Lavender and Lime

Italy May and June 2013

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Tandy

Today Dave and I are off to Italy. We will be visiting Venice, Bologna, Milan and Lake Como. We will also be dining at Osteria Francescana. I doubt we will have free wifi where we are staying so I will not be reading blogs while we are away. I will also only reply to comments when we get back. I have scheduled some blog posts for while we are in Italy. Like last year I will be doing a daily diary so you can read about what we have done each day if you would like to. Be well and safe all my dear friends and readers. I shall be back on the blog on the 5th of June.

What I blogged:

one year ago – Canderel Food Bloggers Event
two years ago – Chicken Stuffed With Avocado

Tandy

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Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Rustic Basil Pesto Pasta Recipe

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Tandy

I do most of my magazine reading at gym while I am on the treadmill or the stepper. We do not have fancy televisions where I train and so to break the tedium I read. However, I am very far behind in my magazine reading. I often see Reader Events and think how nice they look, but when I see the advert for them it is usually too late for me to book. I know that I have been missing out! The reason I know this is because I was recently invited to a Readers Event by Fair Lady. This is a magazine I can remember my mother reading when I was a child, and the publication is known to put their readers first. Dave and I attended a pasta making workshop at The Cooks Playground. Thankfully Dave was not the only man there but it was definitely a ladies evening out. Our ages ranged from 12 to over 60 and I can assure you that a great time was had by all. The evening started off with a demonstration on how to make fresh pasta. As this is something I feel very comfortable doing, I sat back and let the other participants get a good look. I did however go and watch the ravioli making demonstration as I love making filled pastas. We started our evening by making our own delicious raviolis before moving on to a variety of pastas. To highlight the evening, I have decided to share with you the rustic basil pesto recipe. I liked this as you do not need any special kitchen equipment to make the pesto. I have reduced the amount of oil from the original recipe as I found the pasta was coated with too much oil when we had it on the evening. This makes a perfectly easy meal to make.

have you ever attended a magazine readers’ event?

Rustic Basil Pesto Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

200g dried pasta
25g fresh basil leaves
25g toasted pine nuts
½ clove of garlic, crushed
50g Parmesan, grated and extra for garnishing
2.5mls lemon juice
75mls olive oil
A generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

While your pasta is cooking, roughly chop the basil leaves
Place them into a bowl and then chop the pine nuts
Add them to the basil, together with the garlic, Parmesan and lemon juice
Slowly pour in the olive oil while stirring all the time
Add the salt and a bit of black pepper and check the seasoning
Adjust to suit your palate
Drain your pasta and toss the pesto through to combine
Serve with some extra Parmesan

http://tandysinclair.com/rustic-basil-pesto-pasta-recipe/

For conversions click here

What I blogged:

three years ago – the challenge – bake a soufflé

Disclaimer: Dave and I were invited to attend this event. I was not required to write a blog post and any opinions and facts expressed herein are my own. This is in line with my blogging policy.

Tandy

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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Fig Jam Recipe

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Tandy

One of my favourite bloggers is Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial and if you read my blog on a regular basis you will know two things for sure. The one is that I specifically thought of Celia when I made lime cordial, and that my sourdough starter Cordelia is named after her as Cordelia is the daughter of Celia’s starter. However, I did not think of Celia when I made this jam. I did however think of her as I typed the words fig jam into my title bar. After Dave and I had been at Grootbos we stopped off at Peregrine Farm Stall to buy some meat for a braai (BBQ). They had huge boxes of figs for sale as well as some small punnets. I resisted temptation and purchased only one small punnet with a few figs in it as I did not know when I would have the time to do anything with the figs other than eat them. A week later and they were still in the fridge and so I decided to make a fig and chocolate cake using my new Bunt mould. I had not even prodded the figs and expected them to be overripe and not good for eating. But as soon as I took them out of the pack I realized that they were too hard for baking with. I decided to not even try and soften them and sliced them up nice and thinly and put them into a frying pan. At this point I had no clue what I was going to do with the figs. And then I remembered the very quick jam I had made a while back. I was not sure if it would work with the figs but as I had nothing to lose really, I gave it a try. And wow, it made a great fig jam. Perfect to use as a condiment with cheese, and even better on some freshly baked bread!

what is your favourite flavour of jam?

