Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 kg Butternut Squash 

2 Shallots 

2 cloves of garlic 

40 ml Bourbon 

5 g Ras el hanout 

50 ml Heavy cream 

20 ml Olive oil 

6 Spring of thyme 

500 ml Vegetable stock 

Kosher salt 

Ground black pepper

Puffpasty for breadstick 

Check out my homemade puff pastry recipe,

https://matinskitchen.com/bread-dough#0dbb0b6e-c2d6-48f6-9e63-1a741b9aa7d7

Method: 

Cut the butternut squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and inner membrane, score it with a knife. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Add sprigs of thyme on top, cover it in aluminum foil and roast it at 200°C for 30-45 minutes or until softened.

Scoop out all the flesh and set it aside. Chop shallots finely and mince the garlic. Heat a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and sweat the shallots; add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes on low heat. Add Ras el Hanout and toss it. Deglaze with bourbon. Add vegetable stock and let it cook for 30 minutes with the lid on. Blend it with an immersion blender and add the heavy cream.

Check out the short video on my YouTube channel;

https://youtube.com/shorts/AU_0B35eCUs

Enjoy.

Ingredients:

500 g Beef chuck

250 g Yellow onion (Thinly sliced)

20 g Garlic (Minced)

200 g Carrot (cut into bite-size pieces)

300 g Waxy potato (cut into bite-size pieces)

50 g Tomato paste

20 g Chili paste

30 ml Vegetable oil

6 g Smoked paprika powder

1.5 g Caraway powder

200 ml Red wine (Merlot)

700 ml Water

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method: 

To make a delicate goulash soup, begin by heating vegetable oil in a pot and searing the beef chunks on all sides until they develop a brown crust. This step enhances the flavors and keeps the meat tender during cooking.

To ensure the best results, avoid overcrowding the pot. After searing the beef chunks, remove them from the pot. Next, add sliced onions to the pot and cook them until they turn a golden brown color. This will impart a sweet and savory flavor to the goulash soup, complementing the seared beef and enhancing the overall taste.

Once the onions have turned golden brown, add the minced garlic to the pot and continue cooking for about two minutes. This will allow the garlic to release its aromatic flavors and blend harmoniously with the onions. Be careful not to burn the garlic, as it can turn bitter. The combination of onions and garlic will add a wonderful depth of flavor to your goulash soup, making it even more delicious and aromatic.

After two minutes of cooking the garlic, you can add tomato and chili paste to the pot along with smoked paprika powder and caraway powder. Fry them on low heat for a minute or two, allowing their flavors to meld with the onions and garlic. The chili paste is optional, so you can skip it if you prefer a milder taste. However, it does add a wonderful depth and spiciness to the goulash, enhancing its overall flavor profile.

Remember, goulash is a versatile dish, and you can adjust the ingredients according to your personal preferences.

Add red wine to the pot. Bring it to a boil and let it cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. During the 5 minutes of cooking, some of the alcohol will evaporate, leaving behind the wine's essence to enhance the overall taste of the soup.

Return the seared beef chunks to the pot. Additionally, add 700 ml of water to the pot, and then bring the mixture to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, put the lid on the pot, and let it cook for 45 to 60 minutes until the meat becomes tender. 

Add carrots and potatoes to the pot. Make sure to cut the carrots and potatoes into bite-sized pieces for even cooking. Continue simmering the soup with the added vegetables for an additional 20 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes are fully cooked and tender.

season it with salt and black pepper to taste.

To serve the goulash soup, ladle it into bowls and add sour cream on top of each serving and garnish each bowl with some fresh coriander leaves.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 kg Tomato

200 g Carrot

800 g Peeled Tomato

80 g Tomato paste

250 g Onion

20 g Garlic

20 g Basil

2 g Paprika powder 

30 ml olive oil

3 g fresh Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, and thyme)

800 ml Vegetable stock 

70ml Cooking cream 

Salt and black pepper to taste

Garnish:

400 g Mix tomatoes

Dried oregano

Salt and black pepper

Olive oil

Optional:

Rice paper 

Frying oil

Crème fraîche

Method:

Cut carrots, onions, tomatoes, and garlic into pieces and place them in a baking tray.

Season them with salt and black pepper, drizzle olive oil over the top and add your fresh herbs. Grill them at 250C for 20 minutes.

Add some olive oil and fry the tomato paste over low heat.

Add roasted vegetables along with peeled tomatoes and basil. Season it with black pepper and salt.

Add vegetable stock and bring it to a boil and let it simmer for half an hour.

Use an immersion blender and blend the soup until it becomes smooth and creamy.

Season it to your taste and add the cream and mix it.

For the garnish which is totally optional, I am going to roast some tomatoes.

Just cut them into different sizes, so they look nicer on the plate.

Sprinkle some salt, pepper, and oregano along with a drizzle of olive oil and grill them at 250C for 5 minutes.

I also deep-fried some rice paper and used them as a garnish, you can also use croutons if you want to.

Adding a few dots of crème fraîche makes it more elegant and tasty.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:

150 g Leek

350 g Celery

150 g Onion

400 g Carrots

300 g Fennel

30 g Parsley

500 g Celeriac

3 L Water 

4 pcs Bay leaves 

20 g Garlic

10 pcs Black peppercorn

2 g Coriander seeds

Method:

Peel the vegetables if necessary, then cut and wash them.  

Cut onions into quarters, and keep the skins. They give some color to the stock.

Smash the garlic under your chef's knife.

