Lentil soup with caraway and minted yoghurt
Posted: January 3, 2013 Filed under: Soup, Vegetarian | Tags: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Lentils, Soup, Spices 1 Comment
What else to eat on the first day of the year, but a fragrant lentil soup to bring you good luck? For best results, eat it while standing on you right foot on top of a stool and holding a piece of gold in your hand. Wearing a bright red piece of clothing is an absolute must. When you are done with the soup proceed immediately to eat 12 grapes or raisins. Superstitious, me? Absolutely not – it is just my brain doing its job.
Lentil soup with caraway and minted yoghurt (adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall ‘s River Cottage Everyday)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 onions roughly chopped
- 2 carrots roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 350g red lentils
- 2 liters of water or vegetable stock
- 5 tablespoons of yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped mint
Method
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, until it is pipping hot. Then add the onions and carrots, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan with a lid and let the vegetables sweat until they have soften, stirring occasionally
2. In the meanwhile, toast the coriander and caraway seed in a small frying pan. Grind them a fine powder using a mortar or a grinder (it is not strictly necessary to do this, but it will help to get a more fragrant soup).
3. Once the vegetables are soft, add the ground spices and the garlic and let them fry fir a couple of minutes.
4. Add the lentils and mix well, until the lentils are covered with olive oil.
5. Pour the stock in the lentils and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft (about 15–20 minutes).
6. With a hand held mixer, purée until smooth. Add more water or stock if too thick.
7. Put the pan back in the stove and season to taste with salt and pepper. If necessary add the remaining spices. Let it simmer gently for about 5 min more.
8. To finish, whisk yoghurt and the mint. Put a dollop on top of the soup in each serving bowl
Carrot ginger soup
Posted: November 10, 2012 Filed under: Soup, Vegetarian | Tags: Carrots, Ginger, Soup 1 Comment
Apparently, my first chemical overexposure was to β-carotene. If legend is true, I convinced one of my Aunties to fed me with so many carrots I become orange, much to parents dismay. Unfortunately, I can no longer ask my Auntie whether this might have been slightly exaggerated for dramatic effects or indeed this was the beginning of a delictive career… In any case, the truth is that I love my carrots. Specially, if they come in the form of a colorful, light and soothing soup.
Carrot ginger soup
Ingredients
- 2 kg of onions, peeled and sliced
- 5 medium sized yellow yellow onion roughly chopped (about 1 kg)
- 2 large thumbs of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- about 1 liter of chicken stock (or water)
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil or butter as needed (enough to cover the bottom of the pan with a thick film)
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When is pipping hot, toss in the onion and generous pinch of salt and pepper. Let cook stirring occasionally, until soft (about 10min)
2. Add the carrots and the grated ginger and let them sweat for about 20min, until soft and fragrant
3. Add enough stock to cover the vegetables and increase the heat to medium-high to bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and let simmer until the carrots are very tender. It will take about 45 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and using a hand held mixer , puree the soup. (if you prefer a smoother texture, strain the pure through a sieve)
4. Bring the soup to the heat, add another spoon of olive oil and check for salt. Let simmer for about 15min.
5. If you wish, add some nutmeg.
Cooking classes with the Laughing Lemon: cauliflower soup
Posted: September 1, 2012 Filed under: Cooking class, Soup, Vegetarian | Tags: cauliflower, Cooking class, Laughing Lemon, Soup 1 Comment
“Mum, guess what?” I said on the phone , “I am taking a cooking class about soups!”. A big silence followed. A few seconds latter, a very distressed sister came to the phone. “Who are you, what have you done with Burntsugar and why are you torturing my Mother?”. Err… I probably was not tactful enough to break up the news that indeed I now like soup and even take the time to cook it. Everyone in the family vividly remember epic fights about plates of soup not being promptly finished, if eaten at all. So, enrolling in a soup class could only the result of something one very wrong – but very very wrong.