Fig Jam Recipe

Ingredients:

240g figs, thinly sliced
30mls honey
5mls pectin

Method:

Place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to the boil
Cook for 5 minutes until thickened
Place into a sterilized glass jar

http://tandysinclair.com/fig-jam-recipe/

For conversions click here

What I blogged:

one year ago – Lemon Garlic Linguine
two years ago – Friday’s Food Quiz Number 53
three years ago – Chicken Stuffed With Cream Cheese, Peppadews And Parsley

Tandy

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Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

Linguine Marinara Con Ricotta Recipe

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Tandy

Time is not my friend most months as over and above work commitments I also have blogging commitments. This all has to fit in with going to gym, running a household, being a good wife and having a social life. Over and above that, house building is a priority most weekends. I try to schedule my blogging and my cooking to suit my life style. That means that I cook for my blog on one day of the weekend. I will spend the entire day in my kitchen and then write up one blog post each morning. However, in the month we go overseas (which is this month) I try and write two blog posts a morning in order to have posts scheduled for when we are away. I have an hour before work each morning to sit down and do this. This month my Secret Recipe Club assignment arrived in my inbox 14 days before it had to be posted. Our posting time is 7am South African time, which happens also to be the time I arrive at my office. So basically, this post had to be done and dusted within 13 days. Now I know that it might sound like a lot of time but actually it is not! I am a little miffed as I wanted to give Jamie from Cooking With Moxie a bit more of my attention. Jamie lives in Boston and my heart already goes out to her knowing that tragedy was so close to her doorstep not too long ago. I love her saying “Tutti Mangia”! Everyone who reads my blog will know that I am a secret Italian – it is my favourite country to visit, and the one European language other than English that I love speaking. This month all I had time to do was click the random recipe button and aimed to choose the first recipe that came up that was an original recipe. It also could not be a sweet recipe as I have too many desserts to test already this month. I clicked and clicked, in between reading emails, responding to queries and doing paperwork. However, all of the recipes that came up were not original and so I turned to my second option and chose a pasta recipe. I picked the first pasta recipe on the list when using the term pasta in the search box and chose the Fettuccine Marinara with Two Ricotta’s. I have not cooked much with ricotta so it was a good excuse to use a relatively unused ingredient in my kitchen. I then had to make the recipe on the first Sunday night after my assignment was received, and hope to high hell that it worked. Of course as my luck would have it, Sunday arrived and I did not have time to make the pasta dish as I was hosting a Spanish themed meal for friends and I had to make my pain au chocolat for the I Made It challenge. So I fluttered my eyelids, broke the diet, and had Dave make the linguine marinara con ricotta for me last Monday night. I was in Cape Town at a function and he did all the preparation. I am so lucky to have that extra pair of hands in the kitchen! We loved the tomato flavour of the pasta sauce and as we only used half I added some bacon to it the next night and served it as a side dish with some pork chops.

how do you manage your blogging time?

Linguine Marinara Con Ricotta Recipe

Ingredients:

400g linguine
15mls olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 70g tin tomato paste
5mls dried basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
280g ricotta, at room temperature

Method:

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat
Add the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and dried basil
Season to taste and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the pasta
You might need to add some of the pasta water to loosen the sauce during the cooking process
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook your pasta according to the packet directions
Just before the pasta is ready, mix the ricotta into the tomato sauce
Adjust the seasoning before draining the pasta
Add the pasta to the sauce and mix in well

Cooks Notes:

my recipes are usually only for 2 people but this one serves 4

http://tandysinclair.com/linguine-marinara-con-ricotta-recipe/

For conversions click here

What I blogged:

one year ago – The Versatile Blogger Award
two years ago – Tiramisu

Tandy

To see more posts from Group C, click the linky below:

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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Col’Cacchio Celebrity Chef Signature Pizza Collection

