Slow roasted tomato soup

Life is certainly a little topsy turvy right now. Truthfully, most days, I don’t know whether I am coming or going. We, like many, are navigating all things pandemic as we settle into our new “normal” of working from home and trying to homeschool at the same time.

Yes 2020 has not been all that wonderful for our little family, thus far. First we had the fires, then the dust storms. Then it was the hail storm that saw the end of our beloved car, and some other truly sad events for our family happened not long after.

So yes, topsy turvy is certainly how we are all feeling at the moment. To put it politely.

But in some respects, life – as chaotic and uncertain as it is right now – has also slowed . No more running from activity to activity after school, and no more weekend sport. Just leisurely walks up to daycare each afternoon to collect the littlest one, and family hikes together on the weekend when Miss M inevitably says “mountain?” as soon as she wakes.

We’ve built forts, done puzzles, watched movies and lots of arts and crafts. We’ve eaten our weight in chocolate too (not good), but also caught up on a few things around the house when the motivation strikes (good).

And now that the weather is starting to turn, slow cooking is inevitably going to make an appearance. Filling our tummies with comforting food (that is not chocolate) and making the house smell amazing. Little effort, generally, but offering a tasty reward at the end of the day.

Take this roasted tomato soup, for instance, that we created a little while ago when a craving for soup struck. Fortunately I had an abundance of tomatoes on hand, and could think of nothing better than to roast them low and slow in the oven.

Halved and drizzled with garlic-infused olive oil, and seasoned, then roasted for 40 minutes.

When the tomatoes were done, we simmered them in a mixture of vegetable stock, basil and Italian herbs. Then pureed until smooth, and topped with a little extra basil.

The result? A fragrant soup that was so very rich in flavour. I think a drizzle of cream would have taken it to even greater heights – although we didn’t have any on hand on this particular occasion.

We even had leftovers, which was perfect for a speedy soup the following day. Eaten at home, of course.

Print Recipe
 Slow roasted tomato soup
Keyword soup
Servings
serves
Ingredients
Keyword soup
Servings
serves
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 160C.
  2. Place the tomatoes cut side up on lined baking trays. Drizzle with olive oil and season.
  3. Roast for 40 minutes, then place into a saucepan with the stock and 2 cups of water. Add the herbs and stir to combine. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, then use a slick blender to blend until smooth.
  4. Divide among serving bowls and top with basil leaves (and cream, if you have it).
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Mushroom tartlets

The start to 2020 has been…well…not as we had expected it to be.

There were the fires, the loss of the family farm and our camper-trailer,  and the lingering smoke haze. Then there was the freak hail storm that left my car looking like a golf ball, caterers that pulled out the day before my husband’s birthday party and a mobile cool room who’s compressor decided to blow – meaning it was more of a “hot box” than a cool room.

But here we are. More than half way through February and things are starting to look up. My car was finally assessed as a ‘write off’ (no surprises there) , and I found a replacement car with low kms that I’m hoping pick up next week. The insurance claim for the camper is also in its final stages, and I’m pleased to report that my husband’s birthday went off without any more hitches and a great time was had by all!

So its’s time to get back in the kitchen and get a little creative. Making dishes that I wouldn’t normally make, and trying some new flavours and ingredients. For it’s no secret that the kitchen has always been my happy place.

When I looked back at my photos, I was reminded of one such afternoon in the kitchen – baking. On the menu were these lovely little mushroom tartlets, that we served as an appetiser when we had guests over for dinner.

Mushrooms, cooked in a creamy sauce that was laden with sherry, and served in crispy puff pastry. They were actually quite simple to prepare, from memory, and were a nice alternative to the cheese plate or charcuterie board that we normally serve as a starter.

I think they’d be lovely for lunch too, served with a green salad. I could probably even sneak them into the kids’ lunchboxes, although I’d probably omit the sherry.

So here’s to a 2020 that is filled more with baking and creating, than dealing with insurance companies!

Print Recipe
 Mushroom tartlets
Course Appetiser
Servings
tartlets
Ingredients
Course Appetiser
Servings
tartlets
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 12-hole muffin pan.
  2. Cut puff pastry into 10cm rounds and press into the prepared tin. Prick the bases with a fork. Place some baking paper in each and fill with pastry weights. Bake for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove weights and baking paper and continue to bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
  4. To make the filling - heat butter in a large frypan and sauté until golden. Add the sherry and allow to evaporate. Add the cream and lemon juice and simmer until the mixture had reduced slightly. Remove from heat and stir through egg yolks. Season to taste.
  5. Spoon the warm filling into the pastry cases, and bake for a further 5 minutes. Serve.
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Strawberry Cheesecake

I don’t tend to bake sweet treats much these days. Not because I don’t enjoy it (I really do!) – its just that I generally crave savoury snacks over sweet – particularly when the weather is warmer. But now that the days are getting shorter, and t-shirts are being replaced with snuggly knits and scarves – there is something quite comforting about indulging in something sweet.

This strawberry cheesecake made an appearance at our Easter lunch. Actually it was one of two cakes we made for the occasion (the other being a tim tam cheesecake). I loved its simplicity – and the fact that the beautiful strawberries were the star of the show. It was also a non-baked version – so we could pull it together the day before.

I used shortbread for the base – flavoured with a little coconut. The creamy filling was made with cream cheese, cream, sweetened condensed milk and, of course, fresh strawberries. Jazzed up with a little fresh lime juice and zest.

The overall result was a cheesecake that was effortlessly delicious. Packed with flavour (and had me going back for seconds in the days that followed). A nice break from the chocolate overload over Easter too!

Print Recipe
 Strawberry Cheesecake
Course Baking
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Baking
Servings
people
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Grease and line a springform baking tin.
  2. Process biscuits and coconut until they are a fine crumb. Add the melted butter, and process until combined. Press into the prepared tin, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  3. Add the cream cheese and condensed milk to a clean food processor, and process until smooth. Add 400g of the strawberries and cream, and continue to process until smooth.
  4. Heat the lime juice in a small saucepan until simmering. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, and add to the heated juice. Stir until dissolved, then allow to cool slightly.
  5. Add the gelatine mix to the processor, along with the lime zest, and process until combined. Carefully pour the mixture on top of the base, and refrigerate until set.
  6. Remove the cake from the tin, and top with extra strawberries to serve.
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