With spring barking at the door like an excitable, just woken puppy it's time for fresh flavours. We've not been eating gruel all winter, but we have relied somewhat on spices and aromatic herbs to get us through. Now it's time for green vegetables.This soup is a nice mix between the more substantial dishes we eat in the cold weather and the lighter ones we are starting to have as the blossom appears on the trees. You can use whatever veg you fancy, but I'd advise sticking to ones with crunch rather than starch. I'd also advise you make your own pesto, but if you can't be bothered, there are pretty good 'fresh' ones available.Ingredients6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon or pancetta1 medium brown onionA selection of vegetables such as cauliflower, courgette, carrots and a little sweet potatoA handful of cherry tomatoes3l chicken or vegetable stock (preferably homemade, this soup relies on a good base)8tbsp basil pestoA huge grating of ParmesanMethodStart by chopping the bacon into small pieces and do the same with an onion.Cube your veg and set aside. I also found a couple of shallots and some green beans at the back of the drawer which went in.Heat some olive oil in a large, deep pan and gently fry the bacon until it starts to crisp. You can then add the sweet potato cubes and the rest of the vegetables, apart from the courgette, if you’re using it. Courgette is a little flavour and crunch held together by water, you pretty much only want to cook this for seconds, so add it just before serving. Pour in three litres of hot chicken or vegetable stock, bring to the boil then simmer for four to five minutes. Add the courgette, turn the heat off and stir in the pesto and grate over much more Parmesan than you think you need. A good fifteen twists of black pepper and you can serve with more pesto and Parmesan on the side.
onion
Fig and goat’s cheese tart with onions, tomatoes and honey
in Food Writing, Photos, Recipes, Vegetarian
When I was at my parents’ last weekend for my dad’s birthday, I wanted to contribute something to the lunch, and brought in the figs I happened to have left over from the day before. I started first thing in the morning by caramelising some onions over a very low heat, until they turned a sweet golden brown. Nearer to lunchtime, a quick assembly of the onion, figs, goat’s cheese and tomato created a simple and pretty puff pastry tart. I didn’t, but you could add some crisped parma ham at the end to give it a little extra texture and saltiness.Serves: 6-8 as a starterPrep time: 25 minsCooking time: 1 hour for the onions, plus 25 mins for the restIngredients1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry4 white onions, thinly sliced, though red would work well too1 tsp sugar1 thyme sprig8 figs, quartered150g crumbly goat’s cheese8 cherry tomatoes1 tbsp poppy seeds1 tbsp sesame seeds1 tbsp honeyOlive oilLemon zest2 tsp balsamic vinegar, thickened slightly in a hot pan and left to coolA handful of lamb’s lettuce to garnishSalt and pepper to seasonMethod
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add some olive oil, the onions, thyme and a little salt and sugar. Stir occasionally and cook until they start to become translucent. Turn the heat down and cover with a lid. Check occasionally, stirring to make sure they don’t stick or burn. Cook for 45-50 minutes or until they are golden brown, sweet and rich.
- Nearer to lunchtime, heat the oven to 180°C and roll the pastry onto a baking sheet. Prick the middle with a fork so it doesn’t rise too much, and score a 1cm border all the way around. Cook for 15-20 minutes then remove from the oven and spread the onions over it. Arrange the figs, goat’s cheese and tomatoes on top, sprinkle with the seeds, and drizzle with the oil, honey, balsamic and lemon zest.
- Season well and when cooled a little, top with the lamb’s lettuce.
How to food style it
- The pastry sheet really is a blank canvas, and with this tart the ingredients do all the work for you. Purple figs against pure whites, golden olive oil and green leaves are going to work, almost however you throw them down. Do try to build in balanced layers, making sure that every section of the tart has a good mix of the ingredients.
- Finally, drizzle with oil and seeds to unify the surface and scatter leaves gently across, taking care to not hide the rest of the ingredients.