Fijian Creamy Lentil Soup

Summer must be officially over as it is cooling down and I am making lots of soups. The best so far was a chicken, corn and noodle soup by Karen Martini on Better Homes and Gardens which I forgot to take a photo of, but I'll defintely make it again and post it.

This lentil soup I made on the weekend is delicious. It was incredibly easy to prepare and was hearty enough with a bread roll for dinner. I love that, cos you can make a big pot and reheat it easily when you don't have time (ie, Austen the baby needs to be held). The caramilised onions were a nice touch, but I don't know if I'd bother next time. Although the cummin seeds through the caramalised onions were great, maybe I'd just dry roast and add them on their own at the end.

375g (1 1/2 cups) red lentils
1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock or water
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2.5cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
250ml milk
1 tsp sea salt
60g unsalted butter
1 brown onion, diced
1 tsp cumin seeds

Pick over the lentils, removing any stones or discoloured ones. Rinse thoroughly and place in a deep saucepan with the vegetable stock or water, turmeric, ginger and tomato.

Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a food processor and blending until smooth. Return the pureed lentils to the warm pan, stir in the milk and salt and simmer gently over low heat until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan over high heat. Add the onion and cumin seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, for eight minutes, or until the onions are brown and caramelised.

To serve, ladle the soup into warm bowls and sprinkle generously with cracked black pepper to taste. Scatter the caramelised onion and coriander over the soup and serve immediately.

Sathya-rating ***

Easy week night dinner - tom yum soup

I haven't been around much sorry, cooking and inspiration in the kitchen hasn't been the easiest thing for me at the moment. Hopefully one day soon I can explain. However, this is something I managed to whip up nice and quickly after a busy day at the office - tom yum soup. You can do the same with laksa (just use laksa paste and coconut milk instead of tom yum paste and stock). The ingredients don't matter too much, like most soups you can chuck in whatever you have in the house and think would suit. If you don't know tom yum its a sour spicy soup that is delicious!

(makes 2-3 serves)
2 tsps of ready-made tom yum paste
half cucumber, sliced
100g beancurd, cubed
handful bean sprouts
2 tbs fresh coriander leaves
500ml-1 lt stock
2 lime leaves, finely sliced
100 g oyster mushrooms, cleaned
spring onions, chopped
200g asian noodles, prepared according to packet instructions

Bring a large pot of stock to the boil, add the tom yum paste, lime leaves and mushrooms and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Place the noodles in 2 large bowls and top with cucumber, bean sprouts and spring onions and ladle in the soup mixture to cover everything. Top with coriander leaves and serve.

Sathya-rating ****

La Stracciatella

Once upon a time, London was my home town. I lived in a suburb called Wapping, just down the road from what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, Tower Bridge. I loved London, it treated me very well. Any place gets the better of you though, and I swear, a walk over that magnificent bridge put it all in perspective. Every single time. I don't think I have that in Sydney. Maybe thats why I'm not so in love with this city...

Anyway, I digress, Tower Bridge has nothing to do with it. The point is there a restaurant in Wapping called Ill Bordello. Oh the memories! I used to go there all the time, and anyone who came to visit was taken there. Ill Bordello was one of those wonderful Italian neighbourhood restaurants, that when you walked in the front door, they knew your name and greeted all the pretty ladies with a big kiss. One of their specials was Straccitella soup, which I loved, and they always remebered I loved it and would make it esepcially for me.

I never tried to make it myself, I had no idea where to start and assumed it was difficult. Blake over at Serious Eats has had a bit of fascination with egg soups and recently he added my favourite, La Straciatella. It was bubbling away in my kitchen the same day, and I'm happy to report it was spot on! Its a simple broth with silky egg shreds, salty tasty parmesan and crusty bread. Thats my type of soup, and its way easier than the other eggy soups Blake's been sharing with us!

6 cups chicken stock
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons semolina flour
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Separate one cup of the stock and chill if not already refrigerated. Heat the remaining 5 cups in a large saucepan until it boils.

Meanwhile, combing the cold broth, eggs, flour, cheese, parsley, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and whisk until well blended.

Whisk the egg mixture into the boiling broth, stirring constantly. Turn the heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in warmed bowls topped with more grated Parmesan and parsley if desired.

S

Roast Tomato Soup

Tomatoes were something like $18/kg here in Sydney a few months ago and recently a fruit and vegetable grocer was giving them away for free! He said it was cheaper than dumping them! Well as the saying goes, if life give you lemons...

I had intentions of making ketchup, but time slipped away from me so I roasted all the juicy, sweet tomatoes and made soup. It was delicious, simple and hit the spot on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

1.5 kg tomatoes
500ml vegetable stock
handful basil leaves
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
several big glugs of olive oil
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Begin by preheating the oven to 160C.

Quarter and de-core all the tomatoes and put on a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

In a large pan fry the onion and garlic gently in some olive oil till clear. Add the roasted tomatoes and all their juices to the pan with the stock.

Allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes or up to an hour.

Blend approximately half to two thirds of the soup and return to the pan. Add the freshly torn basil, the balsamic and taste to check the seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed and serve with fresh bread or toast.

S

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

Being brought up vegetarian I had never had this soup but had always thought it would be tasty. I came across and easy recipe and made it quickly with much ease last week for dinner.

