Winter Warmers: Soups, Stews, Favourite Comfort Foods

Hey folks, BOM's predicting that it's getting down to 5 Degrees Science overnight here in Frog's Hollow, Sydney... I reckon that calls for a bump.

What better time of year to get a relish or chutney simmering away on the cooktop and filling the house with Yum smells?
Herewith a recipe for Red Pepper Relish (Capsicum Relish if you live in straya), provided by a friend of my Mum who she's known since her schooldays. Thanks Diane!
It is Very Bloody Good on sandwiches, cold meats, hot meats, hot sandwiches, *or eaten straight from the jar with a spoon while you stand in front of the fridge munching on chunks of leg-ham-off-the-bone at 2am (*hypothetically speaking).

There's about 30-45 minutes of prep required, and you'll want a Food Processor to whizz the raw veges together until they're fairly finely chopped (unless you prefer a more chunky relish, in which case the initial simmer time might need to be lengthened).
I used a little $25 "mini chopper" that I got from Aldi and processed the ingredients in 3 or 4 batches, which was simple enough and gave decent results. You could probably do the same with a chef's knife/cleaver and some patience.
Aside from the prep it's super easy to make, has good shelf stability even if you're not super fussy with your canning process due to the high sugar/acid content, and has great scope for experimentation/personalisation as it's hard to screw up.
I highly recommend you give it a try!

- 4 large red capsicums and 2 medium onions, cored/seeded/coarsely chopped (I used a bag of 5 small-medium peppers that I got on special + 3 small onions, also added a bit of diced celery that needed using)
- 1 large red chilli, seeded (I used a couple of small fresh hot chillis from the garden plus a sprinkle of dried chilli flakes while simmering cos' it needed some extra kick)
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 cups white vinegar (I used 1.5 cups vinegar and 1/2 cup of mirin seasoning, because why not?)
- up to 750gms sugar (you won't need this much unless you've got some supermassive capsicums, see Mum's notes below. I also substituted about 1/4 cup of brown sugar for a darker colour and richer flavour)
- salt to taste
- 2 kaffir lime leaves (out of stock at woolies, so I substituted a couple of teaspoons of freshly grated lime zest which I reckon worked quite well)
- 1-2 bay leaves (I used three small leaves because I Iove the subtle flavour they impart to these kinds of foods)
- 3 or 4 small preserving jars, boiling-water sterilised (see end of post)









To sterilise the jars, place them in a large heatproof vessel e.g. your kitchen sink or a suitable metal container and fill them with just-boiled water straight out of the kettle.
Use a smaller container e.g. a mixing bowl for the lids. Let everything sit in the boiling water for at least 2-3 minutes.
Disclaimer for idiots: make sure to wear oven mitts and use tongs so you don't get scalded while emptying the water from the jars and ladling in the hot relish.
Screw the lids on tightly and let the jars cool to room temp, then make sure that the pop-up button on the lid has "sucked in" to indicate that a good seal has been achieved.
The relish will keep for up to 6 months (unrefrigerated) if the jars are properly sterilised and sealed.

 

1kg brisket

 

I did this, but I did it in the slow cooker. Used less liquid (doesn't evaporate in the slow cooker like in an oven) and I ended up doing it for 12 hours because the meat seemed to need it. It still turned out ok, but I'm sure Lidia's done properly is much nicer. I didn't do the cheese topping either.
https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/layered-casserole-with-beefcabbage-and-potato/

 

recipe/method pls bruv?

broccoli , thanks for that one, I decided a while ago that I'm a big fan of cabbage. Stir-fried, stewed, preserved/fermented, wrapped around some delicious filling, whatever.
So many national cuisines make better use of it than anglo culture (although I'll admit to forcing down a Chiko roll once in a while when I'm hungry and in a hurry though).

 

Because I cooked it for so long, the cabbage sort of disappeared but it was in there somewhere If you do it in the oven, it should be better. I love cabbage too. My mum used to steam it in butter so I never had that aversion that people who were served boiled cabbage got.

 

Could be a good candidate for the pressure cooker maybe?

