French pistou soup

When I was in southern France last fall, I heard about a vegetable soup called Pistou soup. Unfortunately, I never got to try it when I was in France, but once I got home I did a search for it.
Pistou soup is originally a summer vegetable soup, but people who know me, knows that I don't have patience to wait another six months to try a new recipe when I really, really want to try it. As in right now!


This recipe is from Taste, and I must admit it's one of the best soups I have ever tasted. Why this soup isn't as famous as Minestrone soup is beyond me.
I did one small change: I didn't have a can of mixed beans so I used butterbeans instead.
Also, make sure you use goos pesto, because it works wonders for the flavour!



Pistou soup

Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tbs olive oil
1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, cut into 1cm cubes
1 large potato, peeled, cut into 1cm cubes
2 cups (500ml) good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
1 tomato, peeled, seeds removed, cut into 1cm cubes
420g can four-bean mix, drained, rinsed
50g thin French or thin green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2cm lengths
1 large zucchini, chopped
4 tbs (1/3 cup) good-quality basil pesto
Chargrilled bread or baguette, to serve

Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan, add leek and sweat over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the carrot and potato and cook, stirring, for a further minute.

Add stock and 1 cup water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes, then add tomato, four-bean mix, French or green beans and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for a further 2 minutes, stir in half the pesto, then ladle into serving bowls.

Add a dollop of remaining pesto. Serve with bread.

Can spinach soup cure a sore throat and an aching body?

This is not a great way to spend a Sunday. I think I'm getting a cold. My throat is sore, my body aches and I'm freezing cold.
I have buried myself under a blanket with a hot cup of tea, and I'm planning on staying under this blanket until I feel better. Or at least for another hour or so.

I made spinach soup last week and it was really good, and I'm think I might make it again today. It's so easy to make, it's hearty and tastes great. What more can you ask for in a simple soup, really?

Spinach soup

1 pound fresh spinach, rinsed and stalks removed (if you are using baby spinach, you don't have to bother about removing the stalks)
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream (or half a cup of heavy cream and half a cup of milk if you want to use less fat)
1 tbsp dried basil
juice from one lemon
salt and pepper to taste.

Hard boiled eggs if youlike them in your spinach soup.

Saute the spinach in a pot with a little oil.
After a few minutes, the spinach will collapse. Then you add the vegetable stock and basil, and bring the soup to a boil. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add cream, and add salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup to a boil again, remove it from the plate and add the lemon juice.
NOTE: Don't bring the soup to a boil after you have added the lemon juice. The lemon juice will make the cream (or milk) separate if you bring it to a boil.

In blender or food processor, puree until smooth. Serve immediately.
I serve my soup with a hard boiled egg in the middle of the soup bowl. You could cut the egg in two to showcase the yellow wgg yolk. It would look beautiful against the green soup. But on this particular day, I was very hungry and my main priority was to get myself fed.

I'm on a soup roll

I have found that soups are easy, fast, nutritious and tasty. And they keep me warm on cold winter nights. What more can you ask for in a dish, really?

I found some beets in the store the other day. I have never cooked with beets before, so I was pretty excited. And a little scared. I have heard numerous stories from people who have cooked with beets, telling me that their kitchen looked like a slaughterhouse afterwards. My kitchen is all white, so I was a little concerned but as it turned out, I had nothing to be concerned about. The whole process went without accidents and my kitchen is still white.

I found this recipe in Bon Appétit, and I served it with freshly made sourdough bread with butter.

I madse a few changes to the original recipe. These were:

The only change I did was:

1) I baked the beets in the oven - in water - for an hour instead of in the microwave.
2) I doubled the amount of Chinese Five Spice, and I added a little more ginger than the recipe said.
I served the soup with a dollop of plain yogurt.

Here's the recipe:

Five-Spice Beet Soup

Yield: Makes 4 servings

4 2-to 2 1/2-inch-diameter beets, scrubbed, trimmed, unpeeled, each cut into 6 wedges (about 3 1/2 cups)
3 cups vegetable broth, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-size red onion, thinly sliced (2 cups)
1 celery stalk with leaves, stalk chopped, leaves sliced
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger (I doubled the amount of ginger)
1/4 teaspoon (or more) Chinese five-spice powder*(I also doubled the amount of spice)
Sour cream or plain yogurt


Place beet wedges in 4-cup glass measuring cup. Add 2 cups broth; cover with paper plate and microwave on high until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and chopped celery stalk; cover and cook until almost tender and translucent, stirring often, about 12 minutes.

Add beet mixture and 1 cup broth to onion mixture; cover and simmer 4 minutes. Mix in ginger and 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder. Transfer to blender; cover and puree. Season soup to taste with salt, pepper, and additional five-spice powder, if desired; rewarm if necessary. Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Top with dollops of sour cream or yogurt.

*A spice blend available in the spice section of most supermarkets.

