COMFORT
Recipes to Warm the Heart and Feed the Soul
By Carolyn Caldicott
Photography by Chris Caldicott
No matter what the season, it is soothing to have comfort food when you are tired or having a difficult day. Warming, soul comforting and easy recipes that are familiar but that we have not had in years and/or had forgotten about are in Comfort—Recipes to Warm the Heart and Feed the Soul by Carolyn Caldicott. Chapters range from Breakfasts Worth Getting Up For (smoked salmon and scrambled egg muffins with herby crème fraiche); Hearty Meals for Friends and Family (toad in the hole); Simple Suppers (whole Camembert baked with garlic and rosemary); Perfect Puddings (rum and raisin bread-and-butter pudding); Snack Attack (dark chocolate-dipped honey nut Bites); Bake the Blues Away (lemon drizzle cake) and Drinks to Pick You Up and Put You to Bed (homemade hot chocolate) will put a smile on your face and leave you feeling content. Beautiful, eye-catching photographs, which accompany the recipes, were taken by Chris Caldicott, whose work has appeared in Conde Nast Traveller, House & Garden and he has been an official photographer for the Royal Geographical Society since 1991. Author Carolyn Caldicott owned a vegetarian café in London and is the author of three vegetarian cookbooks.
Here is a recipe for you to try:
CINNAMON SPICED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CHEESY CROUTON TOPPING
MAKES 6 PORTIONS
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.2 litre/2 pints good vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper
4 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 thumb sized piece of ginger root peeled and grated
Cheesy crouton topping
1 thickish slice day old baguette (per person)
Butter
Grated Gruyere cheese
Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry until soft. Add the butternut squash and potato, cover the pan and sweat the vegetables together until they start to soften (stir the pan every once in a while to prevent the vegetables sticking). Stir in the cinnamon and add the stock. Bring the soup to boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pan and gently simmer until the vegetables are soft. Blend the soup until smooth and season to taste. Butter both sides of the sliced baguette, place in a hot pan and fry until golden and crunchy. Flip the baguette and top with the grated Gruyere cheese, cook for a few minutes further until the cheese has melted. Ladle the soup into a deep bowl and carefully float the crouton on top.
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