It turned out that I had more mince than would fit, so I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, left it simmering and ended up with a tasty bolognaise sauce which I finished off this evenign with spaghetti! A nice side effect.) Then I returned the dish (covered) to the oven for around 40 minutes. When it came out the juices from the meat had spread through the marrow, and it was slightly browned on top.
Wild rice
I didn't do anything particularly fancy with the rice. I chopped a red onion finely and fried it over in a pan on a moderate heat, then added the chopped inner section of the marrow (see above). To this I added boiled wild rice - I was going to boil it in stock but I forgot! I mixed it all together in the frying pan with a little seasoning, and then put in a dish in the oven with the marrows to keep warm until serving.
I served all this with the aforementioned herb salad. Here's a picture!