Joy - no I didn't defrost the sprouts first before roasting them. They were fine - not brilliant but perfectly edible, and certainly much nicer than boiling.
It's definitely turning into soup weather now, so that's what we're having for lunch today, I'm making a tomato and bean soup which I've made loads of times before, it's cheap, quick but very tasty.
Chop and soften an onion in a little oil in a large saucepan. Add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes and a tin of baked beans.....you could use any canned beans, actually, rinsed of the salty goo. Add a big squirt of tomato puree and a splash of balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce, to give depth of flavour. Sprinkle in herbs of choice - I've used basil and coriander, and half a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Cook for about 10 mins. Leave to cool a bit, then whizz up with a stick blender. Reheat gently and serve with a swirl of cream or a dollop of Philly-type cheese or a sprinkle of grated Cheddar.
I often use SeasonAll on mixed roasted veggies or roast potatoes or in mince or pasta dishes....anything really. For overseas readers, it's a little jar of mixed spice and herbs, a kind of multi-purpose seasoning. It's a bit pricy for the size of the jar, averaging around £1. Anyway, a few weeks ago I found a huge plastic jar of a similar thing in Lidl:-
It's a kilo in weight (about 20x the size of the little jars I normally buy), I can't remember how much it cost but I know it was really economical, because I remarked on it to husband and bought it. Well, after using a couple of teaspoonsful of it a couple of times, I discovered why it was so cheap....everything tasted incredibly salty and a bit sweet. On looking at the label, I saw the first ingredient is salt....59% of it! Closely followed by sugar, 15%, and then assorted herbs and spices in unspecified amounts, as well as a few chemicals or e-numbers. Not so good then - that'll teach me not to read the label before buying.
Well, I didn't really want to chuck it, so had an idea to make it better. I did throw away about a third of it - goes against the grain but we can't use it in its present state. I bought 2 supermarket value pots of mixed herbs and smoked paprika, decanted the remaining 2/3 of the spice mix into a large bowl and added the herbs and paprika. I also added some opened stuff I had in the cupboard - some onion granules, some parsley and half a pot of sumac (I'm not keen on the taste of that by itself). Mixed the whole lot together and then added it back into the jar. It tastes a lot better now, and will last us a long time....provided the flavours don't fade, I do keep it in a dark cupboard and not on the worktop in the light.
Clever girl!! No waste, plenty of gain.
ReplyDeleteI've never come acress all purpose seasoning but then I haven't ever been l;ooking for it. I wonder if there's a recipe for it online; I have so, so many herbs and spices to use up already. I'll go and look, courtesy of Good old Google!
Your bean soup looks very similar to the one I plan to make - it really is the weather, isn't it?
xx
The soup sounds lovely, I have seen that seasoning in Lidl and did think about buying it, lovely to hear your review.
ReplyDeleteI have read and responded to Eloise's suggestions, highly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOne of my yellow peppers and one of the smaller red ones went into soup, together with some tomatoes and garlic with Old Bay seasoning. It was tasty but will be better tomorrow after maturing for the day.
Good thinking on the seasoning jar!