I did the relish in the slow cooker too, as you see in one of the photos.
Got the ingredients processed and into the crock with the lid on (not heating) before I went to bed.
Poured in the vinegar+mirin and set it for an eight hour cook (no lid) before I left for work.
Transferred to a large heavy-base pot when I got home, added the sugar/salt/leaves (plus a sprinkle of cinnamon and a little extra dash of chilli flake as it was a bit weaksauce), then cooked it down and canned it up. Bewdiful.

 

You could adapt it for the pressure cooker but the recipe is a LOT so you might not fit it in a normal-sized pressure cooker (especially bearing in mind you can't fill them up anyway). Would also have to drastically reduce the liquid. Also it was a bit salty for me even though I reduced the salt, so would also reduce the salt a lot.

 

I'm definitely trying that.

I tried a Pepper relish a while ago but I screwed it up & it was like eating orange rice.
This looks really good.

 

Piece of piss mate. Have a crack and show us the results!
Could be a good recipe to let the kids "be in charge of" to keep them occupied once the prep is done, and then they can help with the canning process (caution to be noted of course etc.).

 

One of the best soups you’ll try, every time the family finds out I’m making this I have to double the recipe and they show up with containers haha


Spicy Thai red curry, pumpkin and sweet potato soup.

• 1/2 large Queensland blue or Japanese pumpkin.
• 1 Large sweet potato
• 4 cloves of garlic/ 2 table spoons for jar garlic
• 2 Large brown onions
• 1 Jar of AYAM red curry paste
• 1 400ml tin of lite coconut milk
• 1 Lt of salt reduce chicken or vegetables stock
• 1/2 cheek of lime.

Method:

Remove seeds from pumpkin and segment with or without skin season with olive oil and salt, bake in oven on high until cooked and coloured.


In a none stick boiling pot sauté diced onions in a little oil until well cooked and coloured. Add peeled and diced sweet potato and continue to cook for around 4 minutes, add garlic and cook out slightly and follow by the curry paste followed by the coconut milk and squeeze of lime juice.


Reduce coconut milk by around 20% or until it thickens slightly. Add stock and cook on medium heat until sweet potato is tender.


Add roasted pumpkin and blend well until puréed, will likely need thinning out with hot water from the kettle, around 3 cups or until desired consistency is reached.


Season with salt and white pepper.

you can also season with fish sauce or soy to enhance the Asian flavours

 

I'm going to do that, salmon. How chilli hot is it? Should I buy some yoghurt to add a dollop to the bowl?

 

It has a little kick so if you’re not a big fan a dollop of plain yogurt will cut through it or a bit of honey maybe?

 

Thanks, I like a little kick, but not super-hot. Not familiar with that curry paste so I've no clue. I'll get some yoghurt anyway and if I don't need it for that, I'll just eat it.

 

Hearty chicken and veg soup with risonni

 

Yum. I feel just like your dog....

(I got all the stuff to make your spicy thai soup. It's happening...)

 

Awesome, I hope you enjoy it and I’m keen to get your feedback on it

 

I'm already sure I'll like it. The ingredients are just what I like and I know they go well together.

 

Oh, the new pressure cooker is begging for that (the chicken/vege/risoni, the thai style one sounds great too)
salmon got a recipe/link or was it a throw-together?
And what's your dog's name again? Since he's photobombing us all over the place?

 

She's called "I'm neglected-send food!"

 

No link just through it together

was 4 diced chicken thighs
2 carrots
1 onion
4 celery stalks
3 cloves of garlic
1 heaped table spoon of oregano
2 lt of chicken stock
4 shallot sprigs
1 cup of risoni


Sweat off vege, add chicken garlic and oregano, deglaze with stock and cook on medium heat/ simmer for 2 or so hours then add pasta and cook for about 15 or so minutes, season with plenty of white pepper to taste salt if needed, most chicken stocks are salty though. Before serving I threw in the shallots it really freshens it up.


Her name is Ziggy, my number 1 sous chef and thinks everything I make tastes good… even when it doesn’t haha