Are you a fiddler? Because I definitely am. No, I’m not coming clean about my ADD or professing some kind of musical gift, rather I’m talking about recipe fiddling. That insatiable urge to tamper, alter or tweak a new recipe into submission, before you’ve even got a chance to know each other. I hear that there are people out there who don’t do this. Have read that some cooks like to make a dish as written, particularly on a first attempt. Are you one of these people? If so, please speak up, because I’m longing to know how on earth you do it.

The other day I mentioned that I was dying to try Orangette‘s Cream-Braised Brussels Sprouts, and it’s true. This recipe has been on my mental to-make list for months, if not years. However it seems like Brussels sprouts and cream are opposing forces in my house; fate seems to ensure that I never have both in the fridge at the same time. But lo and behold, I recently found myself possessed of both sprouts and cream, as well as a desire to eat. So what did I do?

Why, I fiddled of course. I decided that instead of listening to fate, instead of heeding Molly’s advice or the advice of the 60+ positive comments on her post, I was going to make this dish different. Better, even. Instead of cream, I’d use coconut milk! Instead of butter, olive oil and toasted cumin seeds. While we’re at it, why not throw some cannellini beans in there, as well? (Regular readers know this is a favourite meal-maker of mine.)

And yes, it was delicious. And yes, more filling (with a side of brown rice) than the original would have been. But now I still haven’t made the Cream-Braised Brussels Sprouts, and I’ve got another recipe with which to distract me from them. See where fiddling gets you?

• Coconut-braised Sprouts with Cannellini Beans
• adapted from Cream-Braised Brussels Sprouts from Orangette
• serves 2 as a main
• 3/4 tsp. cumin seeds
  1 Tbs. olive oil
  200g washed, trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts
  1 1/2 cups coconut milk
  1 x 400g can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  1 Tbs. lemon juice
  dash soy sauce
  sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  2 Tbs. finely chopped cashews (optional)
  2 Tbs. desiccated unsweetened coconut
• 1. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over high heat and add the cumin seeds. Shake and toast the seeds for about 30 seconds until very fragrant. Add olive oil and allow to coat the bottom of the pan.
  
  2. Add the sprouts to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, tossing a couple times to ensure some nice browning. Pour in the coconut milk, turn the heat to low and cover. Cook for 15 minutes before adding the cannellini beans, then continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.
  
  3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir; the coconut milk will have reduced to a thick, golden sauce by now. Stir in the lemon juice and soy sauce, and season to taste. Serve, with the cashew/coconut topping, if using.
  
  4. To make the topping, heat a small pan over very high heat and add the chopped cashews. As soon as they start to brown, add the coconut and toast everything together, keeping the pan moving, for another 30 seconds or so.

I’m back from a wonderful, if slightly different, Christmas break by the English seaside. Quality time with Andrew’s family, long walks and delicious meals made up my holiday. Actually I’ve been home since Monday, only the vast amount of food I’ve recently consumed, the abundance of restaurants in my neighbourhood and The Matrix trilogy on TV have all been keeping me from posting here.

I was the lucky recipient of several food-related gifts, including four cookbooks, two silicone baking pans, a pair of oven mitts and a mysterious implement which most closely resembles a wire comb (Andrew found it useful for brushing his hair), but my sister informed me yesterday is actually a vintage Angel food cake separator. I’ve never made Angel food cake before, but clearly I’m going to have to start.

My most exciting foodie gift was two boxes of Moo cards, which Andrew ordered and wrapped up for my stocking. I’ve now got a selection of colourful business cards for Kitchenist, Kitchenisms and Kitchlit, and I plan to annoy and accost all I meet with them. I’m curious- what did everyone else get for the holidays?

But enough about gifts; this is a cooking blog, after all. Today I’m sharing a simple but delicious soup perfect for that most reviled of Christmas leftovers: the Brussels sprout. Of course you all know that I love these miniature green cabbages, but sadly, many do not. So if you’ve got some Christmas Day hangers-on sitting around in your fridge, this would be a great way to use them up.

The recipe hails from Rachel Allen’s Home Cooking, a Christmas gift of mine and a gem of a cookbook. I’ve already made four recipes in two days from this book, and this soup was possibly my favourite of the bunch. On the surface, it’s just your run-of-the-mill recipe for puréed vegetable soup. Take one onion, one potato and some green things, cook in stock until tender, purée and stir in cream.

But the trimmings here make this dish so much more than that. A dollop of chive cream and a sprinkling of toasted almonds work together to ensure that “leftovers” is the furthest thing from your mind when eating this. If you ignore the presence of the butter and cream, you’ll also feel like you’re doing something good for your body. That, coupled with the fact that it’s practically effortless to make, mean this soup is the perfect post-holiday meal, easing us back into regular life.

• Brussels Sprout Soup with Chive Cream and Almonds
• adapted from Home Cooking by Rachel Allen
• serves 4
• For the soup:
  1 Tbs. butter
  1 onion, finely chopped
  1 large potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ cubes
  sea salt and black pepper
  400g trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts, pre-cooked or raw
  1 litre vegetable stock
  50ml single cream
  
  To serve:
  50ml whipping cream
  2 Tbs. finely chopped chives (or scallions, green parts only)
  4 Tbs. flaked almonds
• 1. Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and potato, season with salt and pepper and stir to coat. Turn the heat down to low and cover; cook for 10-12 minutes until the potato is soft. Stir occasionally and add a splash of water if the mixture is sticking.
  
  2. Add the sprouts and pour in the stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes until sprouts are tender and hot through. (You will need less time for cooked sprouts, more for raw.) Remove soup from the heat and purée using an immersion blender, or blend in batches with the food processor. Stir in the cream and reheat the soup over a very low heat while you make the toppings.
  
  3. Put the whipping cream in a clean bowl and whisk to form soft peaks, and then stir in the chives or scallions. Toast the almonds lightly in a small dry pan until beginning to turn golden. Serve the soup in bowls with a dollop of cream on top and the chives scattered over.