Recipe books have fantastic recipes of soups, packed with flavors and textures to go with the kilometric list of ingredients, but… where is my basic recipe? And what happened to my broths? And my stocks? As soon as I saw the basic soup techniques on the Laughing Lemon, I knew I had to do it… My Mother wouldn’t obviously start teaching me know and pass all the family secrets, and if I wanted to know more, Jack would be probably the one to answer to all my metaphysical soup dilemmas. Indeed he did – when we left the class we had tried puree, creams, broth, stocks, chunky soups…. And, we got to taste them all.
As soon as the occasion presented, I made this lovely cauliflower cream Jack taught us. It cannot be easier: just steam cauliflower and yellow onion. Once it is soft, put in a glass of milk and plenty of water and let simmer. When the cauliflower is soft, blend and sieve. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and is ready to go. Seriously, it is all it takes. Very filling, very healthy and with a reasonable calorie count – I mean, what else can you ask from a soup?
For more information about the Laughing Lemon cooking classes can be found here.
Gazpacho
Posted: August 12, 2012 Filed under: Salad, Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: bread, Ferran Adria, Soup, Spain, Summer, Tomato Leave a comment
- 3 bleached garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 onions peeled and chopped in big chunks
- 60g cucumber peeled and chopped in big chunks
- 75g red bell peppers seeded and sliced
- 1Kg rip red tomatoes, chopped in big chunks
- 30g of white rustic bread, without crust, torn into pieces
- 120ml cup water
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
Method
First, peel the garlic cloves and drop in small saucepan with cold water. Bring the water to a boil. When the water begins to boil, take out the garlic out of the water and put into a bowl of ice water to quickly cool it. Repeat twice, always starting with cold water.
Peel and cut the vegetables into large chunks and put them into a large bowl. Add the tomatoes into large wedges and put in a bowl with the onions, cucumbers, and bell peppers. Add the bread, torn into pieces, then pour over the water. Process everything together using a hand-held blender, about 5 min until is well combined. Add the olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper and blend the soup until smooth and creamy. Chill in the fridge before serving (at least 2 hours). Serve the gazpacho with a plus an extra drizzle of olive oil. If you want, you can add cured ham, finely chopped egg, tuna, croutons, chopped pepper…..
Chestnut soup with rosemary pesto
Posted: February 17, 2012 Filed under: Soup, Vegetables | Tags: Chestnuts, Herbs, Mafalda Pinto Leite, Pesto, Soup 1 Comment
Still bitterly cold in Zurich. The type of weather that calls for a hearty soup to keep you warm… Randomly found this recipe in Mafalda Pinto Leite’s Cozinha Para Quem Não Tem Tempo [Cooking for those who have no time]. The combination of flavors looked exactly what I was looking for and I even fancied chestnuts, for whatever obscure metabolical reasons. You cannot wrong with this recipe, but this gets hardly done in the 30min she claims it take. The original recipe called for 150mL of cream to be added at the end. I found it a bit excessive and replaced the cream an equivalent quantity of chicken stock.
It was really good and soul warming. And, it is really worthwhile to make the rosemary… it just gives the soup a little punch, making it more interesting.
Chestnut soup with rosemary pesto
Ingredients for the soup
- 800g of peeled chestnuts (I used frozen ones)
- 1/2 cup of olive oil – about 120 mL
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- 3 celery sticks sliced
- 125g bacon slices, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 red skin potato
- 1,5L chicken stock
Ingredients for the rosemary pesto
- 1 table spoon of finely chopped rosemary
- 1 garlic clove
- 20g pinenuts
- salt
- 40g of grated Parmesan cheese
- 100 mL olive oil.
Method
Heat the olive oil in a big saucepan until it shimmers. Add the onion, celery, bacon and garlic. Cook for 10min or until the onion get soft and the mix start to color.
Add the chestnuts, the potato and the garlic. Add in salt and pepper to taste.
Bring it to boil, cover, and then let it simmer for about 25min, or until all ingredients are soft.
