Sorry this week’s newsletter is a little late – we caught yet another bout of nursery bugs in our house this weekend. It is pretty relentless at the moment! But we’re (slowly) starting to feel better, so here we go…
As temperatures plummeted this week, these three recipes found their way into my kitchen.
First up is a thrifty soup, made from what was left in the fridge before I did the food shop. I like dishes like this, which force you to clear the decks before a new week of cooking begins. In this case it was some broken lasagne sheets, a tired-looking quarter of a cabbage and a tin of butterbeans, simmered in a Marmite-spiked stock for a lunch that promised to warm us up from the inside.
Then a rib-sticking bowl of porridge, made the proper way, by slowly stirring the oats with nothing more than water and salt until they yielded surprisingly creamy results.
Finally, something a little more indulgent – my new favourite way of making hot chocolate, in the slow cooker. The brilliant thing about this method is that your hot chocolate will be ready, warm and waiting, when you come into the house, cheeks flushed and fingers chilly, from the frosty world outside. The culinary equivalent of a hot water bottle at the end of the bed. It would be equally good without the booze, of course, but it is December, so it’s officially allowed.
Broken lasagne soup
Serves 2
1 white onion, finely chopped
5 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked
¼ white cabbage, finely chopped
1 tin butterbeans, drained
1 tbsp Marmite
6 lasagne sheets
Juice of ½ lemon
Parmesan, to serve
Calabrian chilli oil, to serve (optional)
Heat a splash of olive oil in a large pan and fry the onion and spring onions for 5-10 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, thyme and cabbage and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the butterbeans along with enough boiling water to cover before adding the Marmite. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat to medium and taste to check the seasoning – add more Marmite if you feel like it needs it.
Break the lasagne sheets into rough squares and add to the soup. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until tender, adding a splash more water if needed. Finish with the lemon juice. Serve with parmesan and Calabrian chilli on top.
The baby step
Before you’ve added the Marmite, spoon out a little of the mixture and mash to your baby’s preferred texture before tossing through cooked orzo or any other small pasta shape.
Proper porridge
For the creamiest porridge, add a cupful of jumbo oats to a pan (I use a small non-stick frying pan) and cover with water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, stirring, then turn down low and allow to blip away on a medium-low heat for around 10 minutes, adding more water as needed, until the oats are incredibly creamy. Finish with a splash of milk. Serve with fruit, nut butter and demerara sugar.
The baby step
For babies, simply skip the salt and sugar. Leftover porridge can also be spooned into muffin cases then baked (add a few berries if you like) for a baby-friendly on-the-go snack.
Boozy slow-cooker hot chocolate
Add five heaped tablespoonfuls of hot chocolate flakes to a slow cooker before topping up with 250ml milk of your choice (I used oat milk). Pop onto high for 20 minutes then reduce to medium heat until you’re ready to serve. Ladle into cups, adding a splash of your favourite festive liqueur. I used M&S chocolate tiramisu Irish cream liqueur.
PS This week I’m loving…
The M&S tiramisu flavour Irish cream liqueur is ridiculously good – as well as adding it to hot chocolate (as above), I’ll be using to make espresso martinis, pouring over ice cream and adding to homemade Christmas treats (I’m thinking tiramisu fudge).