Butternut or Kent/Jap Pumpkin Soup

The days are still sunny in Melbourne but a distinct chill in the morning air heralds the arrival of "soup weather". And what better way to start a collection of my favourite soup recipes than with that most under-appreciated vegetable the humble pumpkin.
My favourite pumpkin varieties for soup-making are the butternut variety or the stripy Kent pumpkin (also known as a Jap pumpkin, which has a sweeter flavour and mashes more easily than most other varieties).

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients
1 pumpkin (butternut or Kent/Jap varieties are best for this recipe)
1 brown onion (or 3 or 4 golden shallots for a less intense flavour)
2-3 sticks of celery (not the whole bunch, just 2-3 of the sticks or rib with the leaves on top as well as they add flavour and texture)
1 small carrot
2 tab olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
500 ml chicken stock
water (as needed - see * below)
1/4 cup cream (optional)
2 tab finely chopped parsley

Optional
4 rashers of bacon, grilled and crumbled
croutons - 2 slices of bread cut into 1cm cubes, sprayed with olive oil and baked in a hot oven until crisp

Method
Heat oil in a heavy-based pot.
Cut pumpkin roughly into cubes (about 4-5cm chunks), slice celery into small pieces (reserve the leaves for later), finely cut onion (or shallots) and dice carrot (these take longer to cook than the other vegetables so dice-sized pieces are best). Add the vegetables to the pot and cook until the onion softens and the vegetables are slightly golden.
Add salt, freshly ground pepper, chopped celery leaves and stock. If needed, add enough water to bring liquid to level that just covers the vegetables.
Cover and bring to the boil until pumpkin and carrot are soft enough to put a knife through them.
Puree soup in blender (or if you don't have a blender, strain the soup through a sieve, mash the vegetables with a potato masher, then return mashed vegetables to the liquid).

When serving the soup, add a swirl of cream to the top of each bowl, a sprinkle of chopped parsley, and a sprinkle of crumbled bacon and a few croutons if desired (or place the "finishing" ingredients on the table and let guests add their own).

The soup can be frozen (omit cream, parsley, bacon and croutons - these need to be prepared/added just before serving) and reheated for a quick winter treat. I usually freeze single or double serves as they reheat quickly. Add a few slices of crusty bread and you have a quick lunch or entree. And it's the perfect light meal at the end of a big day out.

Quick Chocolate Pudding

Quick Chocolate Pudding

Makes 6 puddings

Ingredients
185g dark chocolate (break into small pieces)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup day-old cake crumbs
60g butter
2 tab caster sugar
3 eggs (separated)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 teas vanilla essence

Method
Preheat oven to 170C.
Melt chocolate (in a bowl over hot water or in a microwave, stirring every 10 secs or so), stirring until it melts.
Place cake crumbs in basin and pour over melted chocolate. Set aside for about 30 minutes to allow crumbs to absorb chocolate.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, mix well.
Stir in chocolate crumb mix, nuts (if using) and vanilla.
Beat egg whites until stiff and fold through chocolate mixture.
Grease 6 small oven-proof dishes (about 3/4 cup capacity) with butter.
Spoon chocolate mixture into greased dishes.
Place dishes in baking dish and add water to come halfway up sides of pudding dishes.
Cover loosely with foil and bake in oven for 40-45 minutes or until puddings puff up and are set on top.
Cool for about two minutes then run a knife around the edge of each pudding and invert onto plates.
Serve with chocolate sauce and a scoop of ice-cream or whipped cream.

Chicken Risotto

Today's recipe is a lucky dip from the savoury part of my little black box. This chicken risotto recipe is one I collected from my mother-in-law, Mary, one of the best cooks in Gippsland. I tend to tweak it a bit - well quite a bit judging by the amount of blue below - depending on what I have in the pantry. My usual tweaks are in the brackets in blue. Preparation and cooking times vary depending on the vegetables chosen and the state of the cook but I can usually have it on the table within 45 minutes of dicing the meat.
Chicken Risotto
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cut up [or 4 chicken thigh fillets - they are usually more tender and flavoursome]
1 onion [or 2 shallots - the French sort, not spring onions]
2 cups arborio rice [I usually substitute Clever rice as it's fairly fail-safe]
1/2 cup white wine [can be replaced with water and a teaspoon of vinegar for a bit of acid]
1/2 teaspoon chilli paste [or a sprinkle of chilli powder or one small mild fresh chilli]
2 teaspoons coriander paste [can use 1/2 teaspoon of dried coriander or a handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped]
Small can of corn [I prefer to use kernels sliced from one or two fresh corn cobs]
1 tablespoon olive oil
20g butter
2 cups chicken stock [or 2 cups of water with two chicken stock cubes will do]
Capsicum, zucchini, sliced - any other vegetables [I usually use a carrot, a capsicum, some sliced mushrooms, a small stick of celery, a couple of potatoes, maybe a tin of tomatoes (or a squirt of tomato paste), a handful of peas or beans - frozen peas will do]
Grated cheese [my favourite is grated parmesan, a staple in my freezer, but grated pizza cheese is a good alternative for a softer 'stringier' texture]

Method:
Brown chicken and onion [or shallots] in oil, add butter, stir in rice gradually. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add chilli and coriander, stir through.
Add wine [or water if preferred], simmer till absorbed.
Begin adding stock, 1/2 cup at a time.
Add vegies, corn with juice [if used canned corn] last. Add extra water if necessary. [Carrots usually take about 15-20 minutes to cook, other veges a bit less. Test a piece of chicken and a piece of carrot with a fork to see if they are done the way you like them.]
Stir through grated cheese so it melts just before serving.

[Need a change from chicken? Try replacing the chicken fillets with a couple of fish fillets - rockling or gummy shark/flake work well - adding the fish a couple of minutes after the vegetables so the fish isn't overcooked.]

[If you don't have coriander or chilli available, a good slurp of a stirfry sauce, something with soy sauce, chilli, lemongrass, honey or lime - that sort of thing - or teriyaki sauce or something similar will produce a tasty result.]

[Experiment! That's the best part of "Kitchen Chemistry".]