carrots | The grub worm

Spicy sweet potato and carrot soup

Posted on 17 January 2012 by The Grubworm

Sweet potato and carrot soup

Soup is a constant. From slurping French onion soup at Gatwick as a child to being blown away by the sour spicy hit of Tom Yam on my first trip East, soup appears all over the world. It must answer a deep seated need for nourishment and warmth that goes beyond simple degrees celsius.

Sometimes, particularly when I’m under the weather, I crave a clear meaty broth, simple chicken and ginger or a more complex Pho – which many consider to be the ultimate soup. Clean, crisp and subtle flavour. Other times, when it’s cold and I’m hungry, I need a soup with substance. Something that will slide thickly over the tongue, smooth and soothing and full of taste. Continue reading →

Boudin blanc with carrot, apple and potato

Posted on 23 November 2010 by The Grubworm

Boudin blanc with carrot, potato and apple mess

Boudin blanc are strange wobbly looking things, like great white worms, all smooth and soft. And just a wee bit alien and creepy. There is no sign of the rough fat laced meat bursting through the skin that you get with a banger.

I spotted them in the wonderful Wazemme food market in Lille, nestled among all manner of strange and wonderful sausagy concoctions. And having eaten in a restaurant named for them, I couldn’t resist buying a couple, despite having no idea what they were or how they are cooked. Continue reading →

A South Asian influenced feast

Posted on 25 January 2010 by The Grubworm

Sometimes you start off with the kernal of an idea that just grows until it’s way beyond your control, taking on a life of it’s own, just like Jack’s magic beans. This started off when I glanced at What’s for Lunch Honey’s Channa Palak recipe a few days ago . I mentally filed it away as something I wanted to try out. That mind running along a South Asian spice track, and then, heading back to the same blog I found a Spicy bream recipe and thought I could adapt that to some wild salmon. I figured the strong almost gamey flavour of the fish would stand up to spices well.

And everything just sprouted uncontrollably from there. I needed rice to go with it, but rather than soothe and mollify, I wanted it to complement and almost compete with the salmon. So I matched the paprika-laced oily fish flavours with sweet and scented saffron and raisins. They made a glorious juxtaposition and both were backed up by the simpler, more rustic chickpea and spinach. Continue reading →