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Tandy

On Monday I was invited to taste this year’s range of celebrity chef’s pizzas and one above all the others stood out for me. Col’Cacchio pizzeria will sell one of the pizza’s per month for May, June and July in order to raise funds for the Red Cross Children’s Hospital. R5 from every pizza sold will go to the trust and so you can do your bit by buying one of the pizzas – a win win situation as you will get a great pizza, and you will be helping others. In May you can buy the Lau-Ling (R70) which was created by Liam Tomlin. This to me was the best of the three and it is a Vietnamese inspired pizza with minced chicken, mint, coriander, shallots, crispy onion, spring onion, fresh basil, chilli and sesame seeds and it is served with vermicelli salad in the middle. In June you can buy the Ghanchaka (R80). David Grier has come up with an Indian spiced pizza that has a mashed potato base and is topped with chicken tikka, spring onion, fresh coriander, chopped pineapple chilli salsa and it is served with a mint and coriander yoghurt dipping sauce. In July pop along for two pizzas, both by Charly’s Bakery. The Dangwhoodle (R85) is a savoury pizza that has a tomato base and is topped with fior di latte mozzarella, roasted cherry tomatoes, Italian parmesan, oven roasted artichoke hearts and is finished off with lashings of basil pesto and balsamic glaze. This vegetarian pizza has one ingredient chosen by each of the 4 bakers. Being a bakery they have snuck in a dessert pizza. The dinky-delight (R15) is a mini pizza smothered in nutella and topped with melted marshmallows and toasted hazelnuts.

© The Pizzas Col’Cacchio Celebrity Chef Signature Pizza Collection

Now, here comes the exciting bit. If you would like your pizza to be the August celebrity pizza all you have to do is head over here and join the pizza challenge. The winner will not only have their pizza sold at the pizzeria, they will also win pizzas for a year! Entries close on the 24th of May, so do hurry if you want to enter.

Disclaimer: I was invited to attend this event. I was not required to write a blog post and any opinions and facts expressed herein are my own. This is in line with my blogging policy.

What I blogged:

two years ago – Chicken With Chickpeas
three years ago – Choux Pastry

Tandy

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Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

Roasted Butternut With Spinach Pesto And Pumpkin Seeds Recipe – Reuben Riffel

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Tandy

The May issue of Women’s Health has a feature on butternut using recipes from South African celebrity chefs. The four chefs that contributed their recipes are Reuben Riffel, Pete Goff-Wood, Luke Dale-Roberts and Margot Janse. I was offered the opportunity to blog a recipe of my choice, as well as offer my own recipe using butternut to tie in with this article. Last week you will have seen my recipe for roasted butternut soup, and when I paged through the four recipes I decided to make Reuben’s roasted butternut dish, as the flavours were similar to the dish I had made. The recipe I am including below is not the original recipe which appears in the magazine. I had to make a few changes for various reasons.

the recipe called for 4 garlic cloves which have to be weighed as you have to have ginger in equal weight to the garlic to make the purée. Using 4 garlic cloves the purée was more like flavoured water and so I doubled this. The purée was still very loose but I decided that it would be OK. It created quite a liquid mass when added to the oil but that worked out fine by the time everything was blended
I had to double the roasting time to get soft butternut
I thought I had preserved lemons at home, but I was mistaken – I remember Jenny Morris saying on her TV show that you can use 1 unwaxed lemon and a good pinch of salt to replace a preserved lemon, so this is what I did
the recipe makes a HUGE bowl of pesto. I used some of the leftover pesto to cook chicken in the next night and to flavour some quinoa. I am sure it can be frozen though, so it won’t go to waste
The recipe calls for pumpkin seeds with no weight given. I toasted off 30g but you can do as much or as little as you like. Personally, I preferred the pumpkin seeds that I roasted for my soup

This pesto is zingy and tangy and the flavours really pop in your mouth. I will definitely make this again with a few variations!

do you make recipes from magazines?

