I haven’t been lucky with the rutabagas (swede) sold in my local store. They are usually big and mature with a lot of fibre. The other day I found a small one and decided to try Gordon Ramsay’s soup because I had been planning to make it for months. Below is what I did with my soup because I have come to a conclusion that Ontario rutabagas are not as soft as those found in the UK. I highly recommend you watch Gordon’s video before making the soup!
Please watch the video before making the soup…
Heat the olive oil and butter over medium high heat and sweat the onions, celery, thyme and cardamoms for 5-8 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add the swede, chilli flakes, some salt and maple syrup or honey, stir to combine thoroughly
then cover the pot and let simmer over medium high heat for 30 minutes until it caramelizes at the bottom. Add 2½ cups hot broth (stock) bring to the boil and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the rutabaga is tender (mine did not fall apart but it was fork tender).
Blend the hot soup until smooth then add the extra butter and cream blitz a few times to combine. Adjust seasoning, ladle the soup and lightly grate some nutmeg over (like snowflakes falling…)
and give a drizzle of olive oil. Serve.
Gordon Ramsay's Swede (Rutabaga) and Cardamom Soup
Preparation time: 15 minutes; Cooking time: 40-60 minutes; Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 30g (2 tablespoons) butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 stem celery strings removed and finely sliced
- 10 cardamom pods split open at the tip
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or a few sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 small 500g (1.1Ib) rutabaga (swede), peeled and diced
- ½-1 teaspoon red chilli flakes (optional)
- salt to taste
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (I used maple syrup, of course)
- 2½-3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (broth), boiled and kept hot
- 30g (2 tablespoons) butter, extra
- 150ml (2/3 cup) 35% cream
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil and butter over medium high heat and sweat the onions, celery, thyme and cardamoms for 5-8 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Add the swede, chilli flakes, some salt and maple syrup or honey, stir to combine thoroughly then cover the pot and let simmer over
medium high heatlow to medium heat for 30 minutes, keep stirring from time to time until it caramelizes at the bottom. If the honey or maple syrup is browning too fast-add a few tablespoons of water. - Add 2½ cups hot broth (stock) bring to the boil and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the rutabaga is tender (mine did not fall apart but it was fork tender).
- Blend the hot soup until smooth then add the extra butter and cream blitz a few times to combine. Adjust seasoning, ladle the soup and lightly grate some nutmeg over (like snowflakes falling…) and give a drizzle of olive oil. Serve.
- Last updated: December 3, 2023
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Comment: from Cynthia:
You NEED to change the wording to this because it burned my pot!!!
When you put the rutebegas in has to be set to LOW like the video and NOT medium high. I thought that was off, but followed it. Should have just followed the video vs the text.
Now I have to start over and potentially throw out my pot. Would not trust your recipes again.
Hello Cynthia
This is Liz, I am sorry that your soup got burnt-the medium high heat worked very well for me, because different brands of stove have different heat efficiency levels.
When cooking something you have never made before it’s always a good idea to monitor the pot every five minutes or so and adjust the heat level depending on your stove. That is why I said at the beginning, to watch the video before making the soup!
I will add on the wording-monitor and adjust the heat level
Thank you for the feed-back and please leave you message on the blog-in this section.
Liz
December 13 2023
What a great sounding flavour combination!, interesting that your swedes are often fibrous, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that here.
They are always fibrous and annoying. I wish I could get the same one’s you have over there!!! I am so busy trying to finish unpublished post. I want to start the New Year on a Fresh Note!!!! Have a lovely weekend ahead!
liz
Have a lovely weekend too, and I wish I had your berries! 🙂 Beck
I did have a lovely weekend!
Liz