Pablo's mountain kitchen

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 11, 6 August 1985, Page 9

Pablo's mountain kitchen

Nowadays with the emergence of the kitchen whiz, making puree soup is no longer such a long tedious task. The days of forcing food through a sieve are long gone! Your leftovers can be converted with a little imagination into delicious soups. Ih winter time, root vegetables such as potatoes, pumpkin, parsnips, carrots and kumaras are more reasonably priced. I particularly like a soup not thickened with flour for its natural texture and flavour. With leftovers, especially potatoes and vegetables, it's a good idea to bung the whole lot through a food processor with milk or sour cream. Once pureed, heat the mix in a soup pot. Garlic and herbs can be

added at this stage to compliment the flavour. Bay leaves tend to go well with full flavoured soups. Sometimes the flavour is enhanced with reduced stock or bouillon boosters. To get a streaky egg texture whisk some eggs into the simmering soup. One of my favourite soup combinations is a carrot and nutmeg puree soup served with plenty of sour cream. Just right for a choice lunch. Carrot and Nutmeg Purfee Soup (for 10 people) Ingredients: ★ Eight large carrots (peeled and chopped roughly) ★ Two onions (peeled and chopped roughly) ★ Two litres of chicken stock ★Ten g sultanas ★ Half a cup of dry sherry ★One teaspoon of nutmeg ★ Garlic (to taste) ★ A pinch of sweet basil, seasoning (salt & pepper)

Garnish: ★ Sour cream ★ Chopped parsley Method: Bring your stock to the boil. In go all your ingredients. Simmer until the carrots are soft. Set aside until it's cool enough to put through the kitchen whiz, then blend until completely pureed. Reheat to serve. Top with plenty of sour cream and chopped parsley. The method of preparation is basically the same with all puree soups. Don't bother chopping everything finely while initially boiling the soup as it's going through the whiz anyway.