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Brussels sprout soup with candied bacon and roasted hazelnuts Rachel Allen

Christmas Fare Rachel Allen has two delicious soup recipes for you to try at home

The renowned chef shares two tasty ways for you to use up some Christmas leftovers this week.

BY NOW YOU’VE probably had at least one serving of a turkey meal, or whatever your preferred dish is on Christmas Day. I often wonder if we enjoy today’s leftovers a little more, given the pressure of the cooking and serving is gone, the timing and peeling and roasting is finished and now it’s time to enjoy what’s left.

And in most homes, what’s left of Christmas food can be a lot to deal with. We may have roasted one too many Brussels sprouts, the turkey seems enormous and we’re wondering how we’ll get through it and the ham.

One great way to change the shape of all these ingredients is to make a nice soup.  Whether as a starter or main dish, a quick fix or a leisurely indulgence, there is a soup for every occasion and from every corner of the globe. In this cold weather, soup can hit the spot after a nice walk in nature to clear the Christmas cobwebs.

Below you’ll find two delicious soup recipes that I hope will warm your hearts over the holiday season. Enjoy with some homemade warm bread, fresh from the oven.

Rachel’s recipes

Brussels sprout soup with candied bacon and roasted hazelnuts

brussel soup Brussels sprout soup with candied bacon and roasted hazelnuts Rachel Allen Rachel Allen

Serves 6

A most Christmassy soup, with the candied bacon and roasted hazelnuts bringing a festive flavour and delicious crunch to the sprouts. To get ahead, make the soup in advance and freeze it. The candied bacon can be made hours in advance of serving, and the hazelnuts can even be roasted a couple of days ahead.

For the soup

50g butter

175g peeled and diced potatoes

175g peeled and diced onions

salt and freshly ground pepper

400g Brussels sprouts
1.1 litres chicken stock (see page 264)

250ml cream or milk, or a mixture

For the roasted hazelnuts

50g hazelnuts

For the candied bacon

25g soft light brown sugar, such as

light Muscovado sugar

6 slices of streaky bacon (smoked if you wish)

First, make the soup. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When it foams, add the potatoes and onions, season with salt and pepper, and stir to mix. Cover with a butter wrapper or a piece of parchment paper, then turn the heat down to low, cover with the saucepan lid and cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent the vegetables sticking and burning.

While the potatoes and onions are cooking, prepare the sprouts. Trim the base, remove and discard the outer two or three leaves, and slice the sprouts thinly. Set aside.

When the potatoes and onions have been cooking for 10 minutes, add the chicken stock and boil for 2–3 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Add the sliced sprouts to the pan and cook over a high heat, with the lid off, until tender, approximately 2–3 minutes. Do not overcook, or the sprouts will lose their fresh colour and flavour. Add the cream or milk and blend until smooth. If you want the soup to be a bit thinner, add a little more stock. Taste for seasoning.

To prepare the hazelnuts and the bacon, preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the preheated oven for 6–8 minutes, checking regularly, as they can burn quickly. To test them, take the tray out of the oven

rachel book cover Rachel Allen Rachel Allen

Beef and stout soup with herb and cheese dumplings

stout Beef and stout soup with herb and cheese dumplings Rachel Allen Rachel Allen

Serves 4

This is a big soup for a blustery day or for when you are in need of a hug. The deep malted flavour of stout complements beef gorgeously, though if you wish you can use all stock and no stout and it will still be great.

The dumplings, which are made like a traditional Irish soda bread, soak up lots of flavour and juices, and transform this soup into a meal in a bowl. If there are any nice chunks of fat that you’ve removed from the beef, you can render these in the pot over a low heat (or in the preheated oven in an ovenproof dish) to use instead of the olive oil.

75g rindless streaky bacon, cut into lardons

375g trimmed stewing beef, all

fat removed (I like to use

chuck of beef for this, from the

forequarter), cut into 1cm chunks

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 celery stalk, finely diced

1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped salt and freshly ground pepper

3 sprigs of thyme

1 tablespoon tomato purée

1 teaspoon sugar

500ml stout

600ml beef or chicken stock

(see pages 270, 264)

For the herb and cheese dumplings

225g plain flour

1⁄2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

2 teaspoons chopped parsley

200–225ml buttermilk

50g finely grated cheese, such as Cheddar or Gruyére

To serve

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2. Place a casserole pot or an ovenproof saucepan on a low to medium heat and immediately add the bacon – there’s no need to preheat the pot, as you want the bacon to cook really slowly so that the fat renders out, leaving you with delicious crispy lardons.

When the bacon is golden and crisp, take it out, leaving all the fat in the pan, and turn the heat up to high. Once the pot is good and hot, add the beef, or just half of it if the pot is not large and you need to cook it in two batches, as the beef should be just in a single layer. If the beef dries out while you’re browning it, you will need to add a drizzle of olive oil. If the pot is not hot enough, the beef may start to stew and get juicy, in which case, keep cooking it until the juices evaporate and the beef browns.

Cook the beef over a light heat until it’s browned all over, then take it out and cook the second batch, if you’re cooking it in two batches.

Once the beef is browned, take it out and put it with the bacon. Drizzle some olive oil into the pot, then tip in the onion, celery and carrot and cook them over a high heat for a few minutes, until they start to get a little golden around the edges. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute more, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Tip the browned bacon and beef into the vegetables and add the thyme sprigs, tomato purée, sugar, stout and stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover and place in the preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes. Now take the pot out of the oven and turn the heat up to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7.

