Mushroom and Mustard soup

With the country blanketed by snow what else can you think of but soup? A favourite recipe from my book An Appetite for Ale that makes a great pairing with a dark, Trappist beer. You can decide how creamy you want it - my preference is to add just a dash to the soup then swirl a little in each bowl to decorate.

Serves 3-4

50g butter
250g portabella mushrooms, wiped clean and roughly chopped
1 small onion (about 90-100g), peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 small potato (about 75g), peeled and finely sliced
1 tbsp madeira or amontillado sherry
500ml fresh beef stock or stock made with a beef stock cube (or 2 level tsp yeast extract if you’re a veggie)
1 rounded tsp grain mustard
2 tbsp double cream (optional) + extra cream for swirling
A good squeeze of lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley or chervil to garnish

Heat a large saucepan or cast iron casserole for a minute or two, add the butter then as soon as it’s melted tip in the mushrooms. Stir and cook for about 8-10 minutes until any liquid created begins to evaporate. Add the onion, stir and fry for 3-4 minutes then stir in the garlic and fry for a minute longer. Add the potato, stir, then add the madeira and beef stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until the potato is cooked (about 12-15 minutes). Turn the heat off and cool for a few minutes then add the mustard.

Pass the soup through a strainer, reserving the liquid and put the mushrooms into a blender. Whizz until smooth then add half of the reserved liquid and whizz again. Add the remaining liquid and whizz. Pour the soup back into the pan or casserole. Pour 150ml of water into the blender to pick up the remaining soup you haven’t managed to scrape out and add to the pan. Add the cream if using then reheat gently without boiling.

Season with a good squeeze of lemon, a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish each portion with a swirl or splosh of cream and sprinkle over a little chopped parsley or chervil.

Recommended beer match: I found Westmalle Dubbel was a great match with this soup but you could also try it with a porter or stout.

Twice-baked goats' cheese soufflés

A classic starter from the ‘70’s but one that our customers seem to enjoy every bit as much today. This version originally came from a book called Take Twelve Cooks and was one of Pru Leith’s recipes. However Stephen Bull attributes it to Peter Kromberg of Le Soufflé at the Intercontinental who was also featured in the book . . .

Anyway the beauty of them is that they can be made a couple of days ahead or frozen (see below) which makes them ideal for dinner parties. (This also explains the slightly larger than usual quantity. It is a recipe that’s tricky to scale down so you might as well make a few extra while you’re at it, borrowing some extra ramekins or dariole moulds from a friend or neighbour if you don’t have enough!)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients
6 medium eggs
55g (2oz) strong Cheddar
55g (2oz) Gruyère
110g (4oz) goats' cheese (from a goats’ cheese log)
425ml (3/4 pint) whole milk
a slice of onion
a bayleaf
85g (3oz) butter
85g (3oz) plain flour
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg

You will also need 8-10 individual ramekins, dariole moulds or ovenproof coffee cups, lightly buttered.

Method
I prefer to do the preparation and weighing of the ingredients first, then the job can be done as a continuous process without having to stop and start all the time. Separate the eggs - the whites into a bowl for beating later and the yolks for adding to the soufflé mix. Grate your Cheddar and Gruyère and cut the goats cheese into cubes. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.

Next heat the milk up with a slice of onion and a bay leaf. In another pan melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux (thick flour and butter paste) then gradually beat in the hot milk, returning the pan to the heat after each addition until the mixture is thick.

When all the milk has been added let the mixture cook over a low heat for a few minutes then beat in the Cheddar and Gruyère. Now take the pan off the heat and season with the mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. The mixture needs to be quite highly seasoned because you are going to add a large amount of egg white.

Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then mix in the goats cheese. Beat the egg whites until stiff then fold them lightly but thoroughly into the soufflé base using a large metal spoon.

Fill the buttered ramekin dishes or moulds with the mixture to just below the rim of each dish then stand them in a roasting tin lined with a tea towel. Pour hot water into the tray just under half-way up and cook in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until well-risen and set.

Allow the soufflés to cool a little before turning them out. (They will sink slightly but don’t worry!) You can keep them wrapped with cling film for a couple of days in the fridge and even freeze them. (You will need to defrost and unwrap them before heating them.)

To serve reheat them in a hot oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for up to 15 mins until well risen.

If I’m serving them with a salad I put them on baking parchment on a baking sheet otherwise I put each one into an individual serving dish with a little double cream poured over and a sprinkling of grated Cheddar or Gruyère cheese.

* For the salad I use some roasted beetroot, walnuts, mixed leaves and a spoonful or two of salad dressing.

What to drink: Although the recipe title refers to goats' cheese it's also got Cheddar and Gruyère in it so I'd be inclined to serve a Chablis or other unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay rather than a Sauvignon Blanc. A blanc de blancs Champagne or sparkling Chardonnay would also be delicious. FB

Essence: recipes from Le Champignon Sauvage by David Everitt-Mathias

If you haven't heard of David Everitt-Mathias I wouldn't be surprised. But ask any leading chef in Britain - including Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal, who have both paid tribute to him in this book - and they certainly will.

Everitt-Mathias is not one to seek the limelight, although with two Michelin stars he has plenty to boast about. He doesn't do telly. He doesn't pop up in all the food mags. He doesn't in fact leave his kitchen unless he absolutely has to. If he isn't there the restaurant closes. He sets impossibly high standards of himself and his staff - and of his customers too. Don't wander in off the street expecting a table even if there's one free or turn up late for your booking. He feels he deserves the respect of being allowed to show what he and his kitchen can do - and fair enough.

He cooks some of the best food in Britain and this book tells you how to do so too should you be ambitious enough to attempt it. It's not for beginners - it's for experienced home cooks and fellow chefs. That's not to say there aren't recipes you can do quite easily like this simple and delicious soup - or take an element out of one of the more complicated recipes and tackle that. There's a fabulous-looking pistachio cake, for example, that I can't wait to try. But if you really want to rachet your cooking up a notch or two this is the book to buy.

Jerusalem Artichoke and Almond Soup

This is a very simple and satisfying soup. Jerusalem artichokes have a
natural affinity with nuts. If you wanted to add another dimension, you
could toast a few almonds, infuse them in some seasoned boiling milk, then
strain the milk and froth them up for a topping on the soup. You could even
use the soup as a base for seared scallops, tiger prawns or langoustines.
Small Jerusalem artichokes can just be scrubbed but larger ones will need
peeling.

Serves 4–6

600g Jerusalem artichokes
juice of 1/2 lemon
125g unsalted butter
100g onions, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
750g chicken stock (pages 23–24)
250ml milk
50g toasted almonds
100ml double cream

Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and put them in a bowl of cold water
acidulated with the lemon juice (this will prevent them discolouring).

Melt 75g of the butter in a thick-bottomed saucepan, add the onions and
celery and sweat for 5 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Drain and
slice the artichokes, add them to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, then add
the stock, milk and toasted almonds. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30
minutes, until the artichokes are soft. Pure in a blender and pour through
a fine sieve into another pan. Bring to the boil, then whisk in the cream
and the remaining butter a little at a time. Season to taste and serve.

What to drink:
David and his wife Helen, who puts together the winelist recommend a modest white burgundy like a Macon-Uchizy from Telmond with this soup or, alternatively a really dry nutty sherry