The first recipe on the page was for a side dish called Turnip, Potato and Carrot Hash. Reading through it, for 6 servings they suggested using 3 carrots, 3 potatoes, 1 onion and just 1 turnip. Now with the sort of vegetable that is called a turnip here in Hampshire, that really wouldn't give much turnip compared to the other veg, certainly not enough to justify it being the first named ingredient. So I decided unilaterally that what they really meant was the vegetable I knew as a turnip all through my Lancashire childhood, the one that most of the country calls a swede and used that.
As there are only two of us (but we are greedy) I halved all the ingredients.
The veg are cooked in beef stock (the recipe says tinned consommé, but I presume that is because in 1973 stock always came in cube form) until absolutely falling apart tender and then puréed.
Hang on a minute, that sounds familiar. Isn't that how you make soup? OMG I'VE INVENTED SOLID SOUP!!!!!!
The Solid Soup is then spread in an ovenproof dish, topped with a little butter and baked until there are the statutory Brown Crispy Bits on the top. The recipe suggests serving it as a side to sausages. I think myself it would be a great alternative topping for a cottage pie.
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Old fashioned, hearty and cheap, and above all dead easy, it makes it an ideal dish for February. And if you're watching the carbs, it's a filling alternative to mash with far less potato. Unsophisticated though - VERY unsophisticated. I'm linking up to Random Recipes at Belleau Kitchen, where you'll find many far more sophisticated recipes.... but I bet nobody else makes Solid Soup.
oh, that sounds really nice - like you say would make a great alternative to pototoes, which can get a bit boring too, as well as being carb light!
ReplyDeletethis is exactly the kind of thing i've been eating a lot of recently... with a bit of suede in there too, which I love.. looks very very hearty and healthy and perfect for this cold, miserable weather. Thanks so much for taking part this month, always lovely to have you on the random recipes railroad!
ReplyDeleteSolid soup! Fantastic. I make it fairly often by accident by being over zealous with the lentils or split peas, or being tempted to use up the last couple of potatoes until before you know it, you blend it, stick it in the fridge and the next day you can pretty much spread it on toast - who knew it was an actual recipe ;o) Perfect hearty food for winter weather - sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteNow that's seriously old-fashioned but definitely no worse for that - I'm feeling warmer already. So many of the recipes from way back then used tinned consommé or, in the case of stews, tins of mushroom or tomato soup.
ReplyDeleteYum! This looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteAnother Lancastrian here, the swede/turnip thing always catches me out too! This looks fantastic - comfort food at its finest. Almost making me long for winter (we're at the tail end of a hot summer here in NZ).
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