Life is a Pique-Nique!

Zalewajka

2011-07-06T15:28:00.007+10:00

Hard to pronounce for anyone foreign to Polish patter but this soup is so simple to make, (also inexpensive and bloody delicious), that I believe it should digest in anyone’s vernacular.

Now, this has to be my favourite soup in the whole wide world, and I have been told that it is the only thing I willingly ate when I was growing up. My version of the Zalewaika is vastly different to the traditional recipes, but this is how my mum has taught me to make it, so this is the recipe I am going to share.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

5 or 6 potatoes, (peeled and cubed)

2 or 3 plain Kransy’s or similar kielbasa (Polish Sausage)

2 chicken stock cubes

Vegetable stock

Jalna Leben Yogurt (or similar sour yogurt)

2 heaped spoons of plain flour

Marjoram

Method:

Firstly chop up your sausage or Kransky to whatever size you like it to be in your soup, (some people prefer whole chunks of sausage that they can fish out and bite into. I tend to cut mine into small cubes as I prefer smaller bite size pieces. This solely depends on your preference). Heat up a frying pan over medium to high heat, pour in a couple of tablespoons of oil and fry the sausage for 4 to 5 minutes.

In a large pot, cover your potatoes with plenty of cold water and put to boil over high heat. Add the stock cubes and a couple of table spoons of vegetable stock to the potatoes. When your sausage is nicely fried up also add them to the soup. When the water begins to boil, turn down the heat and let it cook until the potatoes are soft, around 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, while your soup is bubbling away, ladle a cup full of stock out of the soup into a jug, add ¾ to a full jar of yogurt (the more yogurt you add to your soup, the more sour your soup will be. I usually put the contents of the jar as I tend to make a big pot of soup. Also if you like your soup to be more sour yet, you can add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste at the very end). Add the flour and blend it using a hand blender, until the flour is well combined into the yogurt and stock.

At this point you can taste the stock and adjust the taste by adding salt, pepper or more vegetable stock. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the yogurt and flour mixture and stir to combine. Add a heavy sprinkling of marjoram and increase the heat until it starts to boil. Let this cook for just a couple of minutes until all ingredients combine and the flour should thicken the consistence of the soup. And there you have it! Ladle your soup into your serving bowl, making sure you get lots of potato and sausage in every serve. Bon appétit!

Ogorkowa (Polish Cucumber Soup)

2011-07-04T23:31:00.006+10:00

Again this is another one of my favourites. It’s a traditional Polish soup made from pickles. Now I promise it’s not what you think. Ogorkowa is not like eating a big bowl of boiled pickle. The tanginess of the pickles combined with cream and fresh dill gives it a very refreshing flavour. In fact this would probably be more of a spring or summer soup, rather than a winter soup. But in any case, I urge you to try the Polish cucumber soup and write me a line to let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

6 cups of chicken broth OR 6 cups of water and 2 chicken stock cubes

2 Carrots (Peeled and finely diced)

1 parsnip (peeled and trimmed)

2 stalks of celery (trimmed)

½ a leek (cut lengthways)

A handful of fresh parsley

2 potatoes (peeled and cubed)

8 large pickled cucumbers (pickled in brine as opposed to vinegar)

1 tbsp plain flour

100ml of cream

Chopped dill to garnish

Method:

Place all veggies into a large stock pot and cover with broth or water and stock cubes and place over a high heat. Once boiling lower the heat and allow to cook for around 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked.

Meanwhile, grate or process (but not too finely) the pickles, reserving the juice and set aside.

In a small jug whisk or using a hand held blender, blend the flour and cream with a small amount of water until the flour is well combined into the mixture. Also set this aside.

Once the potatoes have cooked, add the grated pickles (including the juice) to the soup, and then add the flour, cream mixture and allow this to cook for a further 5 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the flavours to your liking. And there it is. Ladle your soup into your serving bowl and garnish with a sprinkling of fresh dill.

Barszcz

2011-07-04T23:28:00.008+10:00

Otherwise known as borscht, borsch, borṡ, barščiai etc, the brilliantly red beetroot soup, largely associated with Eastern Europe, is said to ward off hangovers. In my family, like many Polish households it is traditionally made during the holidays such as Christmas and Easter and enjoyed as a first course during seasons of lent as the soup itself is vegetarian. The polish version is also usually made with an inclusion of what we call uszka, (ooshkah) which are small ravioli type dumplings with a mushroom or a meat filling.