Roasted Butternut With Spinach Pesto And Pumpkin Seeds Recipe – Reuben Riffel

Adapted from Women's Health May 2013

Ingredients:

for the butternut

1 butternut, peeled and cubed
Olive oil for drizzling
salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

for the pesto

40g garlic cloves
40g fresh root ginger, peeled
60mls olive oil
5mls ground cumin
5mls smoked paprika
200g baby spinach
240g peppadews, cubed
Rind of 1 lemon, finely chopped

to serve

30g pumpkin seeds, toasted

Method:

for the butternut

Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
Place the butternut into a large roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil
Season to taste and roast for 40 minutes

for the pesto

Put the garlic and ginger into a food processor (don’t wash after you make the purée as you will use it again)
Add 60mls water and process until it forms a purée – this will be very watery!
In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over a low heat
Add the garlic and ginger purée and fry lightly until you can smell the ginger
Add the cumin and cook until you can smell the spices
Add the paprika and toss the spinach through the oil a small handful at a time until it is all cooked
Remove from the heat and stir in the peppadews and lemon rind
Add a generous pinch of salt and mix in
Chop the pesto in a food processor

to serve

Toss the pesto through the butternut and served topped with pumpkin seeds

Cooks Notes:

A peppadew is a sweet piquanté pepper.

http://tandysinclair.com/roasted-butternut-with-spinach-pesto-and-pumpkin-seeds-recipe-reuben-riffel/

Women’s Health May 2013

For conversions click here

What I blogged:

one year ago – The Kitchin
two years ago – Poached Eggs

Tandy

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Eating At Grootbos, Gansbaai

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Tandy

Grootbos’s all inclusive rate includes 3 meals a day, and you are encouraged to arrive early on check in day to make sure that you enjoy the lunch. The lunch menu consists of a buffet starter, a choice of 3 main courses and 1 dessert and is served from 1 to 3pm. You can also choose to have a picnic lunch which would be a great option if you wanted some privacy, or to explore the estate. We had lunch on the Friday, but only from the buffet as we had already eaten earlier in the day. We did not eat lunch on the Saturday before we left, even though we could have. We were far too full from breakfast. Grootbos advertises that they will cater for all dietary requirements and while I was choosing my lunch I was asked exactly what I could eat being sucrose intolerant. I explained that the ginger beer we were given when we arrived was not a good idea as that had far too much sucrose in it. I left the rest up to the chef based on what I had told the staff.

© My Lunch Selection Eating At Grootbos, Gansbaai

Before supper Dave and I sat at the bar and we were served canapés which consisted of a choice of bread bites with balsamic onions and tzatziki, and olives. We both had a single malt whisky and the barman was able to offer us a wide selection and knew what he was talking about when it came to our choice, both of the whisky and the wine. Dave had a Laphroig (R40) and I had the Dalwhinnie (R60). The alcohol selection is very good and varied and there is an extensive wine list to back it up. The wines are expensive with an average price of R200 for red wines. We chose the Springfontein Pinotage 2007 (R195). This terroir selection wine is from Stanford and has a distinct taste of caramelized banana and has a deep berry on the nose.

After enjoying our pre dinner drinks we made our way to the dining area and sat at one of the lovely large tables. The chairs are comfortable and the background music is audible, but soft enough so that you can talk. The fireplace was on which took the chill off the air. Dinner was a relaxed affair and the service perfect – they waited until we were both finished each course before clearing our plates, and there was an adequate gap between dishes.

© Starters Soup Palate Cleanser Eating At Grootbos, Gansbaai

The supper menu changes every night according to the staff, and I was told which dishes were high in sugar before I made my choice for the evening meal. Rolls and bread are served with a side of olive oil and balsamic vinegar that is poured for you and I indulged in one of the soft rolls before dinner. We started with an amuse bouche of white fish tartare which had an interesting texture. Out of the two starters, Dave and I both chose butter poached prawn which was served with a maple glazed apple and bacon. The prawn was cold and the apple hot, and I could not find or taste any bacon on the dish. The hot and sour tom yum soup is served every night at Grootbos and so we both chose that. It had a good prawn bisque flavour and was so nice that I have made this at home since our visit. The palate cleanser was a raspberry and pineapple sorbet which was mild in flavour but really worked in terms of clearing the palate. Dave chose the roast fillet of karan beef as his main course which he claimed to be really good. I had the grilled kingklip which was slightly watery. It was served with a pea and chorizo velouté. The pea flavour was great, but the overcooked dry chorizo did not compliment the dish at all. The tatsoi and truffle salad was perfect even with the addition of raw onions which I normally do not eat. Dave and I both had the fruit tian for dessert. It consisted of a rooibos cake, berry mouse and orange parfait and even though it was very nice, it lacked a punch of flavour. The restaurant accommodated our request for a cheese platter, which we shared after our desserts. This is actually one of the dessert options and it had a fantastic array of local cheeses and a very tasty homemade spicy apple compote. All in all the meal was satisfying, albeit missing a few pinches of salt and the little something that will elevate it to a flavour packed experience.