In the meanwhile, start the pesto. Put the rosemary, garlic and pinenuts in a mixer. Blend and after, add the cheese and the salt. Add slowly the olive oil, mixing at the same time so you get a creamy mixture.
Finally, blend in the soup (if you want to add cream, this is your chance to do it).
Serve the chestnut cream sprinkled with the pesto.
Pumpkin Soup with Chicken and Ginger-Braised Leeks
Posted: December 7, 2011 Filed under: Chicken, Soup, Vegetables | Tags: Autumn, Charlie Trotter, Chicken, Ginger, Leeks, Pumpkin, Soup Leave a comment
This is not an easy to make soup. But, it is totally worth the effort… It might even be the best pumpkin soup I have had, with the obvious exception of Mrs Caramelized Sr’s creations. Just bumped into the recipe almost by accident on David Leite‘s website. By coincidence, I had all the main ingredients, a lot of time in my hands and the inclement weather was unsuitable for any attempt to try anything outdoors.
Half way through the making of the soup, while struggling with so many elements and details, I took a closer look to the post header. It turned out this dish is authored by Charlie Trotter, better know for its stylish and imaginative cuisine (meaning – a bit too difficult for the rest of us mortals). I probably would have never had the guts to try it if I had realized this earlier. But, once you start doing it, what else can you do but carry on and finish the dish?
A couple of tweaks were made though. The original recipe calls for thyme to be added to the pumpkin roast, and sage to finish the dish. I had none, either dry or alive, and simply omitted it. Also, instead of chicken breasts I had chicken thighs. Ended up doing the same that Yotam Ottholengi does for its chicken and buttermilk cold soup.
Pumpkin Soup with Chicken and Ginger-Braised Leeks
Ingredients
For the preserved ginger
- 6 tablespoons peeled and julienned fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 cups (=300g) sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (=375mL water)
For the soup
- 1 small pumpkin, halved and seeded (I picked already cut pumkin, about 1,5kg)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 cups (=mL water) chicken stock, or enough to cover the chicken thighs
- 2 leeks (white part only), cut into 1 cm inch-thick slices
- 5 tablespoons (=70g) unsalted butter
- 3 cups (= 375mL water) chicken stock (or enough to cover the chicken thighs)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup preserved ginger
- 4 chicken thighs
Place the ginger, 1/2 cup (=100g) of the sugar, and 1/2 (=125mL) cup of the water in a small saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes, strain the liquid, and repeat the process two more times, reserving the final cooking liquid to store the ginger. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Make the soup
Preheat the oven to 350°F (=175°C). Season the flesh of the pumpkin with salt and pepper and rub with the olive oil. Place the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet. Add enough water to have about 1cm water in the oven dish 45 to 60 minutes, or until tender.[the recipe called for thyme sprigs to be put under the pumpkin, but I had none at home.]
In the meanwhile, start the kitchen broth. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic on a low heat for five to 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Add the chicken, and the salt and the pepper to taste. Pour in stock just to cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. Reserve the broth and shred the chicken off the bones while it is hot . I always discard the skin, but that is entirely up to your taste.
Cook the leeks with 2 tablespoons (= 30g) of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add 1 cup of the stock and the 1 tablespoon ginger and cook over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, or until the leeks are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Keep warm.
Puree the 1/4 cup ginger and any residual ginger juice, the chicken broth, and the pumpkin pulp until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the soup in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until warm. Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons (=40g) butter and season with salt and pepper.
Spoon some of the leeks into the center of each bowl and ladle the soup around the leeks. Arrange some of the shredded chicken in the center of each bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately. [the recipe called for sage leaves to be added, but I had none at home.]
Tomato soup
Posted: August 26, 2011 Filed under: Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Herbs, Spices, Tomato Leave a comment
It seems today is the last day of Summer. Tomorrow, it will rain and the temperature will drop down; next thing we know, snow will be here and we will all be wearing fluffy thing around our ears. It might be my last chance to post this (cold) tomato soup.