Because this soup is made throughout many households there are obviously many variations. Traditionally, it used to be made several days before, and left to allow the natural acidity of the soup to develop the sour taste, but again I will present you with the “Cheated way” my mum has taught me. All you will need is some chicken stock, a handful of vegetables and herbs and a can of beets. Store brought ravioli, such as Leggo’s fresh ravioli work well as a substitute for uszka.

Ingredients:

6 cups of chicken broth OR 6 cups of water and 2 chicken stock cubes

2 carrots (peeled and trimmed)

1 parsnip (peeled and trimmed)

2 stalks of celery (trimmed)

A handful of fresh parsley

½ a leek (cut lengthways)

800gm can of sliced beetroot

Marjoram (dried)

2 tsp sugar

Lemon juice or vinegar (optional)

500gm Ravioli

Method:

Place the carrots, parsnip, celery, leek and parsley into a large stock pot, cover with chicken stock or water and stock cubes and place over a high heat. Bring this to the boil and then lower the heat to medium and cook for around 20 minutes until the veggies have cooked.

Meanwhile, boil some salted water in another pot and cook your ravioli according to packet directions. Once they are cooked, drain and set aside.

Once your veggies have softened, add the can of beetroot (beets and juice). Add a sprinkling of marjoram and sugar and cook for a further few minutes. Once the soup begins to boil, promptly turn of the heat, (you need to be careful not to overcook the soup or you beetroot will lose its colour and look really dull in your soup). Remove all vegetables except for the beetroot from the soup.

At this point you can taste your barszcz to determine whether it needs anymore sugar, salt or pepper. (Some people like to also add a splash of vinegar but I find that the can of beets already has enough acidity so it shouldn’t be needed, although if you like a slightly more sour flavour, you can squeeze a little bit of lemon juice).

Place a handful of ravioli into your serving bowl and ladle the barszch on top. (You can also add a few slices of beetroot into your bowl, this is optional). And there you have it. Bon appétit.

Mushroom Soup with Risoni

2011-07-04T22:57:00.004+10:00

Not exactly an ancestral recipe, this one came straight out of a cookbook. Nonetheless this soup really has become one of my favourites, with its wonderful rich and creamy flavour and the risoni adding a nice element to the consistency of the soup. It really makes a perfect antidote to this miserable weather.

Ingredients:

Butter

3 garlic cloves (minced)

1 large onion (sliced)

500g of mushrooms (washed and sliced)

6 cups of chicken stock

150g risoni

300ml of cream

Method:

Begin by melting a little bit of butter (you can use oil, however I prefer the flavour of butter in this recipe) in a large saucepan, over a low heat. Add your minced garlic and onion and cook this for a couple of minutes until the onion begins to become soft. Add your mushrooms and continue to cook this gently for further 5 or so minutes. When the mushrooms have softened, add your stock and increase the heat until it begins to bubble. Lower the heat and cook the soup at a medium heat for around 10 minutes.

While your soup is bubbling away, boil some water in a medium saucepan and cook the pasta. Once it is cooked, drain it and set aside.

Once your soup has cooked, transfer it to your blender and process until it is a relatively smooth consistency. Pour your soup back into the pan and add your risoni and cream and stir to combine. Hold it over a medium heat for a few more minutes for all ingredients to heat through and combine. Voilà. Your delicious mushroom and pasta soup is best served with a swirl of fresh cream and a leaf of parsley to garnish.

Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup

2011-07-04T22:38:00.004+10:00

Rich and velvety, sweet and lightly spiced, this version is a little bit different to the traditional pumpkin soup recipes. It’s also a sure way to warmth with an extra swirl of cream and some crusty buttered bread.

Ingredients:

Butter or olive oil

1 onion, (diced)

2 garlic cloves, (minced)

1 large sweet potato (peeled and cubed)

500 to 750 grams of pumpkin (peeled and cubed)

2 chicken stock cubes

150 millilitres of cream

Ground nutmeg

Salt and Pepper

Method:

Heat a large pan over medium heat and melt your butter or oil. Cook the onion and garlic until soft, around 5 minutes. Stir in the sweet potato and pumpkin cubes and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, before adding 5 or 6 cups of water (enough water to cover the veggies), and stock cubes. Turn the heat up until it begins to boil, then turn down the heat and let this simmer for 20 minutes until the veggies are soft.