© Main Course Dessert Cheese Platter Eating At Grootbos, Gansbaai

The continental breakfast is served buffet style and growing the future provides the food. This is one of many social projects that Grootbos is involved in. The hot breakfast selection is excellent. I really like to indulge in breakfast, and so I started my meal with fresh fruit. I then had a bowl of very good muesli and there was a wide variety of ‘add ons’. This part of my breakfast was accompanied by freshly squeezed orange juice. I ordered a farm benedict for my hot meal and the poached egg was yolkless and served with an acidic hollandaise sauce, a lovely soft muffin, bacon and Swiss chard. I moved on to croissants with the tastiest fynbos honey. I continued with a smoked salmon trout and a selection of cheeses and tasted the goats milk cheese, camembert, brie and a delicious hard cheese. If you cannot stay for breakfast, they will pack a meal for you to eat on the road!

© Breakfast Part 1 Eating At Grootbos, Gansbaai

The food is generous and overall, 3 wonderful meals a day can be expected.

© Breakfast Part 2 Eating At Grootbos, Gansbaai

Disclaimer: Dave and I were invited to spend one night at Grootbos in exchange for a blog post about their month of love promotion, and a blog post about our visit. We were responsible for the payment of our drinks and any other additional charges. This is in line with my blogging policy.

I have broken down my experience into three posts. This is the second post.

What I blogged:

two years ago – Friday’s Food Quiz Number 52

Tandy

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Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Tandy

Since I have been blogging I have come across a lot of queries for dishes that I consider run of the mill. Chicken stir fry is one of them. If I had not seen a query for one, I would never have through to write down what goes into my stir fry. The dish will change a bit depending on my mood, what is in my fridge and what my taste buds are calling for. However, when I decided to write down a recipe for a stir fry I bought the ingredients I would most likely use time and time again. To me, chicken is the easiest protein to stir fry. There is very little risk of it being dry, under cooked or even over cooked. It is easy to slice and takes on robust flavours well. It is also an ingredient easily available, no matter where you live. There are no fancy tricks to getting a stir fry right. You need a wok preferably as it conducts heat better. Luckily for me I have a serious gas burner as this works best when stir frying. But, an ordinary large frying pan and an electric hob will work just as well. You need an oil that does not have a low smoke point – olive oil is not good for stir frying and peanut or ground nut oil is best. You need to cut the vegetables uniformly and add them to the wok in the order they need to cook in – the ones that take the longest get added first. Use my stir fry recipe as a guideline to get you started if you have never made a stir fry before, or use it as inspiration for your next stir fry meal if this is something you cook often.

do you enjoy stir frying?

Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, sliced
5mls cornflour
10mls soy sauce
Zest and juice of 1 lime
2.5mls sambal oelek
5mls galangal paste
15mls ground nut oil
1 carrot, julienned
3 baby pak choi, sliced lengthwise
¼ head cauliflower, shaved to resemble rice
Fresh coriander for garnishing

Method:

Rub the cornflour into the chicken
Mix together the soy, lime zest, sambal oelek and galangal
Coat the chicken pieces and leave to stand for an hour
Remove from the marinade
Heat the oil in a wok and brown the chicken
Add the pak choi and allow to wilt
Add the carrots and the lime juice
Serve on a bed of raw cauliflower ‘rice’
Garnish with coriander and serve

http://tandysinclair.com/chicken-stir-fry-recipe/

For conversions click here

What I blogged:

one year ago – Fruit And Nut Bread
three years ago – Taste Restaurant

Tandy

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Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Whiskey Beach, Nora Roberts

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Tandy

I think I have an obsession with Nora Roberts’ books. This is the 42nd one I have read. Part of my obsession has to do with the fact that her books are very predictable and I think they follow a set pattern. I will explore this further when next I get a Nora Roberts book to review.

