Читать книгу Home Cooking - Rachel Allen - Страница 72

A little more work is involved in making this soup, but it’s definitely well worth the effort. It makes a decent meal in its own right, especially with chunks of crusty bread, or you can serve it as a starter. Cockles and mussels are a classic combination but if you can only get one or the other, you can use them singly in this soup.2 tbsp sunflower oil 110g (4oz) smoked bacon, diced

25g (1oz) butter

110g (4oz) leek, trimmed and very finely diced

110g (4oz) carrot, peeled and very finely diced

275g (100z) potato (about 1 medium), peeled and finely diced

1kg (2lb 3oz) mixed cockles and mussels

300ml (½ pint) dry white wine

200ml (7fl oz) milk

200ml (7fl oz) single or regular cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

1 Heat the sunflower oil in a saucepan on a medium—high heat and sauté the bacon for about 1 minute until crisp and golden. Melt the butter in the pan and add the leek, carrot and potato. Sauté gently on a low heat for 4–5 minutes or until soft but not browned.

2 Meanwhile, prepare the cockles and mussels. Scrub the shells clean and discard any that remain open when you tap them against a hard surface. Remove the beard — the little fibrous tuft — from each mussel. Bring the wine to the boil in a large saucepan and add the cockles and mussels. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and leave to cook for 3–4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the shells have opened.

3 Remove from the heat, drain the shellfish in a colander, retaining the cooking juices, and discard any shells that remain closed. Once drained, return the shellfish to the empty pan to keep warm. Place a fine sieve over a measuring jug and strain the cooking liquid. If the juices caught in the jug measure less than 600ml (l pint), add water to make up to that quantity.

4 Add the pan juices and the milk to the bacon and vegetable mixture and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6–8 minutes or until the potato is tender. Add the cream and simmer for a further 2–3 minutes or until reduced and thickened slightly. Season with salt and pepper.

5 Meanwhile, remove half of the cockles and mussels from their shells and add them with the remaining cockles and mussels still in their shells to the chowder. Stir in the parsley and serve at once with some crusty bread.