SPICY MUSSEL, CELERIAC & CAULIFLOWER CHOWDER

SERVES 6 / PREPARATION 30 MINUTES / COOKING 30 MINUTES

I AM A FIRM BELIEVER that a hearty bowl of soup is a complete meal. A balance of vegetable, protein and carbs packed into a bowl and eaten simply with a spoon is my idea of comforting bliss. The question is, with many of us reducing our meat intake, or with some family members with a plant-based lifestyle, how do we pack flavour into the bowl, without the rich, thickening, umami kick of a meat-based stock?

There are many tricks you can use to add flavour when not using a meat base in soups. Cooking onions and other vegetables well at the start of cooking is a great place to start. The longer you cook them, the more flavour they will have and I find a sprinkle of salt at the beginning really helps with that.

There are plenty of umami flavour-bomb ingredients you can use, but don’t feel restricted by keeping cuisines authentic. Miso, Marmite, cheese, soy pastes and sauces all add amazing umami flavour. If your diet is not strictly plant-based, fish sauce is magic; I add a splash to many fish and vege dishes – you can’t actually taste it but it adds wow.

Seaweed is great for boosting the umami flavour in soups. Kombu is famously packed with umami, but any chunkystyle, dried seaweed works perfectly, and I love it when the seaweed almost dissolves into the soup. I have been using wild wakame from Pacific Harvest, or Korean dried kelp in my soups.

Another great thing about soups is they can be easily adapted to what vegetables you have on hand. Add vegetables at appropriate times to allow them to cook and add more liquid as and when needed; liquid evaporates at different rates depending on temperature and pot size, so top up with water as you need to, a little at a time, so the soup doesn’t become too watery.

Who doesn’t love a thick, creamy chowder in winter? Here I have really upped the vegetables with celeriac and cauliflower to make a smooth, velvety soup that needs a lot less cream. If you wanted to make this purely plant-based, you could omit the mussels and cream and add 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika with the other spices and perhaps a can of chickpeas or beans for protein.

1kg fresh mussels, scrubbed

50g butter or 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 medium floury potatoes, peeled, chopped into 3cm cubes 1 medium celeriac

(about 500g), peeled, cut into 2cm cubes 3cm piece ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1-2 green chillies, finely chopped 6 stalks curry leaves, stalks discarded 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, ground

(or 1 teaspoon pre-ground coriander) 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground ½ teaspoon ground turmeric ½ teaspoon salt

500g cauliflower, cut into small florets 200g smoked mussels, chopped 1 tablespoon lemon juice 100ml cream (optional)

4 tablespoons plain oil, for frying 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds naan bread, to serve

Bring 1 cup of water to the boil in a large pot. Add the mussels, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove all the open mussels. If any are unopened move them around a bit, cover for another minute or two then remove. Discard any that remain unopened. Strain the liquid into a measuring jug and top up with water to get 1½ litres.

Cool the mussels a little then remove from their shells, cut in half and set aside.

Heat the butter or oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onion with a sprinkle of salt for 5 minutes. Add the potato, celeriac, ginger, garlic, chilli and half the curry leaves and fry for 1 minute. Add the coriander, cumin and turmeric and fry for another minute.

Add the measured liquid and salt and bring to the boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Blend to a smooth soup with a stick blender (or cool slightly and transfer to a food processor or blender). Return to the pot and stir in the mussels, smoked mussels, lemon juice and cream (if using) and warm through.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the remaining curry leaves and cook for about 30 seconds, watching out for splatters. Scoop out and drain on paper towels. Add the mustard seeds and cook for 30 seconds then remove from the heat. Divide the soup between warmed bowls and spoon over some curry leaves and mustard seed oil. Serve with naan bread, if desired.