Butter – Page 2 – food by sole

10th November 202010th November 2020

Celeriac, potato, onion and courgette soup

Celeriac soup with caramelised onion, roasted pine nuts, browned courgette

The first thing I think of when autumn arrives is mushrooms. Then pumpkins. And then, celeriac.

But for some reason, they were not stocking it anywhere near us. I kept peeking at the vegetables section each time I visited the shops, and all I saw were sad swedes (the roots, not the people) and tiny squash and potato cubes. No! That will not do!

So I finally braved the rain and wind, walked to a supermarket further away, and found celeriac there. At last!

Celeriac soup with onion, courgette and pine nuts

This appetite of mine for celeriac soup is a bit of a recent thing though. I blame The Celeriac Soup that I had at Brunswick House once.

Have it once, try to mimic it forever. Such is my fate…

2nd November 20202nd November 2020

Skulls and bones (or: scones and scones)

Bone-shaped cheese scones in a baking tray

Is there anything funnier than making your own pastry and then baking a Poison Pie (like I did last year)? Yes—making skull and bone shaped scones!

16th June 2020

Bollit / hervido (“boiled”)

Picture of a portion of bollit / hervido in a soup dish, containing half a red onion, a carrot and one potato with a dash of butter

In the quest for the most extravagant and spectacularly looking dishes, we often overlook the basics. What a shame!

So here’s one of them: bollit (in Valencian) or hervido (in Spanish). Which literally means… boiled!

This dish is extremely simple, consisting of boiling vegetables in salted water, and then having them with a bit of fat of your choosing. I know—it sounds “unappetising”, and it looks “ugly”, but it can be oh so comforting, especially when the weather is cold or if you’re feeling not so great and all you need is some simple food that doesn’t require extremely sophisticated skills to prepare.

2nd July 20194th November 2019

Horchata + tiger nut biscuits = the ideal merienda?

A glass of horchata and a small saucer with two tiger nut biscuits

I went on a tiger nut frenzy last week, as I made a batch of horchata and then I also turned the leftover “pulp” into “flour” for making biscuits. Absolutely ZERO WASTE! I was very pleased.

This time I used just tiger nuts. No cinnamon or lemon zest as in my previous attempt. And it tasted better than ever! So tiger nutty. I find it hard to describe this flavour; you have to try this type of horchata to understand how it tastes—it’s quite unlike Mexican horchata.

My friend and prestigious Horchata Connoisseur Belén has asked me to share the recipe for the biscuits, so here it goes!

25th January 201914th January 2021

Foraging, I: the Christmas tree branch

I was walking on the street on the 21st of December (and yes, I do write way after the fact), reflecting on the fact that the idea of winter solstice was fabulous: after that night, the days would be getting longer, the nights shorter, and eventually the weather would get warmer… and then my eyes noticed a branch on the floor.

I was standing outside a garden/flower shop, so I figured it must have been trimmed off a Christmas tree. And then I remembered what my grandfather used to say:

Lo que a mi casa viene, es porque me conviene.
(“Whatever comes to my house does so because it’s convenient for me”)