Spring green soup

This was meant to be just a standard pea and mint soup, but I kept on finding other green things to stick into it. I wanted to up the protein to make it a meal so I threw in some edamame beans, and some mung beans I had started sprouting a couple of days before. All in all a satisfactory healthy green soup. Really quick to make and full of nutrients.

Spring green soup

 Serves 2

1 garlic clove

1 veg stock cube

100g frozen petit pois (or garden peas)

Handful spinach

50g frozen podded edamame beans

30g sprouted mung beans*

3 tbsp creme fraiche (or can use soya/greek yogurt)

Handful fresh chopped chives

Handful fresh chopped mint

Salt and pepper

Chive flowers and mint leaves to garnish

1. Place a saucepan on a medium heat. Finely chop the garlic and add to the saucepan along with the stock cube and about 300ml water
2. Add the edamame and mung beans to the stock and cook for 3-4 minutes
3. Turn down the heat so the water is at a simmer. Add the petit pois, mint and spinach and cook for a further 4-5 minutes
4. Add the chives and creme fraiche (or alternative)
5. Heat gently for 1-2 minutes
6. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed
7. Whizz up using a hand blender or food processor
8. Garnish with chive flowers, mint leaves, chives or more creme fraiche

*To sprout mung beans, soak however many you want in a bowl of cold water overnight. In the morning, drain the water off, rinse the mung beans in the bowl and cover with a plate. Each morning, rinse the mung beans so they are damp but not sitting in water. Within 2 days you should see the beans bursting out of their casing. They should keep on growing into beansprouts in about a week. Great in salads, soups, stir frys, curries, anything. AND they are AMAZING for you.

Spicy sweetcorn chowder

Hi all, sorry I haven't posted anything recently, life has got in the way and stopped me having time to blog. I have been cooking though and taking photos when I can, so hopefully I'll find time to post about the recipes before I forget how I made them.

I made this recipe this evening, and only just finished eating. It was really good and took less than 15 minutes to make from start to finish. Sorry about the photo, I wasn't going to write about it so I started eating, then decided it was nice so took a quick picture.

Spicy sweetcorn chowder

Serves 2-3
Olive oil
1 medium white onion
1 garlic clove
1 vegetable stock cube
1 mild red chilli (or to taste)
half a red bell pepper
1 340g tin sweetcorn (or frozen sweetcorn)
100ml milk (I used soya milk)
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
half tsp ground cumin
half tsp ground coriander
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

1. Add a dash of olive oil to a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Finely chop the onion and garlic and cook, stirring until turning translucent and taking on colour, about 7-8 minutes.
2. Finely chop the red chilli and add to the onion garlic mix whilst it is cooking.
3. Meanwhile, chop the red bell pepper into about 1.5cm chunks
4. Throw in the stock cube, cumin and ground coriander and add some water until the onions are covered.
5. Whizz up the cooked onions, garlic and spices with a hand blender (you can miss this part out, but I chopped my onions a little big. This stage also thickens the sauce nicely).
6. Throw in the red pepper, sweetcorn and fresh coriander.
7. Add the milk and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, so the pepper still has crunch but has softened.
8. Taste for seasoning, and add black pepper (optional)
9. Serve with bread, could be good with cheesy toast (just a random idea).

Most recipes call for potato, so you could add 1or 2 in when you are cooking the onions. Increase the cooking time by 5 minutes. Chop the potato into 1-2cm chunks. I didn't have any to hand, but still found it lovely without.

Spicy carrot, parsnip and lentil soup

This is a really hearty warming soup, excellent for chilly weather. Really cheap and easy to make. The carrot and parsnips give it a really sweet earthy taste, while the lentils add protein, texture and thickness to ensure a well balanced, filling lunch.

