Читать книгу Home Cooking - Rachel Allen - Страница 68

A perfect winter dish and particularly lovely at Christmas, this delicious and nourishing soup uses up leftover Brussels sprouts, or you can use raw sprouts instead — just give them an extra minute or two to cook in the soup. Like many children, mine aren’t too keen on Brussels sprouts on their own, but they lap them up in this soup!15g (½oz) butter

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 large potato (about 250g/9oz), peeled and chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 litre (1¾ pints) chicken or vegetable stock (see page 326)

450g (1lb) cooked or raw (and peeled) Brussels sprouts, halved

100ml (3½fl oz) double or regular cream

1 tbsp finely chopped chives

25g (1oz) flaked almonds, lightly toasted (see tip below right)

1 Melt the butter in a saucepan on a low heat, add the onion and potato and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and leave to cook very gently for about 8–10 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the potatoes are just soft but not browned.

2 Add the stock, bring to a rolling boil and cook for 1 minute before tipping in the sprouts. With the lid off this time, boil the cooked sprouts for 1–2 minutes only (enough time to warm through but not to overcook) or 3–4 minutes for raw sprouts.

3 Remove the saucepan from the heat and whiz the soup in a blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pan and stir in half the cream. Check the seasoning and simmer for a few minutes to warm through.

4 Finally, lightly whip the remaining cream to soft peaks and stir in the chives. Divide the soup between warm bowls, spoon a dollop of chive cream on top, scatter over the toasted almonds and serve immediately.