Feta and Chillies Tingle

There are days when we haven’t had much of a chance to come up with anything earth shattering.My channel changing escapades led me to watch 'Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers'.  Nigel cooked a simple recipe of chillies and feta, which initially I wasn't that excited by.  However when he lifted a piece of bread and stuffed it with chillies and the melty feta to his mouth,I immediately said 'I want to eat that!'

Perfect for a Monday evening,I think this is one of those dishes which will definitely hit the spot.

Ingredients

3 large chillies
2 large spring onions or 1 small red onion
a little olive oil
Some thyme, leaves only
A block of feta cheese
soft bread, to serve


Method

Slice the chillies  and  cut them into thin slices. Thinly slice the spring onions.
Warm the olive oil in a frying pan then add the chillies and spring onions. Let them sizzle briefly,you want them to be soft but not browned.
Add a little thyme to the pan then lower in the block of feta. 
Let the cheese soften slightly then serve with the chillies and some soft fresh bread.


The feta offers a salty, lip-tingling hit.Its  great as a starter or nibbles at a dinner party where you could try serving them as canapés.

Cauliflower Soup

When nights are chilly and tootsies are cold, nothing is better than a warm bowl of soup.
Cauliflower isn't exactly the most exciting vegetable in the world. It’s colorless, it does have much of a smell, and if boiled or steamed it has a very bland flavor.When James Martin announced that he was going to make Cauliflower soup on Saturday Kitchen et voilà my solution to the large head of Cauliflower that was sitting on my Kitchen Counter.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of  milk

1 teaspoon butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 head of cauliflower made into florets or  roughly chopped

1 liter of vegetable stock or 2 Stock cubes

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp coriander cress or  garlic chives

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method :


Melt the butter and the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add the chopped onion,garlic and cook until nearly transparent. Add the cauliflower and roast a bit. Add the stock or a liter of water with stock cubes and bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft.

Puree the soup until smooth.I like to use my hand blender right in the pot. You can also puree the soup in batches in a regular blender. Return the mixture to the pot.

Stir in the milk and whisk over low heat until the soup is heated through. Do not let it boil  Add some freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

Serve in warm bowls garnished with freshly snipped coriander cress or chives,  and  a drizzle Balsamic vinegar if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

And oh., Christmas is fast approaching and if you do not have an immersion blender, put one on your Christmas list. They work so much better than putting hot soup into a blender!