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Green soup
Stuffed currant leaves
Calendula and thyme shortbread
Herb, chard and feta soup (4 serving)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 pound Swiss chard leaves
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 /2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1tablespoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- GARNISHES : Plain yoghourt with chopped herbs, lemon juice, feta
Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until translucent and soft (do not brown), 7–8 minutes. Stir in chard, broth, parsley, cilantro, fresh and dried mint, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Working in batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth. Return to pan. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm soup before continuing.
Ladle soup into bowls and garnish
Stuffed black currant leaves (makes 20)
Ingredients
- 40 large black currant leaves
- 2 dl bulgur
- 0.5 dl cashew nuts
- 1 small bunch of fresh mint
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp rape oil
- Cinnamon
- Salt
For the broth
- 2tbsp oil
- 1 squeeze of lemon juice
- 1/4 stock cube with some water
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- salt
Method
Cook the spelt in salty water for about 20 minutes. Roast the nuts on a dry pan a bit so they’ll get colour on their cheeks. Mince the garlic and the mint. Mix the stuffing ingredients together.
Cook the currant leaves in plenty of water for about five minutes to soften them up. Take two leaves at a time. Cut their stems off and place them on each other so they’ll overlap in the middle. Scoop a teaspoonful of the stuffing in the middle. Fold the edges of the leaves on the stuffing and roll them into small cigars. Place each cigar carefully but tightly into a casserole.
Mix the broth ingredients and pour over the casserole. (Add some water too if the amount of liquid doesn’t seem enough.) Place in a 150°C oven for about an hour. You can eat them right away, but if you have the patience you can wait a day or two for them to juice up in the fridge. This is also the reason why it’s a great idea to make a big portion of them while you’re at it.
Calendula and thyme shortbread cookies
- 200 g / 7 oz dairy-free butter,
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 100 g / 3.5 oz caster sugar
- 300 g / 10.5 oz plain flour, sifted
- Squeeze of lemon
- 3-4 Tbsp minced fresh calendula flower petals
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg yolk, lemon juice and lemon zest (if using) and stir to combine. Then add the flour, calendula, thyme, and salt.
- Gently stir everything together until the dough barely holds together.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and form it into a log shape.
- Wrap it tightly with parchment paper, twisting the ends to help hold it all together.
- Put in the fridge or freezer for about 30 minutes, or until firm. You can store the dough for several days in the fridge, or for several weeks in the freezer, if need be.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 150°C. Slice the log into 1/4 inch rounds.
- Put them on a parchment lined baking sheet, about an inch or so apart. They don’t really spread much.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check them closely after 25 minutes, as they will start to brown pretty quickly. Take them out when only the edges just barely start to turn golden. The centers will still be fairly soft. Let them cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They will firm up as they cool.
Grow Dundee 