Our recent enthusiasm for cooking with mushrooms is appropriate as at the moment we seem to be cultivating several interesting varieties of our own on the increasingly damp internal walls here at Yumblog Cottage. The damp man* who came round to investigate told us we can eradicate 70% of the problem by simply keeping the [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Starter'
Mushroom soup
November 5th, 2011 · 2 Comments
Tags: Mushrooms · Snack · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Cream of celery soup
October 21st, 2011 · No Comments
Now I know I don’t need to remind you dear reader, that when Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calender in 1582 he decreed that the third Sunday of October would herald the beginning of Soup Season (Source: Wikipedia). Obviously in these most modern of times we are much more relaxed about such things and [...]
Tags: Snack · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Andalucian gazpacho
August 9th, 2011 · No Comments
Over the years we’ve covered the entire spectrum of gazpachos – from the lush red of the classic tomato, to the cool white of almond and grape via the verdant green of avocado. I suppose we could start searching for other colours, possibly blue, but that would be getting dangerously close to Bridget Jones territory [...]
Tags: Soup · Starter · Tapas · Vegetarian
Piedmontese peppers
August 1st, 2011 · 2 Comments
…and talking of Simon Hopkinson, this week’s episode of TGC featured two vegetable dishes which looked so simple and tasty we knew we had to try them out here at Yumblog Towers. The first was this roasted pepper and tomato dish which if you cook nothing else between now and the world’s end (August 2012), [...]
Tags: Brunch · Starter · Tapas · Vegetarian
Chilled summer salad soup with prawns
July 25th, 2011 · No Comments
Another visit from the sister and her handsomely mustachioed Frenchman ‘friend’ and another opportunity to push out the culinary boat and prove there are a few people left in this country who still know how to use a knife and fork and don’t think dinner should be deep-fried and served in a bucket. This soup [...]
Tags: salad · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian(ish)
Farfalle with spinach, basil and ricotta
June 30th, 2011 · 1 Comment
Here’s a quick and tasty meal to enjoy as the earth’s crust inexplicably crumbles and spews forth molten drivel*.
Tags: cheese · Main Course · pasta · Starter · Vegetarian(ish)
Puy lentil & roasted butternut squash ‘soup’ with harissa
June 15th, 2011 · 1 Comment
Again, inverted commas as the viscosity gradient of this dish leans very much more towards the stewy than the soupy. However, let’s not get bogged down with culinary thixotropics, pull up a chair, grab yourself a spoon and tuck in.
Tags: Main Course · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Potato and Asparagus Frittata
May 11th, 2011 · 5 Comments
In an attempt to escape the hysterical media build up to ‘the wedding’, not to mention the event itself with its stupid street parties, stupid bunting, stupid flag waving and general unseemly national deference to our ‘betters’, we left the country and spent Easter in the relaxed sun-drenched (republic) of Berlin. Fortunately for us the [...]
Tags: Asparagus · cheese · Eggs · Main Course · Starter · Tapas · Vegetarian(ish)
Baked Camembert
March 21st, 2011 · No Comments
This is less of a recipe and more of a reminder to shove a Camembert in the oven once in a while for a fast fatty indulgent treat … and do it soon before this world inexorably unravels to a lawless (and cheeseless) wasteland.
Tags: Baking · cheese · Main Course · Starter · Vegetarian(ish)
(Beetroot) Risotto Rosso
February 10th, 2011 · 2 Comments
The starting point of this recipe was a forgotten and up until now unused bargain basement cookbook called something along the lines of ‘A Zillion and One Easy To Make Risottos’. I should have been forewarned, for even after the most cursory of scans it was obvious the editor had struggled to fulfil the ambitious [...]
Tags: Main Course · Rice · Starter · Vegetarian
27 ways with onions …
February 1st, 2011 · No Comments
2. Creamed onion and cider soup with Stilton A quarter of the way into our sack of onions, time to try another soup… Featuring as it does cider and Stilton, this could probably be called an English Onion Soup.
Tags: Main Course · Snack · Soup · Starter
27 ways with onions ….
January 20th, 2011 · No Comments
1. Vegetarian(ish) French(ish) Onion Soup Around our way virtually every shop sells these 4kg sacks of onions for a very reasonable £2, so we thought we’d buy one and see if we could eat the entire contents in sufficiently varied ways that we didn’t slump into an Allium ennui induced coma. This onion soup is [...]
Tags: Main Course · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian(ish)
Minty Pea Fritters with Smoked Salmon
January 17th, 2011 · No Comments
I couldn’t think of an introduction to this recipe so I ran it back and forth through BabelFish a few times until I ended up with ‘Muntachtige pea fries in oil the pie of meat [s] in order to fumigate the salmon of the friend’. Incidentally, apologies to Gordon Ramsay for our childish reference to [...]
