Thursday 16 January 2014

Soup for your Soul and Waistline


    Hi chefs, we are back into the swing of things following the busy holiday season. As I'm sure you can all agree the weather has been dismal with all this rain and chilly nights. Not to worry though, as we have a double recipe for you this week with two really flavourful soups to brighten up your evenings and warm up even the coldest fingers and toes. Either soup can be made in our  Perfect Pans or the Lloytron Soup Maker we currently have on offer this month for £79.99 with FREE shipping and a FREE recipe book.
www.perfectpans.com


 

French Onion Soup




This recipe is best done in the Crafond or Perfect Pans Stock Pots.

Ingredients:

80g butter, plus a little extra for the toasts
4 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tbsp plain flour
3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
400ml medium cider
600ml good-quality beef stock
Dash of calvados or other brandy
8 slices of baguette
1 clove of garlic, halved
100g Gruyère, grated

Method:

Pour a few tablespoons of sunflower or rapeseed oil into a Crafond Stock Pot and set on a low heat. Add the onions, season and cook, stirring regularly, until caramelised and deep brown. (Once they've softened, you can turn up the heat a little, but keep an eye on them.) This will probably take between 90 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on your nerve.

Stir in the flour and thyme and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, then add the vinegar and a third of the cider, stirring constantly. Whisk in the rest of the cider and the stock, and bring to the boil. Simmer for about an hour. Meanwhile, heat the grill and rub the baguette slices with the cut side of the garlic clove. Brush with melted butter, and toast on both sides.

Add the brandy to the soup and check the seasoning. To serve, ladle into ovenproof dishes and top with 2 croutons and a mound of cheese. Grill until golden, and then serve immediately.



Onion and Almond Soup

This recipe is best done in the 7ltr 6 in 1 Soup Maker found on our website.

Ingredients
1 onion very finely chopped
½ tsp sea salt
sunflower or rapeseed oil. 
100g almonds (with skin on)
750 ml hot chicken stock
60g butter
¼ tsp nigella seeds
4 large onions diced
1 red chili chopped
1tsp muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
120 ml single cream 
Salt and pepper to taste
 

Method:

Optional fried onion garnish:

 
Put onion slices in a shallow dish and sprinkle with sea salt, then set to one side for at least 2 hours. This dries out all the moisture in the onion. Using your hands squeeze out any excess liquid and pat dry with kitchen towel. Fry the onions in hot oil in a Sauté or sauce pot for 1-2 minutes until golden then drain on kitchen paper.
 
Bring a sauce pot to boil, add the almonds. Turn off the heat and cover with lid. Leave to soak for 15 minutes then drain and slip off the skins when the almonds are cool enough to handle.
 
Put 200ml of chicken stock, almonds, butter, nigella seeds, diced onions, sugar, vinegar into the soup maker and turn on to the smooth setting for approximately 30 minutes. 
 
Add the rest of the stock, cream and salt and pepper to taste and turn back on the soup maker for approximately another 20-30 minutes on the smooth setting. 
 
Serve garnished with the fried onions.


Don't miss us at our upcoming shows and exhibitions, check out our calendar for locations!

Recipes taken and adapted from:
Onion and Almond Soup-Roopa Gulati
French Onion Soup- Guardian Recipes
 

Tuesday 7 January 2014

Fat-Free Cooking Recipe Herb Pork Medallions

Cook Fat-Free, healthy meals with Perfect Pans.  
Give us a call at 01623-441886 or send an e-mail to sales@perfectpans.com



Herb Pork Medallions

Ingredients

· 120g packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

· 15 g finely chopped fresh rosemary

· 1 (12-ounce) pork tenderloin trimmed

· 2 large carrots

· 454 grams asparagus, ends trimmed

· Salt

· Pepper

· 1 bunch(es) radishes, trimmed and cut into thin wedges

· 1 spring onion, thinly sliced

· 1 package(s) (5-ounce) baby greens and herbs mix

· 60 ml balsamic vinegar


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Heat Crafond Sauce Pan of water to boiling on, medium heat.

2. Finely chop one-third of parsley. Rub chopped parsley and rosemary all over tenderloin and let stand while oven heats.

3. Fill large bowl with ice and water. Add carrots to boiling water. Cook 5 minutes. With tongs, transfer to ice water. When cool, remove with tongs to cutting board. Add asparagus to boiling water. Cook 3 minutes or until bright green and crisp-tender. Transfer to ice water. When cool, drain well.

4. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper all over pork. In Crafond 28cm Sauté Pan, add pork; cook 6 to 8 minutes or until evenly browned, turning. Transfer to oven. Roast 8 to 10 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of pork registers 70 degrees C; let rest 5 minutes.

5. While pork cooks, cut carrots into 2-inch-long matchsticks. Cut asparagus into 5cm long pieces. In large bowl, toss carrots, asparagus, radishes, spring onion, baby greens, and remaining parsley with 1/8 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add balsamic vinegar; toss to combine. Divide salad among serving plates.

6. Slice pork; arrange on top of salads.


New Year, New You, New Pans!