Party Starters

Starters make your party started right.  Here are Simran Dhanju’s ‘Sage Mushroom Soup’ and ‘Rustic Stuffed Cheese Garlic Bread’ starters recipes that have you sorted. 

Rustic Stuffed Cheese Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 round French bread
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 cup parsley leaves, loosely packed
• 125ml olive oil
• 1/8tsp salt
• 12gms fresh buffalo mozzarella, grated
• 125 mature cheddar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 200˚C.
2. Hedgehog the bread into 1-inch thick cubes by slicing lengthwise and crosswise, but do not cut all the way through.
3. Add garlic, parsley, olive oil and salt in an electric blender and blend. Using a pastry brush, apply the garlic oil in between the bread cubes; cover with aluminium foil, place in the oven for 10 minutes.
4. Remove bread from the oven, combine mozzarella and cheddar cheese and stuff it in between the bread cubes, place back in the oven for 15 -20 minutes, until cheese is melted and bread is crusty. Serve as it is or with soup.

Simran is a celebrated chef and a winner of multi cooking competitions; she creates visual delights artfully by merging traditional flavours.

A delicious vegetarian soup as a starter…

Sage and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1. 250gms button mushrooms, sliced
2. 1 medium onion, chopped
3. 1 tbsp sage leaves, roughly chopped
4. 500ml vegetable stock
5. 1tbsp cooking cream
6. Freshly ground pepper for seasoning
7. 4-5 Basil leaves
8. 2-3 sage leaves
9. 2tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Pour oil in a small shallow pan; warm up the oil, taking care not to overheat it.
2. Keeping the flame low, add basil and sage leaves to the oil, just for a few seconds until it turns translucent. Drain on absorbent paper.
3. In the same oil, add 2 tablespoons of mushrooms and sauté until well roasted, drain on absorbent paper and season with little salt and pepper.
4. Now pour that same oil into a saucepan, heat and add onions, sauté for two minutes. Add rest of the mushrooms and sage, roast until it turns little brown in colour.
5. Follow that by adding the vegetable stock; simmer for 5 minutes on low flame, add cream, stir and remove from heat. Blend it to a smooth consistency.
6. Serve hot soup garnished with sautéed mushroom, sage and basil leaves and season with pepper.

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