Looking at my meal plan this week, it seems that we are indulging in a Jamie Oliver recipe week – starting with my version of his 30 minute meals Jerk Chicken and ending with my version of his 15 minute meals recipe for a chicken pasta.
To make his recipe vegan, swap the Stilton for No-Moo Blue Style Cheese and the single cream for soya cream.
But for today, we have:
Mushroom Soup with Stilton, Apple and Walnut Croutes
Soup
2 Onions
Olive Oil
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
1/2 bunch of fresh Thyme
2 Cloves of Garlic
4 Portobello Mushrooms (I used about 12 baby Portobellos as that was all that was available to me)
100g Basmati rice
1 tbsp Single Cream
1 tsp Truffle Oil
Croutes
8 Chestnut Mushrooms
1 Ciabatta Loaf
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Eating Apple
1/2 Bunch of fresh Curly Parsley
1 Lemon
50g Vegetarian Stilton Cheese
1 Small handful of shelled Walnuts
Method:
Peel and slice the onions and place them ina large pan or stockpot with 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Crumble in the stock cube, add the fresh Thyme leaves, crushed garlic cloves, salt and pepper
Remove the stalks from the Chestnut Mushrooms and place the tops on the griddle pan, turning when charred
Tear the stalks and Portobello mushrooms into the pan with the onions, add the rice and cook for a few minutes
Pour in litre of boiling water and boil with the lid on
Cut 4 slices of Ciabatta at an angle and add to the griddle pan
When charred on both sides, rub with half a garlic clove
Coarsely grate or slice the apple into matchsticks and toss with the roughly chopped parsley and a little lemon juice
Place the mushrooms on the toasts, crumble over the Stilton and walnuts , then pop under the grill until the cheese is melted
Use a stick blender to puree the soup to the consistency you like and season to taste and swirl with cream and truffle oil
Top the toasts with the apple and parsley and serve on the side
We usually use an age old recipe for our mushroom soup, but are always keeping our minds and stomachs open to other versions that might feed into the way we do ours or for something completely different! This soup, to be honest, was not one of the best that I have ever tasted. I felt that there was too much flavour of the rice and that it was kind of like a blitzed up risotto.
The toasts, however, were incredible! The tang of the Stilton coupled with the lemon and the coolness of the apple was a delight! I will certainly be doing these alongside my soups in the future!
To find out more recipes like this check out and buy Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals book.