Another Cook Off: Bread vs Soup

So, M was having a bad week. 

One of those weeks where time slipped through fingers, where nothing that needed to get done was moving forward, where meetings were delayed and customers weren’t responding to quotes.

There really is only one thing for weeks like this - well, two actually, but he is not the kind of man to pick administrative tasks over walking away*.  And the beauty of being your own boss is that you can walk away.

And the thing is, sometimes walking away, doing something completely different - sometimes that’s all that’s needed to make all the moving bits fall into place.

Me, wanting him to be useful even if he wasn’t working: “How about you make that bread you’ve always mentioned you could?”

Now, as much as I would love to be the kind of person that made bread, realistically I don’t have the patience for it.  Once upon a time, when I was young and wild, I had a bread maker.  I made a grand total of two loaves before the machine was relegated to the shed.  (More recently: if Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns still didn’t inspire me to bake sourdough… well, I’m a lost cause on the front.)

“Bread,” he said, getting up from his computer. “I can do that.”

While he used one side of the kitchen to make a mess with flour and water, I used the other to make something out of the broccoli that was threatening to turn yellow (it’s not M’s vegetable of choice, which means I secretly delight in buying it).

“Another cook-off,” I replied. “Bread versus Soup”

“Easy,” he grinned. “Carbs always win.”

“Maybe,” I concede, “but this soup has stilton. And I reckon cheese trumps bread**.”

Hers: Blue Cheese & Broccoli Soup

• 2 heads broccoli, chopped (I also use the stalks, because I hate throwing away perfectly good parts of veggies. Your soup just won’t be as bright a green)
• 1 potato, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• fat of choice (I use a combo of butter and canola oil for this one)
• 1-1.5L stock (depending on how thick you like it)
• 150g l]blue cheese

Heat up oil in a pot; add onion and fry until transparent.  Throw in potato and broccoli stalks with butter, and allow to sweat (lid on) for five-ish minutes, before pouring in the stock and simmering for another fifteen.  Add broccoli florets at this stage, and keep cooking for another five minutes***.

Because I don’t have a real blender, I use my immersion stick to break it down.  It’s not as silky smooth as it could be, but hey, it also saves on the washing up (and pantry space****).

Final step: break up and stir in the cheese (saving a few crumbs for garnish if you’re into that sort of thing)

His: Simple Focaccia

• 500mL warm water
• 1.5 tbsp yeast 
• 1.5 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 570g flour
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Thinly sliced garlic

Add the first four ingredients into a large mixing bowl, with a tablespoon of the flour.  Mix, cover and walk away for 10 minutes.

Time to get your hands dirty!

Add in the remaining flour, mix and take out to knead on a clean flat surface.  When the mixture is no longer sticky, roll it into a ball and slap it back into the bowl. If the ball cracks, it’s too dry and you should add more water, maybe a little oil, and repeat.

Once you have a nice, heavy (and not too sticky) ball that hasn’t cracked, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, and set it aside for around 1-2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 220C (200C fan-forced).

When ready, scrape the mix into your baking tray with oiled hands: about 2 inches thick.  Dimple with fingers, sprinkle over salt and garlic (and more oil!) and your choice of toppings: olives, semi-dried tomatoes and rosemary are all delicious; quick pickled onions work as well.

Bake for 15 minutes, until it is golden brown. Eat while warm.

_{* I, as an accountant, usually do pick administration I’ve managed to avoid thus far}

_{** And if you’re the type that hates blue cheese… well, this is a good way to try it. The soup mellows out the intensity.}

_{***  don’t worry too much about timings; I’ve forgotten this soup on the stove before and it turned out fine (... if perhaps a little greyer than usual!)}

_{**** I termed this efficient, until I presented this point of view to a software engineer.  “Efficiency of space,” he said, “is not necessarily the same as efficiency in time.”  And thus began a heated discussion on semantics that bored the rest of the lunchroom table.}