Curry Lentil Soup

This soup is perfect for cold days. It's a classic combination of curry, garlic and ginger, and it tastes great.
(From Cuisine at Home)

CURRY-LENTIL SOUP

"Curry powders vary in spiciness - use more or less depending on how hot you prefer your soup."

INGREDIENTS:

1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 T. garlic, minced
2 T. fresh ginger, peeled, minced
1 T. curry powder
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes (I used 1/8 tsp very hot red pepper flakes)
Pinch of sugar
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup red lentils
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup heavy cream (coconut milk also works)
Salt to taste

Garnish- I never serve the soup with garnish on weekdays, only when I serve it to guests).

1/4 cup sweetened, shredded coconut, toasted
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
2 T. scallions, coarsely chopped
2 T. coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Saute onion in melted butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, 3-5 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, red pepper flakes, and sugar; saute about 1 minute.

Add broth, lentils, and lime juice. Simmer, uncovered, until lentils are soft, 15 - 20 minutes. (I simmered it about 30 minutes). Remove soup from heat.

OBS: DO NOT bring the soup back to boil after you have added the heavy cream. The lime in the soup will cause it to separate. Re-heat soup slowly over low heat and don't let it boil.

Stir in cream and salt.

Garnish soup with coconut, peanuts, scallions, and mint. (I omitted this).


Makes 4 Cups

From Cuisine at Home

So, what's new in the world?

I just got back from vacation.

I spent four wonderful weeks with family and friends and I came home tanned, broke and a few pounds heavier than I was when I left. In other words, I've hade a great time!

I have hardly cooked in four weeks so by the time I came home I couldn't wait to get back into the kitchen.

Also, with the temperature dropping and the rain starting, I was craving comfort food (- as opposed to weeks og BBQ food and salads.)

I created this tasty cauliflower soup but, alas, my company loved it too. It was all gone before I had the time to take a picture of it. I'm so sorry.

I hope the picture of the beautiful sky can compensate a little for it.....I took it while on vacation and I love the dramatic light around the clouds.

Here's the recipe for the cauliflower soup:

2 heads of cauliflower, rinsed and cut into flower heads

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

2 potatoes, peeled and sliced

2 quarts vegetable broth (equals 8 cups)

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon salt

a pinch of cayenne (I mean a really small pinch. The cauliflower is so delicate in taste the cayenne can easily overpower it.)

black pepper to taste

a small dash of heavy cream

Heat the vegetable broth in a large casserole. Add the vegetables, salt, pepper and cayenne. Bring to a boil and let it simmer until the vegetables are soft (about 40 to 50 minutes).

Let the soup cool a little before you run it through the food processor - you might have to do this in a few batches depending on the size of your food processor.
Pour the soup back to the casserole, add heavy cream and bring back to a boil before you serve it.

I served this soup with garlic bread.

Spicy curry soup

I'm currently trying to incorporate more vegetables into my diet.
That said, I have grown slightly tired of the green leaf salad. Or most salads, actually. (And we are not half way through summer. Doh!)
So I have turned to soups.
I'll probably grow tired of soups by autumn, but then I can always go back to salads. Until then, this is a wonderful soup that will satisfy most people. Even dedicated meat eaters, I believe.

This soup is tasty, spicy, filling and healthy.
What more can you ask from a single soup?
I serve it with whole grain rolls and garlic butter. It's delicious!


2 carrots
2 spring onions
1/4 root celery
1 yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1 inch fresh ginger
1 green apple
2-3 tablespoons canola oil or other vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 cup red lentils
1 15oz can coconut milk
2 quarts vegetable stock or vegetable bullion
juice from 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste


Peel and cube vegetables.
Peel and finely shred the ginger. Finely chop the garlic clove.
Peel and core apple. Cut it into cubes.

Heat the oil in a three quart casserole.
Saute vegetables and the apple cubes in oil for 2-3 minutes.
Add the spices, and saute for a couple of minutes more.
Add vegetable stock, coconut milk and lentils, and let boil for an hour.

Puree the soup in a food processor or with a hand held blender. (Make sure to keep the hand held blender well into the soup to avoid having it turn into a fiercy hot soupy vulcano.)

When pureed, add juice from 1/2 lime and salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato soup for cold days

After days of sunshine and warm weather, it turneed cold and wet today.
I was craving something to keep me warm, and nothing tastes better than a hearty, warm soup.
I started with a recipe from the Vegetarian Times, and after some twists and tweaks, this is what I ended up with:

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (about 1 tsp.)
12-oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed, then roughly chopped
3 (8-oz) cans chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 buillion cube
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup water
1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup macaroni


Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic and a little salt, and sautè for one minute more.
Add tomato paste to the onions. Stir well and make sure the onions are coated in the paste before you continue.
Stir in peppers, tomatoes, sugar, bullion and water thyme.
Simmer 20 minutes.
Transfer mixture to blender, and purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer back to pot. add water and macaroni, and let boil fro about 10 minutes under a lid. Remove pot from plate and stir in heavy cream.
Serve while still hot.