Sweet Potato, Parsnip and Rosemary Soup

Our good friends over at Fox Drink Water are taking little short breaks for their honeymoon instead of 1 big one. I think it is such a lovely idea - why go one place when you can go several? Why go straight after the wedding when you can stretch it out over a year or even two? When Caroline asked me about Tasmania (where we went for our Honeymoon) I pulled out my travel diary and started reminiscing about the most romantic time of my life - snow at Cradle Mountain, a secluded old farmhouse on Bruny Island, A Honeymoon cottage overlooking the Bay of Fires, A trip to the Theatre and many, many delicious meals and log fires........this dish of course came from our Honeymoon. We were at the Tavern Bar at Cradle Mountain Lodge and having eaten non-stop all day I felt like a simple but warm soup for Dinner. This delicious meal was exactly what this newlywed required, here is my version....

Ingredients
1 large piece of sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces
4 small to medium parsnips, peeled and sliced in half length ways
2-3 tablespoons chopped rosemary
extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, white part sliced finely
butter
salt
1 litre chicken stock

How to make your Sweet Potato, Parsnip and Rosemary Soup

Pop your oven on to about 170C. Throw the sweet potato, parsnip and rosemary in a roasting pan and toss with some salt and extra virgin olive oil. Roast for about 40 mins or until everything is lovely and soft. be sure they don't char too much.

Melt about 20g butter in a saucepan and add the leek.Throw in a little salt and sweat down until soft. Add the roasted vegies and a little stock and puree with a stick blender. Pop back on the heat, add the remainder of the stock (or until it reaches your desired consistency) and heat through. Check seasonings and serve with some snipped chives if you like and some warm crusty bread. Enjoy!

4p pie

It's nice to back in the world again! Our laptop died 2 Fridays ago and we only got hooked back up to the net a few days ago.....it feels like it's been years! One good thing came out of it....this recipe! I own lots and lots of cookbooks but really I know them inside out.However, these books I hold onto so that one day I can pass them on to my children, so I can say,"you can feed an army with this Sweet potato curry recipe!". My Mother-in-law always passes on her Country Style magazines to me when she has finished with them....usually up to a year later. I decided to dig them all out and flick through them when I had some time to myself (since there was no Internet to distract me) It was such a good thing to do, I surprised myself. I saw things in peoples homes that I have for sale in my little shop, it got me thinking about display and memories and how these two things are always linked; it reminded me that simple things give small joys and the recipes, well, they weren't half bad! The following one is actually inspired by a recipe I found in one of these Magazines. They were named Shiraz Pies (How cute is that...I'll have a lamb and shiraz pie please...and hold the lamb!) but I've changed the whole dynamic of the recipe to make it my own. The 4p doesn't relate to the price or even an English heritage it's because of the ingredients: pork, parsnip, pumpkin and pastry. Enjoy! it's nice to be back....


ingredients

1 onion,chopped
4 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped length ways
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
500g cubed pork (I used forequarter chops but you can use any suitable cut)
1 cup white wine (I used a Riesling)
1 cup chicken stock

1 cup plain flour
125g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1/3 cup sour cream

1 fennel, cut the white part into wedges (discard green bits)
1 large piece of butternut pumpkin, chopped into cubes (discard skin)

how to make your 4p pie

Saute the onion in a large saucepan. Add the parsnip and garlic and sweat for a few minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add the pork and brown well.Turn up the heat. Add the wine. Wait a minute then add the stock and the pop the vegies back in. Simmer for 40 minutes. Cool. Cover. Refrigerate until needed or at least 2 hours.

Put 1 cup plain flour in a bowl and add the cubed butter. Rub it through your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream until a smooth pastry forms. Wrap in glad wrap and pop in the fridge for at least 1/2 an hour. Stand at room temp for about 10 mins before rolling out.

Pop the pumpkin and fennel in a roasting pan and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil. Bake at 180C for about 30 - 40 mins or until soft. Puree with a hand held blender. Cool slightly before assembling your pie.

Roll out the pastry. Depending on the size of your dish. I only had enough to cover the base and sides so that is how the pumpkin topping came about.Over the pastry add the pork and parsnip mix. Over this top with the pumpkin mash. Pop in the oven for at least 45 mins at 180C or until the mash has a bit of colour to it.

Serve with some peas scattered over the top and sea salt and freshly grinded pepper.

Note: You could omit the home made pastry and use store bought and you could leave out the pumpkin mash and top with pastry instead. It's up to you. Have fun!

Enjoy!