A week of coloured soups...

Soup making isn't rocket science - just bung some stuff in a pan and simmer it for a bit then either eat with lumps and all or blitz - but still, there's probably nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of soup.

This week, I've had almost a rainbow of soups - bright pink beetroot and celeriac, deep grey mushroom, and a 'using up' golden orange rooty soup. I think beetroot and celeriac work really well together, and the soup really has the most wonderful colour that the photo doesn't do justice. I went travelling to Russia in the latter part of last year, and I found this soup really took me back to the beetroot and sour cream cuisine (!) that we encountered there. Here's the recipe.

Teriyaki smoked tofu, stir fried greens and udon

I really wanted to make something that felt wholesome and cleansing after eating way too much thai food the other night. This felt just right – it’s really low in fat, the smoked tofu adds a great flavour and the greens make you feel like you're really doing your body good! I used a ready-made teriyaki by clearspring - you could of course make your own too – which had a peppery bite to it. I added some honey to give a sweetness and slight stickiness. I’d also like to add some sliced root ginger to this, and perhaps some chilli oil. Serves two

Roots n beans

Keeping it really simple with this one - roasted roots with honey, orange zest and rosemary, tossed with a few cherry tomatoes and butter beans. It was delicious and filling, sweet and creamy, and very orange!

Simply roast the root veggies for about half an hour to 40 minutes, drizzled with olive oil, a bit of honey, some orange zest and some rosemary. For the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the drained beans and some halved cherry tomatoes. Serve with extra olive oil, a dusting of chilli flakes and a blob of creme fraiche for extra creaminess.

Fruity nutty carrot muffins

The other night, I really wanted to try out making some carrot and apple cake, but I’d run out of apples. Hmm. Instead, I decided to mix lots of things together that I like into some muffins, and the result was pretty good. They’re really moist (I added ground almonds in place of some of the flour), a beautiful orange colour and I think do the carrots justice. They’re not as dense as some carrot cakes that are around, either. I didn’t use any frosting but I’m sure they’d be great with some mascarpone with orange zest on top. I’ll also get around to trying the apple and carrot version one day!

Makes 8 muffins
125g butter at room temperature
125g light brown soft sugar
100g plain flour
30g ground almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp baking powder
50g dried fruits – I used a mixture of raisins and sultanas (really big ones)
A handful of almonds
A couple of handfuls of walnuts
Zest of one orange
A tablespoon or two of the juice from said orange
1 egg
About 150g carrot (or mixture of carrot and apple), grated

Preheat the oven to 170 (fan) and line a couple of tins with muffin cases.

Cream together the butter, sugar and zest until it’s light and there are no grainy sugar bits left. I like to add the zest in at this stage because I think the beating brings out the lovely orangey-ness. Add the egg and beat again.

Chop the nuts roughly (don’t leave any really big bits but I quite like mine to be relatively chunky) and add these and the fruits into the flour, cinnamon, ground almonds and baking powder. Mix these dry ingredients into the butter, sugar and eggs gradually. You don’t need to worry too much about being very careful as it’s quite a heavy cake mix.

Then add the grated carrot and mix well to ensure it’s all evenly distributed. Depending on how juicy your carrots are, you might want to add a bit of orange juice in at this point.

Divide the mixture between the cases – they will rise a bit, so don’t fill them too full – and bake for between 25-30 mins.

Note: depending on the juiceiness of your carrots, you might need to add a bit of milk to your cake batter. Just play it by ear and make sure it's thin enough that it falls off the wooden spoon!

Saturday soda bread

I have to say that it's pretty hard to make bread with an elbow that's been broken and in a sling for the last few weeks, but I was dying to make something crunchy and rustic to go with my jerusalem artichoke and carrot soup. Soda bread is pretty much the only option - but it's also quick, easy and really delicious, so not really a problem at all!

I used Hugh's recipe for a classic soda brea, but used a mixture of flours - white, spelt and rye. Gave it a great colour and lovely texture.