Croutons Recipe Jamie Oliver Food

SUPERB SQUASH SOUP

Steps:

• Peel and finely chop the onions, carrots and garlic, then trim and finely chop the celery. Deseed and finely chop the chilli. Pick and finely chop the rosemary.
• Heat a couple of lugs of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the sage leaves and fry for 30 seconds, or until crisp, then remove to kitchen paper.
• Place the pan of flavoured oil back on the heat, add the onion, carrot, garlic, celery, chilli, rosemary and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then cook gently for 10 minutes, or until sweet and soft.
• Meanwhile, halve, deseed and rough chop the squash. When the time's up, add the squash and stock to the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
• For the croutons, drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta, pat it in, then finely grate and press some grated Parmesan on to each side. Place in a dry, non-stick pan and fry until golden on both sides.
• When the squash is tender, whiz the soup with a stick blender or pour it into a blender and pulse to a smooth purée - leave it slightly chunky, if you prefer.
• Season to perfection with salt and pepper, then divide between bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each.
• Sprinkle with a few crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of quality extra virgin olive oil, then serve.

SUPERB SQUASH SOUP WITH THE BEST PARMESAN CROUTONS

Steps:

• Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of glugs of olive oil.
• Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with paper towels - you'll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you'll be left with a beautifully flavored oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chile and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around 30 minutes.
• While the soup is cooking, make your croutons. Drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta slices, and press some grated Parmesan onto each side. Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and fry until golden on both sides.
• When the squash is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with an immersion blender or pour it into a standard blender and pulse until you have a smooth puree* (but you can leave it slightly chunky if you like). Most importantly, remember to taste and season it until it's perfect. Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

HOMEMADE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut bread into cubes and place in a large bowl. Drizzle cubes with olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Mix well.
• Spread seasoned bread onto a sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes.

HOMEMADE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Rub the whole garlic clove over both sides of the sourdough. Tear it into rough chunks and toss with the oil, a good pinch of salt and the seeds.
• Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins until golden and crisp. Mix with the chopped parsley. Sprinkle on soup or a salad for added crunch.

TENDER ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• This works great as a stand-alone recipe, but also as a component in Jamie's Sunny Gathering from Together - see the full collection of menus here.
• GET AHEAD Roughly chop the green part of the spring onions and place in a blender with the mustard, vinegar and 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Tear in three-quarters of the parsley leaves, add a swig of water and blitz until smooth. Season to perfection, tasting and tweaking, then cover. Pick the remaining parsley leaves into a bowl, then trim, finely slice and add the whites of the spring onions, and cover with water. Refrigerate both overnight.
• ON THE DAY Put a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Finely slice the bacon, chop the bread into 1cm chunks, and place it all in the pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a good pinch of black pepper. Cook for 15 minutes, or until golden and crisp, tossing regularly. Keep in the pan, ready to reheat. Divide the dressing between a large serving bowl and a smaller bowl, ready for drizzling. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus, then cook in a large pan of boiling water for 3 minutes, or until just tender. Use tongs to transfer the asparagus straight into the larger bowl of dressing, tossing to coat. Gently lower the eggs into the boiling water with a pinch of sea salt to cook for 6 minutes, then drain, cool under cold running water, and peel.
• TO SERVE Heat up the croutons. Halve the eggs and dot among the asparagus. Drain the parsley and spring onion garnish, pat dry, then scatter over the top, and take everything to the table - the asparagus will be delicious hot, warm or cold. I enjoy this starter with a glass of quality cold sparkling cider.

ROQUEFORT SALAD WITH WARM CROUTONS AND LARDONS

Steps:

• ;
• Put a large frying pan on a high heat, and once hot, add a good couple lugs of olive oil.
• Cut your bacon into thick 1/2-inch/1 cm lardons, and add to the pan. Fry, stirring occasionally, for around 3 minutes, or until you've got a good bit of colour on the bacon and a lot of the fat has rendered out. Turn the heat down a little and add your bread to the pan, making sure you spread the croutons out so they take on some colour. Fry for another 3 minutes, or until they've sucked up all the wonderful flavour and are lovely, crisp, and golden.
• For the dressing:
• Put the extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and a good pinch of salt and pepper into a clean jam jar. Put the lid on and give it a shake, then have a taste and make sure you've got the balance right. Cook's Note: You want it to be slightly too acidic at this stage, as you'll get quite a bit of saltiness from the bacon and French dressings tend to be quite sharp.
• For the salad:
• Once your dressing is made, get everyone around the table so they're ready to tuck in as soon as the salad is ready. Put your lamb's lettuce (mache) on a big platter, tear in the radicchio, then pour over that wonderful, thick dressing. Scatter over most of your walnuts and chives and all the croutons and lardons. Quickly mix it all up with your clean hands so that every single leaf is coated.
• Use the tip of a knife to crumble off little nuggets of Roquefort and let them fall straight on to your salad. Finish by scattering over the rest of the walnuts and chives from a height, and tuck in!

CHEF JOHN'S HOMEMADE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
• Stir olive oil and garlic together in a bowl. Let sit at room temperature until flavors are infused, about 3 hours.
• Place bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour garlic oil through a strainer onto the bread; toss to coat bread with oil. Add 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Italian seasoning, paprika, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper; toss to coat. Spread bread cubes out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn croutons and bake 15 minutes more. Push croutons together with a spatula so that they are in a compact rectangle on the baking sheet and no longer spread out; sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top. Bake until cheese is melted and the bread is crispy and crunchy, 10 to 15 minutes more.

CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Remove crusts from stale bread slices. Brush bread on both sides with melted butter. Cut bread slices up into small cubes. Sprinkle with garlic salt (if desired). Arrange cubes on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until browned. Let cool. Store croutons in a covered container or plastic bag. Serve in soups or salads.