To make the dumplings, sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl and add the salt and chopped herbs. Mix together, then make a well in the centre.

Pour in the buttermilk, then, with your hand in a firm claw-like position, move it around in circles, drawing the buttermilk into the flour to create a soft dough. You may need to add more buttermilk if necessary.

Once the dough comes together, tip it on to a floured worktop and dust the top with flour. Turn it and pat it until it’s just 2cm thick, then cut it into about 16 small rounds, using a cutter with approximately 3cm diameter.

Take the lid off the saucepan or casserole pot and arrange the dumplings straight away on top of the soup (don’t worry if they sink a little). Scatter the grated cheese on top, then put the pot back into the hot oven and bake for 20–30 minutes, until the dumplings are golden and cooked through – you might need to take one out and cut into it to check.

Take the pot out of the oven, remove the thyme sprigs and season the soup to taste.

This is great just as it is, served with chopped parsley over the top, or with gremolata, which is also lovely over this.

Serve the soup in warm bowls, with 3–4 dumplings per bowl.

For a dairy-free version, you can use a plant-based milk instead of buttermilk and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Omit the cheese.

Rachel Allen is an acclaimed TV chef, cookery writer and renowned teacher. Her new book, Soup Broth Bread is out now, featuring recipes for delicious soups, homemade breads, garnishes and stocks, and a wealth of tips on equipment, batch-cooking, freezing and presentation.

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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute JohnAbbs
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    Oct 24th 2015, 1:03 PM

    Hailo’s message to Uber:……….. Fc*k Off we don’t wan’t competition.

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    Mute MAN UTD IRISH REDS
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    Oct 24th 2015, 1:39 PM

    Hailo are supposed to be in trouble over spending and no investment so uber def spells trouble for them

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    Mute RoN
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    Oct 24th 2015, 12:09 PM

    The journal will literally use any opportunity to mention the gay marriage referendum. Move on.

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    Mute Carmo Vanderval
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    Oct 24th 2015, 12:55 PM

    Gay people can get married now? Gosh, that must annoy certain types of people.

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 24th 2015, 12:55 PM

    I had not noticed the passing reference to the free taxi service to the polling booths for the same sex marriage equality referendum until you drew it to my attention, RoN.

    Clearly you would have preferred RoN to have had the service restricted to the opponents of same sex civil marriage.

    Thank you for highlighting the Marriage Equality Referendum passed by more than 68% of those who voted.

    This topic deserves another separate article so that RoN can get his full rant on.

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    Mute James Stratford
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    Oct 24th 2015, 2:03 PM

    When will companies and businesses in all industries cop on that they are not in any way simply entitled to your business? If they are out flanked by someone with an innovative idea, the onus is on them to either catch up or offer more appealing innovative ideas of their own.

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    Mute Kamil
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    Oct 24th 2015, 3:30 PM

    In theory yes but it seems that the playing field isn’t level. Essentially they are both providing the same service but uber drivers are not vetted or regulated in any way and their costs are lower, for example insurance. Also, I don’t think uber drivers are taxed.

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    Mute Ronan Hourican
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    Oct 24th 2015, 12:35 PM

    Harry Potters real?

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    Mute Carmo Vanderval
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    Oct 24th 2015, 12:58 PM

    No, just a fictional character who looks a bit like you.

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    Mute Paul McCabe
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    Oct 24th 2015, 1:37 PM

    Taxi service in Atlanta is dreadful, everyone i know uses uber and they rave about its convenience, low cost etc. I personally have only used it once and it was bang on, great idea, well executed.

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    Mute Sean
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    Oct 24th 2015, 3:47 PM

    Uber is incredible

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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 24th 2015, 11:50 PM

    Ireland is not Atlanta.
    We dont need Uber destroying the jobs of licensed,regulated taxi drivers.
    The industry is overcrowded as it is.
    They are a scourge on the face of the earth.
    The authorities have a responsibility to control this form of unbridled capitalism.
    Can we all do part time work as civil servants/teachers/Gardai etc. and put them out of work.?
    Not likely.

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    Mute Kevin Boland
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    Oct 24th 2015, 5:42 PM

    I hope that Uber is launched in its full form in Ireland, allowing those with a suitable car and a clean criminal background check to apply.

    I used ubers multiple times in San Diego this summer and the system works brilliantly and is very cost effective too

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    Mute Keith Redmond
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    Oct 24th 2015, 4:27 PM

    No Hailo app for windowsphone…but there is an Uber app, so hailo for f**k off

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Oct 24th 2015, 12:59 PM

    In the U.S. UBER HAS STARTED DOING LOGISTICS NOW, will Hailo start doing the Ambulance service now???

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    Mute Alien8
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    Oct 24th 2015, 1:13 PM

    we only have 12 ambulances in Dublin and these are fully stretched at this time of year… if you need to get to a hospital and a DFB ambulance will be another hour, why not get help?

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Oct 24th 2015, 2:32 PM

    I can see it happening with the TiSA Agreement privatised hospitals and ambulances, Uber is involved with logistics now. So god knows what the future will bring thanks to TTIP and the Trade in Services Agreement.
    Many things are run down in order to change them and the excuse is cost but getting private firms to run things always costs more as the NHS model has shown and the same is starting to happen here now…
    Help is one thing but cost will be another???

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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 25th 2015, 4:35 PM

    Given the wages of ambulance drivers, I am sure the government would love it.!

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