I came across many different versions of tomato soups: my Mother’s (with potatoes), my nanny’s (with loads of potatoes, croutons and a poached egg), Maria de Lourdes Modesto‘s (with rice), the German way (with cabbage), the Swiss way (boil the tomatoes to death and then add an equal amount in volume of cream), the Austrian way (as before, plus pumpkin seed oil), the Spanish way (called gazpacho and eaten cold. In fact, God forbids it’s served warm) … And then, there is this one, the mean tomato soup Yotam Ottolenghi‘s Mother used to do. I took the liberty of replacing the coriander by manjericão (Ocimum basilicum), better known as Portuguese basil. Not food snobbery: I actually have it growing on a pot, courtesy of P. and D.
Tomato soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 750ml vegetable stock
- 4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 400ml tin chopped Italian tomatoes
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 slice sourdough bread
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander, plus extra to finish (I used Portuguese basil)
- Salt and black pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, add the onion and sauté, stirring often, for five minutes, until translucent. Add the cumin and garlic, and fry for two minutes, then add the stock, both fresh and tinned tomatoes, sugar, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes, adding the bread halfway through. Add the coriander, then pulse-blitz the soup a few times to break down the tomatoes a bit – you want them a little coarse and chunky. (This soup should be quite thick, but add a little water to thin it down if you prefer.) Serve drizzled with oil and garnished with fresh coriander.
Chicken and buttermilk cold soup
Posted: August 17, 2011 Filed under: Chicken, Soup | Tags: Chicken, Herbs, Lemon, Soup, Spices, Yotam Ottolenghi 2 Comments
Mafalda, a 6-year-old Argentinian girl, who is deeply concerned about humanity and world peace, loves The Beatles and rebels against the current state of the world, hated soup. Totally and vehemently. And, her dislike of soup appears to have been transmitted to her fans, including myself. Not until recently I have started to appreciate soup. I might eat a mean gazpacho in the peak of Summer, but I used to welcome soup with the same enthusiasm than a double root-canal. Even away from my parent’s home, I could hear my Mother said “Oh, but is so healthy, it has so many vitamins and minerals…”. Probably today, she would have said something around the lines of “it has loads of antioxidants…” But, over the years my culinary tastes have changed, and I came to appreciate it. In Winter, a rich soup a rich soup nourish the soul and comfort the body. In Summer, it can be cooling and refreshing. At the end, it seemed to be our parents were right about it.
Before Summer is over, I decided to give it a go to this chicken and buttermilk soup I saw on The Guardian. Dishes by Yotam Ottolenghi very-very-rarely goes wrong, and this Summer soup looked refreshing, velvety and packed with different flavors and textures. I was not disappointed. In fact, I might even start to serve in Winter, to remind me of the long lost Summer.
Chicken and buttermilk cold soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
- 1 large onion, chopped into 2cm dice
- 3 small whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 free-range chicken drumsticks or thighs, skinned
- 2 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- Zest of 1 lemon, half of it shaved into strips, the rest grated
- Salt and white pepper
- About 800ml chicken stock
- 250ml buttermilk (or whole milk)
- 15g each fresh basil, coriander and mint leaves, roughly shredded
- ½ tbsp sumac
Method
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic on a low heat for five to 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Add the chicken, potatoes, lemon strips, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of white pepper. Pour in stock just to cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and the chicken is cooked.
Remove and discard the lemon strips, and transfer the chicken to a bowl. Blitz the soup until smooth and leave to cool down. Once cool, stir in the grated lemon zest and buttermilk. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and refrigerate until cold. Take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving, so it’s chilled but not fridge-cold.
Just before serving, shred the chicken off the bones, and fry the shredded meat in the remaining olive oil on a high heat until golden and crispy. Divide the soup among the bowls, add the shredded chicken and herbs, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with sumac and serve.
If you want to serve it as a hot dish, warm it up very gently after stirring in the buttermilk, to avoid curdling
Lucie Loves Food 