Spicy carrot, parsnip and lentil soup

Serves 2-3
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped into chunks
50g lentils
Good quality vegetable stock
1 inch piece creamed coconut (or 1/3 tin coconut milk)
1 tsp hot chilli flakes (or to taste)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sprinkle paprika

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium heavy bottom saucepan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add the garlic, stir and cook for another 5 minutes. 
2. Throw in the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli, and cook with the onions and garlic for another 5 minutes, stirring, until the spices begin to give off an aroma.
3. Add the carrots, parsnips and lentils, and add enough stock to cover the vegetable by double. Reserve more stock, as the lentils will soak up a lot of water and thicken the soup. You can always add more stock/ water throughout the cooking process.
4. Add the creamed coconut/ coconut milk, cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally and adding more water/stock if it is getting too thick.
5. Blitz the soup with a hand blender (or a food processor in batches) to make a smooth soup. Check the seasoning, and serve with a sprinkle of paprika and black pepper. Great with chunky bread.

Yellow split pea daal with spinach and cherry tomatoes

My all time favourite comfort food is daal. I love spinach in curries, so I will nearly always add it to daal if I have it to hand. Today I didn't have fresh spinach, so I just used frozen. I find the frozen spinach blocks really handy, especially for curries, pesto and soups.

I added more water to my daal to make it more soupy, so I could have some toast with it. I would normally have it with brown rice and a chapatti or pitta. I also like to use a mix of lentils like chana daal, red lentils and masoor daal but today I just fancied the humble split pea. Mix it up if you fancy, different lentils give different textures and tastes.

Yellow spit pea daal with spinach and cherry tomatoes

Serves 2-3
150g dried yellow split peas
Vegetable stock
1 inch piece creamed coconut (the block of concentrated coconut)
1 large clove garlic, chopped finely
1 tbsp panch phoran*
2 blocks frozen spinach, thawed, or a couple of handfuls fresh spinach
Handful cherry tomatoes
1 medium chilli, chopped
Squeeze lemon juice

1. Place the split peas in 4 times the amount of vegetable stock in a pan and bring to the boil. Cover, and simmer for about 1 - 1.5 hours or until the peas have become soft but still hold some shape and the water has thickened.
2. Add the coconut, garlic and chilli to the split peas. Add more water if you feel it is getting too thick. Stir to ensure the peas are not sticking to base of the pan.
3. In a dry frying pan, fry the panch phoran for about a minute, or until beginning to colour and give off an aroma. Add the spices and a squeeze of lemon to the split peas.
4. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Add the spinach and whole cherry tomatoes, heat through and serve in bowls over rice, or add more stock/water to produce a more soupy consistency.

*Panch phoran is a is a spice blend used in Bangladesh and Eastern India. The spices typically used are fenugreek, Nigella seed, cumin seed, radhuni and fennel seed in equal parts. Celery seed sometimes is used in place of radhuni.
You can buy panch phoran in nearly all international supermarkets and some good supermarkets.

Cream of mushroom and spinach soup

I promise will start posting more adventurous recipes other than soup, but it is cold outside and soups are a healthy, cheap way of filling up. One of my new year's resolutions is to make my lunch for work every day, so I am cooking lots of soups to keep up my resolution. Sandwiches just don't cut it in the winter.

Now, my other half has a love/hate relationship with mushrooms so this recipe won't go down too well with him, but I am a fan of the funghi. There is nothing better than a good mushroom soup when you're feeling a little under the weather. I also try to get as many iron-rich leafy greens into my diet as possible, and this recipe is no exception. This soup is a pale greenish colour, which I think is much more interesting than the boring beige of most mushroom soups.

Cream of mushroom and spinach soup

Olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1 litre vegetable stock
Pepper
15-20 mushrooms, chopped (I use button and chestnut but any mushroom is lovely)
Handful fresh baby spinach
Fresh Alpro Soya cream (or dairy cream)

Handful freshly chopped chives, plus extra to serve

1. Heat the olive oil on a medium heat in a heavy based pot and throw in the chopped onions. Stir until onions are beginning to turn see-through, about 5 minutes, then throw in the garlic. Turn down the heat and stir occasionally for about 15 minutes or until the onions have begun to slightly brown.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir occasionally until they begin to release water take on colour, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, a good pinch of pepper and cream and heat through, but do not boil.
3. Add chopped chives and fresh spinach at the last second, blitz with a hand blender/food processor and check seasoning. If the soup is too thick, add more stock.
4. Ladle into bowls and dress with chopped chives.

