It's Friday – and our experts are here to tell you how to get the most out of your weekend. Pauline Cooper talks to them
Eat itARTESAN TOMATO SOUP AND GOLDEN CROSS CHEESE HOVIS SURPRISE
This soup can be served as either a starter or a main course. It's easy it is to make, and its chunky nature makes it a pleasure to eat.
(Serves 6-8)
l 3 o
nions, chopped
l 3 carrots diced
l 3 celery sticks diced
l 50ml (2fl oz) olive oil
l 25g (1oz) unsalted butter
l 1 bay leaf
l 1 large garlic clove, crushed
l 6 smoked back bacon rashers, rinded and cut into strips
l 900g (2lb) ripe tomatoes, preferably plum
l 600-900 ml (1 - 1 1/2 pints) chicken or vegetable stock
l Small bunch of fresh basil, chopped
l Small bunch of fresh tarragon, chopped
l Tomato puree (optional, to taste)
l Salt and pepper
l 1 log (225g) Golden Cross goat's cheese
l 1 unsliced Little Brown Hovis Loaf
l 6-8tsp pesto
Sweat the chopped onions, carrots and celery in the olive oil and butter for a few minutes. Add the bay leaf and garlic and cook for a few more minutes.
Add the bacon and continue to cook for about five minutes until the vegetables are slightly softened.
Cut the tomatoes into eight pieces and add them to the vegetables, cover the pan and cook gently for about 15 minutes.
When the tomatoes have softened, start to add the stock, a ladle at a time, until you have a looser consistency.
After 20 minutes, add the chopped herbs and check for seasoning; you may find a little tomato puree will help the strength of taste.
For the Hovis surprise:
Slice the Hovis loaf into six medium slices and remove the crust. Using a rolling pin, roll the bread on cling film as thin as you can without breaking the bread.
Cut out the bread 10mm bigger than the circumference of your serving soup cup/bowl creating a bread disc. Bake the Hovis bread discs in an oven preheated to 200C for 10 minutes, until golden brown.
Ladle the soup into a soup cup and place two slices of goat's cheese on top.
Butter one side of the bread disc and cover the soup cup/bowl by placing the bread disc on top, butter side up. Add another two pieces of Golden Cross cheese to it.
Place the soup cup in the oven and bake further until the bread disc goes golden and the cheese has melted.
Add a teaspoon of pesto to the top of the cheese and serve.
Nest buildingIf you are lucky enough to have some spare room in your bedroom but aren't sure what to do with it then I'd suggest opting for a stylish chaise longue.
As opposed to a humble chair these 'part sofa, part bed' beauties will add a whole bucket full of glamour to your boudoir.
The recent popularity of French style furniture means that if you're after a chic chaise there is now more choice than ever before. The cinema chaise from Barker and Stonehouse (www.barkerandstonehouse.co.uk) is available in a multitude of different fabrics and the stylish scrolling design will make a great focal point for the room.
Place in front of a window for maximum effect and make sure the rest of the room is suitably glamorous.
Recommended by Barker & Stonehouse, Leeds.
The full article contains 583 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
