We sat the winner of the Woolworths home-made soup recipe competiton - Allan Haschick - down to find out who's behind such a fab bean and boerewors soup.
What inspired you to create the winning bean and boerewors soup recipe?
My mother used to sometimes make bean soup, and to round it off as a more complete meal, she would serve it with some boerewors or perhaps frikkadels (meatballs) on the side (see image below of the winning soup, prepared by our own Abigail Donnelly and photographed for the September edition of TASTE magazine).
I considered how these flavours sort of work together, and could be combined to make a rather unsual soup. This is especially interesting when you consider all the flavours that go into making boerewors.
For me the addition of boerewors could make the soup not only more hearty, but add a layer of extra flavours to what would be a boring bean soup. Also, it could not just be bean soup with some sausage thrown in, you had to extract and maximise on all the flavours that go into the recipe, so the technique of putting the soup together is vitally important.
This inspiration comes from making classic French onion soup, of which I got some really good tips from the Trish Paris Kitchen cooking program.
Do you love cooking, and/or would you consider yourself a foodie?
People who know me well, know that I have three major passions in life, gardening, music and cooking. Both my mother and Grandmother are great bakers, so the interest in some form of cooking or baking stems from there.
But that said, I never really cooked or was interested in cooking from a young age. Both my parents cooked, but were very conservative in what was served at home, and it was only when I left home to study Horticulture in Durban, that I discovered new flavours and ingredients and creative cooking.
Being a creative person, I revelled in trying out new dishes or flavours, and this has grown over the last decade. I would definitely consider myself a foodie now.
Who inspires you?
I am addicted to the BBC lifestyle cooking programs (Heston Blumenthal is very inspirational, I love Jamie Oliver's spontaneity and use of fresh ingredients and Nigella for her unhindered passion for food and eating) and often read recipe books in bed (I have a huge collection as well as indexed collection of mag cut-outs).
For me one of the most important things regarding cooking is understanding the science and techniques behind recipes, because if you have a thorough understanding of these, you can apply them practically, without having to always follow a recipe.
So I seldom use or follow a whole recipe, but adjust or adapt or apply what suits my needs or the list of ingredients I have. I also love to teach and share recipes and cooking with everyone I know.
How often do you cook?
I cook quite often (about 4-5 times a week). The cooking is shared between my wife and I, depending on who feels like cooking (usually me), or who is home first. My wife Diane often tells people that she cooks the normal food, and I do all the grand cooking.
We entertain regularly, where, unsurprisingly, I usually experiment on my guests with new recipes (quite risky, I know).
What kind of food/cuisine is your favourite?
I have a sweet tooth, so I have to say that baking is my first love. I especially love deserts and puddings, which is where most of my experimenting lies.
What inspired you to enter the competition? (other than the money, of course!)
Knowing how I love experimental cooking, a friend insisted that I should enter, so she emailed me your newsletter with the link to encourage me to enter.
I had quite a number of very unusual soup recipes so I thought I may just have a chance. Then my creativity set in... and you got a few new recipes too!
What are you going to do with the prize/ gift card? And have you spent any of it yet? If so, what did you buy?
R50 000 is a hefty sum to just splash out with, so I am being very conservative. As much as I would like to just buy loads of food, I would like to appreciate my prize after it has been spent too.
I have spent some on food (all sorts of foodie goodies like smoked paprika, sundried tomatoes in olive oil, tomato paste in a tube, some unusual spices etc) but am heading for a set of new frying pans, a new wok, updating some gadgets and tools like whisks, knives etc, and also looking for some clothes (for both of us) and perhaps new linen etc.
What’s your favourite kitchen gadget? And ingredient?
A good friend bought me a citrus zester (a rather rare and almost unobtainable tool I had been wanting for quite a while) for my birthday - and yes, it came from Woolworths!. I use it all the time, and it makes great garnishes with carrots, marrows etc too!
My favourite ingredient - would you laugh if I said flour? Yep, it is just so versatile; I could never be without it. LOL
Some of my fave ingredients (I can’t choose one) would be Parmesan cheese, sundried tomatoes in olive oil, sweet chilli sauce, cashew nuts, Danish feta, avocado’s......
What kind of stock would you advise people to use for their soup recipes, and how important is it?
I learned all about good quality stock from actually making my own. After watching a cooking programme about making risotto using your own stock, I decided I had to try it. Especially since the stock was made with the throw-away bits of your roast chicken. The difference was incredible, the taste of the risotto was way better than using a stock cube.
I have since discovered that you can buy better quality stock powder in tins, but home-made is vastly superior (and you also know exactly what has gone into it too!).
I often make stock in bulk (I freeze the carcases of the roast chicken or beef bones, till I have enough for a batch) and then freeze the stock in manageable sizes for use later. A little PT, but worth the effort.
Tell us a bit more about yourself:
What’s your day job?
I help manage a large Garden Centre in Port Elizabeth.
Are you married, and do you have children?
I have been married to Diane for almost 10 years with two doggie-children - Amber (Jack Russell) and Josephine (Bassett).
What are your loves of your life?
I love gardening, playing the keyboard, listening to music, writing (newspaper articles as well as a gardening book), eating and cooking and baking, food shopping, reading, flower arranging, ceramics, ......
How old are you? (if you don’t mind)
I am 35 years old.
SOUP RECIPES BY ALLAN
Allan entered a host of soups into the competition, and as a speacial treat has agreed for us to feature two of them here, for you to try.