Butternut Squash, Ginger and Lentil Soup

Yes, another soup. It was a VERY frosty morning this morning and cycling into work was not the enjoyable feat it usually is. However, knowing I had a lovely thick and warming soup to look forward to for lunch gave me the courage to plough on.

I have had a huge butternut squash in my kitchen for a while now, I think the size of it daunted me, but I have finally finished it by making 2 soups and a curry out of it. If my next few recipes are butternut squash based, now you know why.

This soup is great for when you're feeling ill, especially in this chilly weather.

 

Serves 3-4

1 onion, diced

2 inch piece peeland and grated fresh ginger

500ml vegetable stock

1/3 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks

1 can chopped tomatoes

75g red lentils

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Sauté the onion in a medium pan on a low-medium in a splash of olive oil until translucent. 
2. Add the ginger and squash and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the stock, tomatoes, lentils, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the squash and lentils are cooked.
4. Puree the soup until smooth with a hand blender or food processor. Return to the pot, reheat, and check seasoning.
5. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Butternut Squash, Ginger and Lentil Soup

Beetroot, cumin and walnut soup

 I have been threatening to do it for a little while, but I have finally started a food blog.

My reasoning of starting this blog is because I love to cook. I find it relaxing almost to the point of therapeutic. It is also excellent payment when a kindly soul does you a favour or offers a place to rest your weary head. And I love the satisfaction of cooking a good meal and enjoying it with friends. I also started this because I think I was starting to drive my friends crazy with a constant stream of Facebook updates about how amazing my dinner was...

If you know me then you might be aware of my massive collection of recipe books. This is all for show however, as I'm not one to follow recipes. Don't get me wrong, I love reading them, as I speak I have two cookbooks in bed with me now (hello, Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall) but I just can't stick to a recipe. I'm what you may call an intuitive cook (or more accurately, throw-it-in-and-hope-for-the-best cook), but more often than not it works.

I am vegetarian so expect practically everything to be so. I also don't have much dairy so some recipes may use soya milk but you can obviously substitute this for normal milk, or whichever alternative you wish.

A few days ago I made a lovely beetroot, cumin and walnut soup. I love soup. It is so warming and nutritious, and after the Christmas binge some virtuous eating will never go amiss. Fresh beetroot is great at this time of year, although I had some pre-cooked beetroot in the cupboard so that is what I used.

This was an adaptation from a salad recipe from Hugh Fernley-Whittingtall's new book 'River Cottage Veg' (I mentioned him above, no I definitely would NOT want the real thing in my bed)... I thought the ingredients sounded earthy and warming, which was very close to the truth after trying it.

Beetroot, Cumin and Walnut soup

1 large onion, chopped finely
Olive oil
Vegetable stock
4 cooked beetroots, chopped (NOT in vinegar)
1tsp whole cumin seeds
Handful walnut pieces
1-2 garlic cloves
Soya milk (or alternative)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil and gently fry the onion and garlic for 10-15 minutes, or until they turn translucent (this is boring but makes a huge difference to the taste)
2. Heat a dry frying pan and toast the cumin seeds and walnut pieces until they begin to brown and start giving off an aroma. Once they have browned put them to the side.
3. Add the beetroot to the onion mixture and stir, browning the beetroot slightly to give a deeper flavour
4. Add the cumin and walnuts to the pan and mix
5. Add enough stock to cover the mixture and leave to cook for 5 minutes
6. Blend the soup (I use a hand blender). It should be quite a thick consistency.
7. Slowly add the milk to achieve the consistency you wish. This should lighten the soup and give it a wonderful red/purple colour.
8. Heat the soup back up, and serve with crusty bread