Carrot Soup, Bread and Caramel Apple Pudding

When I was at University I shared a house with 3 other girls who (so far) have remained life long friends.  To save time and money we each cooked for the whole flat one day a week.  The food consumed in our flat wasn't the stereotypical studenty cheese on toast or pot noodle, but we did have some rules as to what constituted 'dinner'.  Homemade Soup, good bread and pudding qualified (tinned soup with bad bread and no pudding didn't).

Last week was a stressful week at work and the weather was autumnally wet and windy.  So when the weekend came along all I wanted to do was hibernate, read books, watch soppy films and eat comfort food.  Soup, bread and pudding met the brief.   The carrot and coriander soup is something I make quite regularly but I was particularly pleased with the bread (Pain de Campagne from Richard Bertinet's book, Dough) and my apple and caramel pudding.

Caramel Apple Pudding (my invention : ) )

Pain de Campange from Richard Bertinet's 'Dough'

Carrot and Coriander Soup

The Pain de Campagne took all day to make, but it was worth it.  It needs a ferment to provide the depth of flavour, but I was so tired and headachy after work I couldn't bring myself to set it up - so needed to do that in the morning.  I started making the bread at 10:00 and it was eventually finished at 18:34!  Most of the time was waiting for it to ferment, rise and prove and it was worth the wait.  The ferment and 20% rye gave it a really good flavour, like a light sour dough, and the texture was great.  I made 2 loaves so one will go in the freezer but it's definately something I'll make again.  Even Mr Vitty who's generally a bit skeptical about rye bread and sourdough loved it.

The apple and caramel pudding was inspired by left over cooking apples from the Charlotte and the last of the caramel that has been lurking in the freezer since my birthday at the beginning of October.  I wanted 'stodge' - something like a suet pudding but made with what I had in the house and without the hours of steaming.  I'm always surprised and delighted when something I invent works.  This worked really well.  The bramley apple offset the sweetness of the caramel and the soft squidgy sponge had a crisp top (that became the bottom).  I'll definately make it again when I need something to soothe and comfort on a blustery evening in  front of the fire.

Just out of the oven

Pudding with its own sauce

Carrot and Coriander Soup (serves 3-4)

Ingredients Olive Oil Knob of Butter 2 Medium Onions 8 Carrots Pepper Stock or water Salt Small bunch fresh coriander

Method Heat the oil and butter over a medium heat.  Chop the onion and saute until soft.  Peel and roughly chop the carrots and add them to the onions.  Stir to coat in the oil/butter.  Season with pepper and add enough stock or water to cover the vegetables.  Bring to the boil then simmer gently until the carrots are soft. Take the soup off the heat and liquidise or pass through a sieve.  Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Keep a couple of sprigs of coriander back for a garnish. Chop the rest of the coriander and stir through the soup.  Serve with a sprinkling of coriander over the top.

Caramel Apple Pudding (serves 3)

Ingredients Caramel 150 g Caster Sugar 150 g Double Cream 75 g Butter Sponge 2 oz (56 g) Butter 2 oz (56 g) Sugar 1 Egg 1 Medium Bramley Apple 2 oz (56 g) Plain Flour + a little extra 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Method Make the caramel.  Heat the sugar over a medium heat until it begins to melt.  Shake the pan occasionally to ensure the sugar melts evenly.  When the sugar has melted boil it until it turns a caramel colour.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.  If the caramel clumps together put the pan back over a medium heat and whisk or stir rapidly until the cream is incorporated and caramel sauce has formed.  Take off the heat and stir in the butter.  Allow to cool.  (This will make far more caramel than you need but the rest can be frozen). Preheat the oven to 180 C.  Peel, core and finely grate half the apple and finely dice the other half.  Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and the grated apple.  The apple will add extra liquid so add a couple of dessert spoons of the extra flour, just enough to absorb the liquid.  Sift together the rest of the plain flour with the baking powder and fold into the butter/sugar/apple mixture. Butter 3 metal timbale moulds and place 1 tablespoon of caramel in the bottom.  Top with a sprinkling of the diced apple and then divide the apple sponge between the moulds so they are about 3/4 full.  Place the moulds in a small roasting tin half filled with water.  Place in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a knife or skewer inserted into the sponges comes out clean.  Leave for a couple of minutes to settle then run a knife around the pudding and tip into a bowl so that the apple and caramel form a sauce on top of a sticky apple pudding. (If you don't have time to make caramel an almost good pudding can be made by placing diced apple in the bottom of the timbales with about 15 g butter, a heaped dessert spoon of brown sugar and sprinkling of cinnamon.  Then top with the sponge mix and proceed as described above)