We had it served with some toast and it was a delicious dinner . I made it again on the weekend but used tofu and vegetable stock as an easy vegetarian soup and we loved it again. I know it'll be made often. I guess you don't need the ginger or sesame oil but the ginger at least is great during this cold epidemic here in Oz.

1 litre chicken/vegetable stock
6 spring onions
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 chicken thigh fillets, skinless, sliced finely/tofu
420 grams canned creamed corn
2 cups corn kernels
salt and freshly ground pepper
sesame oil
2 tablespoons corn flour mixed with a little water, optional, to thicken soup
1 egg, lightly whisked

Heat the chicken/vegetable stock.Separate the white from the green parts of the spring onions. Slice both finely.

In a large pot heat a little oil and fry off the chicken/tofu with the sliced white part of the spring onion and the ginger. Let this gently fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the creamed corn and corn kernels.Turn the heat up a little and stir this well before adding the stock and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Add half the sliced green parts of the spring onion.Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper and a few drops of sesame oil.

If you prefer a thicker soup, then at this stage, stir in the mix of corn flour and water. (I didn't do this).

Just before serving while stirring the soup, drizzle in the whisked egg - this sets as soon as you add it to the soup so it's important to keep stirring to break it up and get a speckled finish. Serve, sprinkled with the remaining green sliced spring onions.


S

Heartwarming Potato & Leek Soup

This is an old favourite of mine and nice and easy.

I generally don't add cream (although I did to make the serving looks fancy above). Feel free to though, I know a lot of people do.

Ingredients:

3 leeks, well washed and chopped

5 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 litre of stock (chicken or vegetable)

1 tbsp butter

small splash of olive oil

salt and pepper

1 tsp nutmeg

Melt the butter and the oil together in a large pot and fry off the leeks on a low heat for 10 - 15 minutes until very soft.


Add the potatoes and fry for a further few minutes.

Add the stock with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.

Some people prefer this soup like this, so feel free to serve now. I prefer it pureed.


Serve with bread and cream if desired.

S

Spinach & Risoni Soup

Now, I haven’t put a photo up here at the beginning as this soup is not very attractive, but, please, please believe me when I tell you the flavour and texture far out do the look!

I wanted to make soup and didn’t have much in the house. A staple in my freezer is spinach, so I thought why not.

My Mum is a fantastic throw-everything-in-a-pot and see what happens kinda cook, and 90% of the time, its brilliant. As a kid, she always made spinach soup. I have no idea of where the idea came from or the heritage of spinach soup, unless someone can enlighten me?

And so, I took on my Mums cooking ethic and spinach and risoni soup was the result.

The flavour was gorgeous, unlike anything else, a little sour and creamy, without adding any cream. With a soft and velvety in texture, I will be making this again, everyone loved it!

What you’ll need:
400g frozen spinach (you can use fresh if you have it)
5 tsp/cubes vegetable of chicken stock (I used Vegeta)
1 litre water
2 onions, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp nutmeg
150grams risoni
2 400gram cans of cannellini beans, drained and well rinsed
oil
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
200 grams mushrooms, chopped (optional)

Fry the onions in a little oil gently till clear. Add the celery and potatoes and fry for another minute.

Add the spinach, water, stock, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.


Add one can of the cannellini beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Process everything, till smooth and return to the heat. Add the other can of cannellini beans and the risoni and cook for a further 10 minutes.

I had lots of mushrooms I need to use up. However, I know many people hate mushrooms, so please don’t avoid this recipe because of the mushrooms. If you do like the mushrooms, they’re a nice addition, all I did was fry them in a non-stick pan and when they were almost done squeezed some lemon over them and seasoned. I then just added them to the soup.

Season to taste and serve. I added a dollop of sour cream to try and get a decent photo, but the taste didn’t need I thought.

Honestly, this is well worth a try.



S

Chicken Noodle Soup

My boy came home feeling a little under the weather on a cold night so I thought id do the romantic thing and make him Chicken Noodle Soup. In the end I pretty much made it up as I went along and it was more of a chicken broth, but we really enjoyed it!

I swapped noodles for pasta though, so I guess its chicken pasta soup.

6 chicken thighs

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh thyme

4 parsley stalks

500ml chicken stock

100g short pasta

1 sachet Chicken seasoning from Two Minute Noodles

Salt and Pepper

Pour the chicken stock and 1500ml water over the chicken thighs, add all vegetables and seasonings and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for one hour.

After one hour, strain the liquid and place back in a pot and bring to the boil. Add the pasta and boil until cooked.

E.

Minestrone Soup

Its getting cooler here in Sydney which means lots of things, but one of my favourites is soup. They are easy to make, cheap and comforting and can easily be made relatively low fat.

My Mum always made Minestrone and to be honest, I don't think I've tasted anyone else's other than Mums or mine, so who even knows if its a traditional Minestrone.

The best thing is you just put in whatever you've got available.

On Sunday this is what I came up with.

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

3 crushed garlic cloves

1 potato, peeled and diced

3 bacon rashers, diced

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

3 tbs tomato paste

chicken stock

3 handfuls of risoni

1 tsp oregano

2 tbs chopped parsley

1 can cannellini beans

1/2 tsp rosemary

olive oil

salt & pepper

grated parmesan to serve

Fry the bacon in a large pan for a few minutes, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and potato for a few more minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, stock (or stock cubes + water), oregano, rosemary and salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Once hot, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the risoni, drained and rinsed beans and parsley and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.

Serve with parmesan and parsley on top.

S