Whiskey Beach opening line: Through the chilly curtain of sleet, in the intermittent wash of the great light on the jutting cliff to the south, the massive silhouette of Bluff House loomed over Whiskey Beach.

Nora Roberts knows how to set the scene from her first words, and in Whiskey Beach the house is central to the story. This is a love story interwoven with a murder mystery and in Chapter 1 Eli, the accused meets Abra, the woman who will save him. It takes them until chapter 9 to kiss after an argument and another 4 chapters before they have wild, passionate sex. Nora Roberts’s sex scenes are descriptive and plentiful, in all of her books. In chapter 24 Abra realizes she is in love with Eli but only tells him in Chapter 27. Of course, it takes Eli – a typical male – a whole chapter to realize that he too is in love with Abra. This book, like all the others I have read ends with a marriage proposal.

First published in Great British in 2013 by Piatkus. ISBN number 978-0-7499-5813-8. Paperback. 484 pages.

Whikey Beach is not just a love story, and if you can get over the formula feel that her books exude, I think this is a good read. It is a light hearted romance with a decent mystery story to go with it. It made for very light easy reading.

Disclaimer: I was sent the book to review by Penguin Books South Africa. I was not required to write a positive review. This is in line with my blogging policy.

What I blogged:

one year ago – Fridays’ Food Quiz Number 20
two years ago – Boudin Blanc Ravioli With A Sage Buerre Noisette
three years ago – The Perfect Steak

Tandy

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Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Roasted Butternut Soup Recipe

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Tandy

I am busy reading through my copy of Tom Kitchin’s first recipe book and slowly making my way through the recipes. It is a seasonal book, and as I have had it a year I am nearly done with the review. One of the recipes I chose to make from his book was an adaptation of his roasted pumpkin soup. I never buy pumpkins because of their size and so I adapted the recipe to use butternut instead. I also changed up a few things and I believe that the testament of a good recipe is if it works well with adaptations. And, this soup was fantastic. This month the Women’s Health magazine is featuring butternut recipes made from 4 celebrity chefs. To tie in with this, I am giving you my roasted butternut soup recipe. Dave is not a big fan of butternuts and so I usually just roast them and serve them plain. This soup was far from plain, and the roasted pumpkin seeds made all the difference!

do you prefer butternut or pumpkin?

Roasted Butternut Soup Recipe

adapted from From Nature To Plate page 160

Ingredients:

for the base

15mls pumpkin seed oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
5cm root ginger, peeled and sliced
5 sprigs thyme
1 cinnamon quill
5 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
500mls vegetable stock

for the butternut

1 large butternut, peeled and cubed – reserve the pips for the soup base
15mls olive oil
10mls ground cumin

for the roasted pumpkin seeds

40g dried pumpkin seeds

for the soup

salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

for the base

Heat the oil in a large pot and sweat off the onion
Add the celery, carrot and ginger and cook until soft
Add the thyme, cinnamon, garlic, stock and butternut pips and bring to the boil
Cover and simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients

for the butternut

Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius
Toss the butternut in the olive oil and cumin and place into a roasting pan
Roast for 30 minutes
Remove the butternut, reserving the oil in the pan, and set aside

for the roasted pumpkin seeds

Reduce the oven temperature to 180° Celsius
Place the pumpkin seeds into the roasting pan and toss into the oil
Roast for 5 minutes and then give them another mix before roasting for a further 3 minutes
Tip them onto a paper towel to soak up the excess oil

for the soup

Pass the stock through a chinois using the back of the ladle to get all of the liquid out of the ingredients
Place the stock back into your soup pot and add the butternut
Use a stick blender to purée until smooth
Adjust the seasoning using a generous amount of black pepper
Reheat and serve with the roasted pumpkin seeds as a garnish