Add vegetables along with bay leaves, coriander seeds, and black peppercorn into a pot.

Do not add any salt. You can always add salt when making a dish using this stock.  

Add water and bring it to a boil. 

Bring down the heat as soon as it comes to a boil. 

Let it simmer for one and a half hours. 

Turn off the heat and pour the broth through a sieve.

Store it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:

600 g White onion

1 kg Red onion

2 Bay leaves

5 g Thyme

1 L Demi-glace

500 ml Red wine 

70 g Butter

15 ml Olive oil

Gruyere cheese

Croutons OR Toasted bread

Black pepper and salt to taste

Method:

Begin with onions, cut a little bit of both ends off, cut them in half and slice them thinly.

Add butter and olive oil along with sliced onions into a pot, season it with a good pinch of salt, keep the lid on and cook it for 5 minutes on a high heat. 

You will notice that the onions are becoming soft and translucent, add bay leaves and thyme and let it cook for another 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes stir them and don't forget to scrape the bottom of the pan, onions are started to caramelize, from now on cook them without the lid for another 10 minutes and stir them once a while.

Add demi glace, bring it into a boil and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowl, and then add toasted bread or croutons on top along with some gruyere.

Use a torch or broil it in the oven for about 2 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Enjoy.

Ingredients: ( Make 2 Liter Demi-glace  )

2 Kg Veal shanks

1 kg Veal bones

200 ml Red wine

400 g Onion

300 g Tomato puree

300 ml Red wine

20 ml Olive oil

500 g Carrot

300 g Leek

300 g Fennel

200 g Celery

600 g Celeriac

100 g Garlic

500 g Tomato

6 Bay leaves

2 g Black pepper corn

10 springs of Thyme

10 L Water

Method: 

Place all the veal bones and shanks in a baking tray and roast them on a preheated oven at 250 C for half an hour until they are totally brown and roasted.

Meanwhile cut the vegetables ( Celeriac, Celery stalk, leek, carrots, fennel) in big chunks and wash them. 

Slice onions and caramelize them in a pan on a medium heat. Using a lid helps to sweat them easily. When they are started to caramelized bring down the heat, add tomato paste and bake for 5 minutes. Add 300 ml Red wine and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.

Place all the vegetable onto baking trays along with tomatoes and garlic, Add a splash of olive oil and roast them very lightly at 250 C for about 10 minutes.

Add Roasted bones and vegetables along with thyme, black pepper corn, bay leaves and onion mixture into big pot and fill it up with 10 L of water.

Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 24 hours. Pour it through a fine sieve and divide it into smaller containers that fit in your fridge. To remove the fat let it sit in your fridge overnight.

The day after you can easily remove the fat from top of the containers.

This is called ‘Veal stock’, to have demi-glace pour it back into pot and let it simmer for about 6 hours.

You will get about 2 L of demi-glace. You can keep it freezer and use it as a base for your soup, stew or sauces or you can reduce it for 5 minutes and use it as a sauce by itself.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:

Makes 4 portions

Porcini Stock

15 g Dry porcini mushroom

500 ml Water

Vegetable Stock

150 g Fennel

250 g Leek (save the white part)

400 g Carrot

2 Shallot

1 Celery stalk

3 g Black peppercorns

3 Bay leaves

1 Spring of  thyme

30 g Parsley stem

Mushroom stems

Porcini stock

1L Water

Velouté Soup

350 g Chestnut mushroom

200 g Portobello mushroom

150 g  Leek 

2 g Rosemary

20 g Olive oil

50 g  Butter

50 ml  Bourbon OR Madeira

250 g Milk

1L Vegetable stock

Salt and black pepper

Sauteed Chanterelle mushroom (For garnish)

100 g  Chanterelle Mushroom 

1 Shallot

10 ml Olive oil

 20 g Parsley leaves

Black pepper and salt

Bread crumbs (For garnish)

2 Slices of bread

1 Garlic cloves

20 ml Olive oil

Black pepper

Kosher salt

Soak dry porcini overnight in cold water. 

Remove the stems of parsley from the leaves and set them aside.

Do the same with mushrooms and then slice the rest of the mushrooms.

cut fennel, leek (green part), celery stalk, carrots, and shallots and add them into a pot along with mushroom and parsley stems. Add thyme, bay leaves, and black peppercorn, Strain porcini stock over the rest of the vegetables.

Add water and bring to a boil and let it simmer for an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the garnish, dice one shallot finely, and chop parsley leaves. Quickly wash chanterelle mushrooms under cold water, pat dries them, and set them aside.

Chop the white part of the leek,  sweat them with butter and olive oil, Add all the mushrooms, mix them well and put a lid on. let it cook for 10 minutes over high heat.

After 10 minutes, add rosemary, salt, and black pepper. Deglaze it with bourbon and reduce to dry. 

Add milk and vegetable stock, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for an hour.

For the garnish first cut the bread into cubes and coat them with olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, and minced garlic, bake it at 200 C for about 6 minutes. at this stage, we have croutons that can be used on any salads or soups as a garnish. but for this recipe, we are going to blend it and savory bread crumbs out of it.

Let them cool completely, add them to a food processor, and blend them super fine.

sauté chantarelle with olive oil, salt, and black pepper in a very hot pan for a minute, add chopped parsley and take it off from the heat.

after an hour blend half of the soup to thicken it and add it to rest.

- If you like more fat on it add 100 ml heavy cream and 50 g butter while blending. If you want light still delicate soup keeps it the way it is.

Enjoy.