~ Menu ~
Beef , Wine & Clotted Cream Soup
Nubbly
Toast
Glass
of Red
As you probably know, the new series of Two
Greedy Italians starts tonight at 8.00 on BBC 2. This seems, therefore, an ideal time to tell
you about the excellent soup I had for lunch today.
You may remember that in my review of "Two Greedy Italians eat Italy" a few days ago I mentioned that I was making some beef stock. Well I froze it and today I made the Beef
& Wine Soup (aka Eisacktaler Weinsuppe) from the book with, of course,
a few changes because that’s Life. I had
no double cream so used clotted, Cornish-Italian Fusion, and also I added some
shreds of beef from the stock.
Beef & Wine Soup
My version for one!
a goodly splash of white wine
a slice or 2 of nubbly bread
a knob of butter *** ~ scroll down for a slightly rude joke
a pinch
of ground cinnamon
1
tbsp or so of clotted cream
a generous grating of Parmesan cheese
~
Simmer together the stock and wine for a minute.
~
Remove from the heat and set aside.
~
Fry the bread in the butter till crisp and golden.
~
Sprinkle the toast with the cinnamon arrange it in the bowl.
~
Stir the cream and a spoonful of grated parmesan into the soup and
reheat gently till warm.
~
Pour over the toast and sprinkle with more parmesan.
The soup was quick, cheap, easy and truly
delicious; my kind of food. This is
something I will definitely make again just as soon as I’ve assembled some more
beef scraps.
If, however, you fancy something similar
but more time consuming substantial try my version of
Onion Soup Gratinée OR Runny Onion Gravy topped with Cheese on Toast
This is a
quick, easy and no doubt inauthentic version of the classic French Onion
Soup. As above really good, rich, beefy
homemade stock make a big difference to the finished soup.
1 medium onion
15 g butter OR 1 tablespoon of olive oil
pinch of salt
glug of dry white wine
a bowl of lovely rich beef stock
a little flour - optional
a thick slices or two of good bread, toasted
Grated Gruyère or possibly Davidstow Cornish
Crackler!
brandy – optional-ish
~ Cook the onions as described here; The Best Way to Cook Onions.
~ When utterly tender urn up the heat and
cook, stirring, till the it starts to caramelised and, to an extent, to stick
on the bottom of the pan. Just a bit,
mind you.
~ Add the white wine and stir to dissolve any
lovely onioniness from the bottom of the pan. …
~ I don’t think it is traditional to add flour
to the classic French version of the soup but I always add a little; t makes
the soup easier to eat as it is more likely to stay on the spoon. So, if you agree, stir in a little flour to
make a paste. If you don’t, don’t!
~ Add the stock and bring to a boil,
stirring. Turn down the heat and simmer
for 10 minutes.
~ Taste and season
To serve pour a little brandy into the soup
bowl, ladle in the soup, top each bowl with a slice or two of toasted bread and
sprinkle with grated cheese. Gruyere is
traditionally used in France , in England a good mature Cheddar is a
pleasant alternative; not a substitute for Gruyere but delicious in its own
right. Flash the soup and its topping
under a hot grill or put in a hot oven for a few seconds to melt and bubble the
cheese. OR top with crunchy croutons and
cheese for trouble free eating.
I have been to
“I saw the 1st series … and yes it was proper Italian food, plus Carluccio, although a Southerner, has a very good knowledge of Northern Italian cuisine (which does not involve all that pasta and pizza, but lots of rice, polenta, etc), so the 2 together give a balanced idea of Italian food …"
***
Slightly Rude Joke!
1 comment:
Looks delicious! I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams, starts on Fridays at 9AM eastern time :D Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.
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