Autumn Vegetable Soup - Italian Style

 

A bowl of hot, tasty soup has got to be our favourite meal when the weather gets colder, and it's perfect for cooking in a big batch and taking to work for lunch.

This recipe makes a large pot of soup for the colder evenings and uses autumnal vegetables. If you don't have tiny pasta, break up some spaghetti into small pieces.

Ingredients
1 large leek sliced
2 carrots diced
1 onion chopped
2 celery sticks diced
1 potato diced
1 courgette diced
450g tomatoes diced or use a can of chopped tomatoes
2 litres water or stock
piece of Parmesan cheese rind
salt and black pepper
50g spinach leaves sliced
1 can borlotti beans
75g tiny pasta shapes such as farfalline

Method
Take a 9 litre AGA stockpot and put in the leek, carrots, onion, celery, potato, courgette, tomatoes, water or stock and a piece of Parmesan rind, season.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

2,3 and 4 Oven AGA
Transfer the covered stockpot to the simmering oven and cook for 1 hour. Add the drained borlotti beans, spinach leaves and pasta to the stockpot, stir and simmer for 6-8 minutes.
Remove the Parmesan rind and serve in bowls accompanied by crusty bread.

Hearty Veg and Sausage Bake

Keep warm this Bonfire Night with this hearty veg and sausage bake.

Ingredients (serves 4)
3 medium leeks, washed and sliced
450g tomatoes, quartered
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, finley chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
4 tbsp mixed herbs
salt and black pepper
175g mushrooms, sliced
8 thick good quality Lincolnshire or herb sausages

For the topping
150g breadcrumbs
85g cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp mixed herbs

Method
Place the leeks, tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic and chilli in a shallow ovenproof dish and pour over the oil, herbs and seasoning and mix together.
Place the dish on the floor grid set on the floor of the roasting oven and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Mix in the mushrooms then arrange the sausages on top. Return to the roasting oven and cook for a further 35 minutes, turning the sausages over occasionally to brown all their sides.
Place the breadcrumbs, cheese and herbs into a bowl and mix well.
Sprinkle over the sausages and return to the roasting oven, third runner down, for a further 15 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy.

Enjoy with a glass of mulled wine whilst watching the fireworks!

Happy Halloween

Celebrate Halloween with this yummy pumpkin pie recipe...

Ingredients (serves 6)
1 x 20cm (8 inch) flan dish
1 x frozen ready rolled shortcrust pastry circle, thawed
450g (1lb) pumpkin flesh
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4-1/2 tsp grated fresh nutmeg
115g (4oz) caster sugar
3 eggs
200ml carton creme fraiche
Melted plain chocolate to decorate

Methed
Line the flan dish with the pastry circle and place in the refrigerator to rest while the filling is made.
Place two pieces of pumpkin, with the skin on but with the seeds removed, into the half size AGA roasting tin with 2 tablespoons of water and cover with foil.
2,3 and 4 oven AGA: slide the tin onto the third set of runners down in the roasting oven and steam for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until tender.
Scrape the pumpkin flesh into a bowl, discard the skin and mash to a pulp. Add the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, mix well. Whisk together the sugar and eggs then whisk in the creme fraiche. Stir in the spiced pumpkin pulp into two lots. Pour into the pastry case.
Cook on the floor of the roasting oven for about 35-40 minutes until set.
Allow the flan to go cold. Using the melted chocolate, pipe a spider's web on top.
Serve cold with whipped cream.

Autumn Dinner Party Demo

We were at full capacity for our Autumn Dinner Party cookery demonstration last week. It was lovely to see so many familiar friends along with some new faces too.

The lovely weather meant it was an easy journey for all, with customers traveling from as far afield as Ilkley to the West and Bridlington to the East.

Alison started the demonstration with a crab creme brulee, which was absolutely delicious. Served in little ramekins with toast and a cucumber relish. It was a lovely mixture of rich, warm crab, sharpened by the cucumber.

An alternative starter of gorgonzola risotto 'castles' was next with an accompanying homemade tomato sauce. Both dishes were warming and well suited to the approaching cooler autumn / winter season.

For main course, Claire produced a delicious cod dish, baked in the oven with a crispy topping and set on a bed of lentils. This was a very popular dish and could be used with other types of fish to ring the changes. 

Next up was Alison's pork tenderloin, cooked quickly in the roasting oven to a just perfect point and served with green beans and pasta.

Finally we were spoilt with two delicious puddings. A lemon curd tart with berry topping in a long oblong pastry case. The pastry was thin and delicate allowing the flavour of the filling to take centre stage.

To finish we had a delicious banana and nut sponge, a sort of cross between a cake and a sponge pudding. Real comfort food, perfect for the cold winter nights.

We only have one more of our themed demonstrations left this year for Christmas entertaining. The class is currently full but we do have a waiting list for cancellations. Please sign up to our exciting new spring programme for next year's events.

Coalbrookedale Mug

We love this new AGA Coalbrookedale Mug.

The design is inspired by the magnificent collection of archive designs, housed at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire.

The bone china mug is dishwasher safe and comes presented in a fabulous box making it an ideal gift.

Priced at £15.00 it makes a great stocking filler!

National Baking Week

We've been celebrating National Baking Week (14-20 October) at Country Warmth.

The Great British Bake Off has had us glued to the TV screen and we are running some excellent AGA non-stick bakeware offers with prices from £8.99.

From spring form tins to square cake tins, muffin tins and loose base tins, we have something for all your baking needs.

The AGA non-stick range offers professional performance for every kind of baker. The heavy gauge steel offers excellent heat distribution, plus the products feature rolled edges for added strength.

Pop in to the shop to see the full collection and get 25% off until the 31st October.

Product of the Month - Stainless Steel Buffet Pan

One of our favourite cookware products is back in stainless steel designed exclusively for AGA.

Save 25%

Was £115.00
Now £86.26

Useable capacity 3.5 litre (base) 2.5 litre (lid)

Please ask in store for details.