Now, ladle the soup into your blender and puree before returning it back into the pan. Return the pan to a low heat and add the cream and a good shake of nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Hey presto! Your Sumptuous Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup is best served with a swirl of cream and a little shake of nutmeg to garnish.

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

2011-07-04T22:32:00.005+10:00

There are of course many variations of this recipe. Some more elegant and some more healthy then the one I have featured here, but the truth is, that winter really makes me lazy and I do not want to fuss over too many ingredient. Also one look at the weather outside and any thought or regard to calorie patrol is overthrown by the need to coat everything in a fat layer of cream and butter. So here is the recipe for my variation of Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup.

Ingredients:

Butter or olive oil

1 onion, (diced)

2 or 3 potatoes, (cubed)

1 large or 2 small heads of Broccoli (washed and divided into florets)

2 litres of chicken stock

150 grams of Castello Blue Cheese

150ml of cream

Method:

Using a large pan, melt some butter or olive oil over medium heat and fry up your onions until they are soft, around 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, for a couple more minutes. Then pour in the stock and increase the heat until it begins to boil. Once the stock starts to boil turn down the heat and let this simmer for 15 minutes.

Now you can add your broccoli and allow to cook for a further 6 or 7 minutes until all veggies are tender but the broccoli has not lost too much of its vibrant green colour. Once the veggies are cooked, pour your soup into a blender and puree the soup before returning it back to the pan.

Over a low heat, add the Blue Cheese and cream to your soup and stir until the Blue dissolves. (Note: Not all of the blue veins will melt entirely. You may choose to spoon these out or leave them in for added character). Voilà! Your Beautiful Blue Cheese and Broccoli Soup is ready to be served up and garnished with a extra swirl of cream and if you like some more crumbled Blue Cheese.

Fight the Frost!

2011-07-04T22:18:00.005+10:00

Ask anyone who knows us and has recently and uncomfortably had to visit our home in the last few weeks, and they will probably agree with the fact that my partner Mat and I, and our fat moggy Cici currently reside in the coldest house anywhere outside of Antarctica.

In addition to the increased fanning through cracks between floorboard and wall and insulation which you could easily blow your nose through, our main heater has also, for some time now been out of order.

(Of course this could easily have been remedied as soon as autumn hit, but Mat and I have been so tremendously busy pointing the finger at one another that we simply have not had time to actually claim responsibility and pick up the phone to call a plumber).

Anyway, let us get back to our refrigerator. Now for anyone who has not had the pleasure of a visit, if you are right now picturing a little hut positioned shakily, on a glaciated mountain, at the edge of the world, then yes you are right in your conception and yes I do want you to feel every bit sorry for me!

So, having survived the first week of winter, with an unpleasant thought of more of this weather to come, I have decided to dedicate the following number of posts to something that will inevitably help to curb the chill and thaw the timber and the cement of anyone’s home.

Here I am going to share some of my favourite soup recipes responsible for winning over winter woes. Oh and I promise that these recipes are all so Spartan simple that you will need no more than a handful of ingredients and less than half an hour for each.

Also please note that as a rule, I tend to make large amounts of soup, usually enough to comfortably feed 6 people or put 4 into a coma. All of these recipes reheat well!

Happy arrival of a blog

2011-05-11T15:53:00.003+10:00

Dear friends,

So after 9 weeks of planning and preparation, Pique-Nique catering is proud to finally announce the post of its very first blog. After some initial computer illiteracies and similar complications, Pique-Nique Catering has at long last delivered “Life is a Pique-Nique,” to share with its friends all the excitement of new food discoveries, favourite family recipes, restaurant recommendations, and catering experiences.

4 reasons why I am starting this food blog......1: Because I love to cook, 2: I love to entertain, 3: I love to eat and 4: I love to share my passion for food with all my friends. And for all of you, who love it too, this blog has been created, so that you too can share the love and get your friends onboard!

Did anyone ever tell you that life’s a Pique-Nique?

2011-05-09T18:43:00.006+10:00

The weather may be fickle but whether it’s a sunny, spring scented sprawl, beneath a century old oak or a cosy gathering indoors, the Pique-Nique only really needs two things:

A gathering of your most beloved and a feast for stomach and soul!