Tags: Main Course · Snack · Starter
Stilton (& Rocket) Tart
January 17th, 2011 · No Comments
Despite heroic efforts on our part, post-Christmas still found us with a substantial wedge of a 3 tonne wheel of Stilton left uneaten. This tart was one of several tasty ways we found to remedy the problem.
Tags: Baking · cheese · Eggs · Main Course · Snack · Starter · Vegetarian
Porcini Risotto
January 12th, 2011 · No Comments
Porcini are very much in vogue here at Yumblog Towers. Along with late Sunday roasts. And baked potatoes with cheese and beans and coleslaw. And spending Saturday morning watching 5Live on the red button. And Sophie the teething giraffe. And Friday night beer and pizza after swimming. Lots of things in fact. But not duck [...]
Tags: cheese · Main Course · Mushrooms · Rice · Starter · Vegetarian
3 Cheese Risotto
December 19th, 2010 · 2 Comments
…which makes this three times better than a mono cheesed risotto.
Tags: cheese · Main Course · Rice · Starter · Vegetarian
Fennel & Green Bean Soup with Ricotta Toasts
September 29th, 2010 · No Comments
When it comes to fennel, my co-blogger has a cool detachment only slightly less chilly than her contempt for cauliflower. This recipe was an attempt to warm her to the idea of eating this hardy, perennial, anethole-rich, umbelliferous herb. Success was moderate. A fennel bulb gives a moving performance in Strindberg’s ‘The Ghost Sonata’
Tags: Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Chilled Pea(+pod) & Mint Soup
July 2nd, 2010 · No Comments
Readers who feel more comfortable living their lives to a strict set of arbitrary rules will be pleased to discover this recipe adheres to the Four ‘S’ Dictum of Culinary Correctness: 1. Fresh peas are currently available – Seasonal. 2. Our balcony is resplendent with home-grown mint – Sustainable. 3. It’s eaten cold and it’s [...]
Tags: Snack · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Butterbean Soup?
July 2nd, 2010 · 2 Comments
The question mark is there because if eaten immediately this is a thick wholesome soup, but if left in the fridge overnight and eaten cold, it miraculously transforms into a tasty bean salad. Two different foodstuffs for the price (and effort) of one. Well bargain, innit.
Tags: salad · Side Dish · Snack · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Chickpea Soup
June 23rd, 2010 · No Comments
The chefs at our flagship eatery ‘Chez Yumblog’ are always on the look out for new and exciting ways to add the humble, nutritious and CHEAP chickpea to the menu. Consequently there was much excitement in the kitchen when Pascal le Plongeur nervously presented this recipe to the Kitchen Porter, who passed it on to [...]
Tags: Snack · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Bagna Cauda
May 13th, 2010 · No Comments
In case you didn’t know (and why should you, I didn’t until I came across the recipe) Bagna Cauda is a pungent garlic and anchovy dip which is a great accompaniment to raw vegetables and crusty bread. There are many subtle variations on the recipe and as this one comes from Heston Blumenthal, it is [...]
Tags: Sauce · Side Dish · Starter
Raymond Blanc’s Tomato Risotto
May 13th, 2010 · No Comments
OK, so you’ve spent most the weekend in the lab distilling your tomato essence, now to put it into action as the base for this rather delicious Tomato Risotto. Paxton the Pig: Scroll down and read the review from James Rose … such a warm, expressive Grandfather.
Tags: Main Course · Rice · Starter · Vegetarian
Soupe au Pistou
April 1st, 2010 · No Comments
Here’s the story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls.
Tags: Main Course · pasta · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Carrot, Ginger & Honey Soup
March 17th, 2010 · 1 Comment
The winter clouds part and in the park a thin ray of sunshine illuminates a single crocus striving to push its trampled head above the prairie of discarded KFC boxes … spring has arrived in Bethnal Green. This beautiful natural wonder heralds the change of the seasons and signifies that perhaps it is time to [...]
An Early Valentines Meal
February 7th, 2010 · No Comments
Ricotta & Parsley Ravioli with Tomato & Cream Sauce The offer of some Valentine themed goodies from our friends at Interflora and a cooking apron from our latest chums at The Last detail, prompted us to cook up something which would make an ideal romantic dinner for two. Besides, it was the day before the [...]
Tags: cheese · Main Course · pasta · Starter · Vegetarian
Colcannon Soup
February 7th, 2010 · No Comments
The recent bracing wave of cold and snow prompted a frenzy of soup making here at Yumblog Towers. Of the many and tasty varieties produced few warmed the cockles more than this Colcannon, which is rich, smooth, buttery and fundamentally Bubble and Squeak in an easy to ingest liquid form. So good you’ll want to [...]
Tags: Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Cream of Mushroom Soup
January 11th, 2010 · No Comments
Soups are always tricky to photograph and mushroom soup, being the colour and consistency of weetabix-based gruel is particularly unphotogenic. So by way of a diversion, here is an ant’s-eye view of a random mushroom (or toadstool) which may (or may not) be delicious (or lethal).
