Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup is my favourite soup of all. It's warm and fills you up.. It tastes like home!
I got this particular recipe from my Uncle Frank, who is an amazing cook!
We even have cooking competitions to see who can make the best dessert for family functions.. I never win though!


INGREDIENTS:

50g of Butter

2L of Vegetable/Chicken stock

2 Leeks

6 mid-sized potatoes

1.5kg of Sweet pumpkin (I use butternut, it's my favourite)

160ml of Double cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD: 

 Peel and wash the potatoes and cut into quarters.

 Peel, remove seeds and cute into cubes the same size as the potato cubes.

Remove tails, cut down the middle, wash and slice.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over mid heat. Add the leeks and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until leeks are soft. Be careful to not brown them. Add the potatoes and pumpkin pieces and mix. Add the stock, which should cover the potato and pumpkin. Place on a lid and bring the a boil. Once it has started boiling, reduce the heat, take off the lid and simmer for approx 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Take off the heat and let it cool down until it's just warm. 

 Using either a blender or a hand blender, blend until mixture is smooth. Heat soup on a mid heat, add cream and stir until evenly blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with toast. For a bit of spice you can also add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

Get warm this cold winter and enjoy some amazing soup with family or friends! Have a go making this delicious recipe and tell me how you go!

Happy Cooking!

Naé Danielle..

Portuguese Custard Tarts

When I came across this recipe, it looked amazing, but I was sure I wouldn't like it, not being a fan of custard tarts. Thankfully I tried them anyway! They are always a massive hit where-ever I bring them: even for non-custard tart lovers! I always find myself making a double batch as they don't ever last more than a day in our household!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of caster sugar
2 tablespoons of cornflour
3 egg yolks (there will be a recipe for pavlova coming later in the year to use up those spare egg whites!)
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of cream
1 tsp of vanilla bean paste (you can use 1 vanilla bean, but I love having my little jar in the fridge for whenever I want to use it!)
5cm strip of lemon rind
1 sheet of butter-puff pastry (frozen section in the supermarket)

METHOD:
Get all your ingredients ready. The pastry should be sitting out on the bench defrosting and the oven should be set to 220°C. Grease a mini muffin pan and put aside for later.

Begin cooking by combining the cornflour, egg yolks, cream, milk and sugar in a medium saucepan. Add the teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, stir through and then add the lemon rind. 

Continue to whisk the mixture over a medium heat. By whisking the mixture constantly you get a smooth mixture that's light and even consistency. 

Keep whisking until the custard becomes paste-like. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

While the mixture is cooling, take a sheet of the pastry and rub plain flour all over. 

Using a cutter, cut circles into the pastry that will fit your mini-muffin pan. Place all cut-outs into muffin tray. Using a teaspoon, spoon custard into pastry, leaving some pastry showing, as they will rise in the oven. 

Place in oven for about 12 minutes, or until pastry is lightly golden.

Once the tarts have cooled, serve dusted with icing sugar! Yum!

Try out this super easy and tasty recipe and let me know how you go!

Happy Cooking!

Naé Danielle..