Nil(ish) by mouth

  About a year and a half ago one of my teeth became the centre of a lot of drama. It had been previously filled but this filling had gone weird so it had to be dug out and replaced with, (joy of joys), a bit of root canal work. Last January, in the middle of the restaurant project, the tooth became infected so not only did I have to have the root canal redone but I was given the turbo doses of antibiotics that caused all the grief in my gut.

  Last week I could feel a niggle that meant a trip to the dentist was warranted. The X-ray showed that the recent procedure wasn't successful and the best course of action, (better than going through another bloody root canal), would be to have the tooth removed so, yesterday, out it came. Why am I telling you all this? A good question, especially as you're getting a bit worried that this blog might be turning into a catalogue of my ailments.

Before and After

  That incredibly long preamble is to explain why I'm eating soft things and why this morning I went off to find some broccoli to make one of the simplest soups I know. I've mentioned it here before but as you've forgotten, here's a reminder. Firstly, the list of ingredients is broccoli. You'll need some water too and you'll probably want to season it but as you already have water and seasoning all you'll need to buy is broccoli.

  Cut the top part into pieces and put them in a pan, but instead of throwing the stalk away, cut the fibrous outer layer away, cut up what's left and put it in the pan too with enough water to almost cover the broccoli. Apply heat and go read a book for about twenty minutes. If you have a hand blender (as discussed yesterday), now is a great time to use it. Scoop the super soft broccoli out of the pan, put it in a jug with a bit of the water and blitz it, adding some more of the water as necessary to achieve the right consistency. You could also do it in a liquidiser if you want, it works just as well.

  Finally, taste the vivid green goop and season to your liking. Broccoli has quite a mild flavour so bear that in mind if you're thinking of chucking in loads of garlic and lemon etc. Though things like that work well, go easy so you don't overwhelm the delicate brassica. Remember, there's nothing wrong with just adding a little sprinkle of salt and a drop of olive oil. Now you'll have to excuse me, I have an appointment with the tooth fairy.

​​​​​​​

Kirk out

Chefsebastian.com