Tags: Mushrooms · Soup · Starter
Black Hallowe’en Ravioli
December 11th, 2009 · No Comments
The recent purchase of a £25 bargain pasta maker* has led to a spate of fresh pasta making here at Yumblog Towers. Whether this enthusiasm lasts or whether this gadget ends up in the back of the cupboard along with the onion goggles, Waring Professional Martini Maker, OXO Good Grips® Strawberry Huller, Cuisinart® Soup Maker, [...]
Tags: Fish · Hallowe'en · Main Course · pasta · Seafood · Starter
Cheesy Lemons with Basil Oil
December 5th, 2009 · No Comments
I found this Lemony Cheese delight in a back issue of the excellent Donna Hay magazine – the eponymous title from food editor, best-selling cookery writer, and from what I can gather, Queen of Australia.
Tags: Baking · cheese · Main Course · Side Dish · Starter · unusual foods · Vegetarian
Potted Mackerel
December 3rd, 2009 · No Comments
Take one Guardian Weekend magazine and one quandary about what to feed Archaeologist T. Realise that multiple small dishes that can be dipped into at a fixed pace are just the thing. Go to the market and buy fish. The market being a fish stall on Roman Road just round the corner, these fish were [...]
Tags: Fish · Side Dish · Snack · Starter
Potted Cheese
December 2nd, 2009 · No Comments
As with the mackerel, so with the cheese. It was in the same Fearnley-Whittingstall spread* as the potted mackerel and required cheese, butter and a splash of vin rouge or some vine-based glug, thereby having all the markings of a winner about it. The man himself suggested you play with the recipe and use whichever [...]
Tags: cheese · Snack · Starter · unusual foods
Review: Abel & Cole Gorgonzola Dolce
October 22nd, 2009 · No Comments
If you follow the link you’ll discover this young Gorgonzola came to us from Sardinia via Acton. Roasted Tomato and Gorgonzola Tarts with Balsamic Vinegar Caramel
Tags: Baking · cheese · Main Course · Reviews · Side Dish · Snack · Starter · Vegetarian
Savoury Rhubarb Soup
June 8th, 2009 · No Comments
I know what you are thinking. Rhubarb soup? Savoury rhubarb soup? Never heard of that before. Sounds intriguing. Could be tasty. Could be unpleasant. Could be a toxic coupling of sour fruit and salty meaty water. Must get some rhubarb and give it a go. Well that’s what I thought anyway. Besides, the recipe was [...]
Tags: Main Course · Soup · Starter · unusual foods · Vegetarian
Potted Shrimps
June 1st, 2009 · 1 Comment
One Saturday we decided to get up and do the shopping before breakfast. Hard to imagine, but true. We went to the fish stall round the corner and witnessed it in it’s full bounteous glory. Indeed such was my excitement that I went crazy and bought shrimps for to make potted shrimps. Tis lucky that [...]
Tags: Fish · salad · Seafood · Side Dish · Snack · Starter
Roasted Vegetable Terrine
May 28th, 2009 · No Comments
This layered jellified curiosity comes from Gregg (Beefy beefy mushrooms) Wallace’s book ‘VEG!!!‘. The exclamation marks are mine of course.
Tags: Main Course · Side Dish · Starter
Cucumber Soup No.2 with Wasabi Pea Relish
May 10th, 2009 · No Comments
As you might have guessed, I got a job lot of cucumbers from the market – three eye-wateringly large shafts of Cucumis Sativus for a credit crunching quid. Unlike the previous version, this soup is entirely prepared in the blender and requires no cooking – just a blender.
Tags: Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Cucumber Soup No.1
May 9th, 2009 · No Comments
Funny how you wake up one morning and decide that the thing you want to do most in the world (ever) is to make cucumber soup. Maybe it’s a form of neurosis that all food bloggers share and perhaps writing these blogs is a therapeutic, legal and relatively harmless outlet for our collective obsession. Who [...]
Tags: Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Griddled Spring Onions with Harissa
May 2nd, 2009 · 1 Comment
Here’s a simple spicy little snack/starter from Gregg ‘beefy beefy mushrooms’ Wallace.
Tags: Side Dish · Starter · Vegetarian
Lemon Dhal Soup
February 25th, 2009 · 2 Comments
It’s MasterChef final week, yeah. Such a shame that the nice Greek guy was dumped last Thursday as he was our favourite, we actively liked him. Now it’s down to the young one, the posh one and the beardy baldy cry baby one who sounds like Tony Blair. The posho is bound to win, but [...]
Tags: Main Course · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian
Cauliflower & Cheddar Soup
February 21st, 2009 · 3 Comments
… or cauliflower cheese in liquid form. A perfect winter warmer for the snowiest (and therefore the most exciting) day in 18 years.
Tags: cheese · Soup · Starter · Vegetarian


























