pantone801

Sheepish Cracker Soup

// July 25th, 2010 // Food, Fun Stuff

I saw this recipe on Design Sponge a while ago and bookmarked it for a day when I have the time to try it out. Last weekend, with miserable weather was perfect to be eating soup and spending time in the kitchen carefully cutting out the shapes for the sheep cracker. I guess he should be standing in a green soup, but the capsicum and tomato soup is one of my favourites, and so easy to make. I make a large batch and freeze the extra portions for later in the week or to have for lunch. Link to the template on Design Sponge is broken, so I redrew the sheep myself (PDF Here). I’d like to get the shapes made as cookie cutters, maybe I will svae the for a future project and get them made by Ponoko.

Things you’ll need:
rolling pin
2 cups of plain flour
3/4 tsp. of baking powder
Sheepie templates (PDF link)
salt, black pepper, & rosemary (optional)
pastry blender for ‘cutting’ in the shortening/butter
1/3 cup of shortening or butter
sharp knife for cutting out sheep parts
measuring spoons
fork to poke the ’saltine style’ holes in Sheepie’s side
2 chopsticks to achieve even thickness in the dough when rolling it out
1/6 cup of milk
1/2 cup water
Patience. These guys take a while to cut out.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
Mix flour, a pinch of the salt, & baking powder in a bowl.
Cut in shortening or butter with pastry blender until mixture has consistency of coarse meal.
Add liquid and stir to form a dough.
Roll into a very thin sheet, using the chopsticks on either side of your dough to help get uniformity. * It’s also not a bad idea, if you have one, to use a Silpat silicone cooking mat to roll out on. It makes it much easier to get the delicate pieces off!
Place Sheepie templates on dough and use your sharp knife to trace the templates, cutting out the pieces.
Repeat this tedious but ultimately rewarding task until you have enough parts for how many sheep you want to make. !! Remember that each sheep needs two legs! And it’s a good idea to make a few extra parts in case any warp or brake.
Place all the pieces, using a thin spatula, carefully onto an un-greased cookie sheet.
Prick the sheep body with your fork 4-5 times and sprinkle with remaining salt, pepper, & rosemary, if using.
Bake 6-7 minutes.
Remove from cookie sheet and let sit on a cooling rack until they are cool enough to handle.
Tab & slot the pieces together (illustration for this on template pdf sheet – read below) If a leg or ear piece is not sliding on easily, don’t force it or they will break. Take your knife and gently shave the slots on both body & matching part a bit at a time until they fit.

Roast Capsicum & Tomato Soup
ingredients
4 capsicums halved
8 tomatoes halved
splash of olive oil
3 cups vegetable stock
basil
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan
crusty bread

Pre heat oven to 220°C. Cut capsicum in half and remove seeds. Place in oven tray with halved tomatoes skin side up and roast for 30-40 mins or until capsicums skins have started to blacken. Remove from oven and place capsicums in plastic bag and allow to sweat for 5 mins. Remove from the bag. Peel off and discard the capsicum skins. Place remaining flesh and the roasted tomatoes in a food processor with the stock and blend until smooth. Heat soup on the stovetop until hot and stir through the basil. Season with the salt and pepper to desired taste. And top with parmesan.