Traced Elements

Tag: soup

  • “Rally the Troops” Cauliflower-Lentil-Fennel-Coconut Curried Soup

    “Rally the Troops” Cauliflower-Lentil-Fennel-Coconut Curried Soup

    I’ve been making this soup often. I feel like I am rallying the troops as I take all the veggies out of the fridge to start cooking. Napa cabbage is a new addition I have made and turns out this veggie is high in vitamin C – a good winter soup veggie. I can eat this soup most days in winter and make a batch about once a week. It is good for lunch or dinner and I feel good knowing I am getting my veggie requirements.

    I am going to make this soup for a friend this weekend. It ticks so many boxes: veggies (including 2 cruciferous veggies), minerals from homemade chicken stock/bone broth, and protein from the lentils. Enjoy the last stage of winter – prime soup-eating season. I am proud to say I created this soup. I am really happy with it and I hope others give it a go. There is no nicer way to eat healthfully in winter than with a delicious veggie-filled soup.

    Ingredients:

    3 tbs pure olive oil

    2-3 cups chopped napa cabbage/Chinese cabbage

    1 large yellow onion, chopped

    2 cups chopped parsley

    ½ fennel bulb, fine chop

    6 large white mushrooms, chopped

    1 medium cauliflower, chopped

    1 cup chopped celery

     

    2-4 tsp pepper (2 tsp to start, then adjust to taste)

    2-3 tsp salt (start with 2 tsp, then adjust to taste)

    2 tbs cumin

    1 tbs coriander

    1 tsp curry powder

     

    ½ can full fat coconut milk

    1.5 cups well-rinsed red lentils (lentils can have a chalky flavour if they are not rinsed. Do not skip this step.)

    8-10 cups homemade* chicken broth, made with the carcass of a Pemberton-raised roast chicken (use 10 cups for a thinner soup)

    Method:

    Sauté all veggies including parsley. The process takes a while. You want a nicely caramelised batch of veggies. Do not continue until the veggies are at a point where you would enjoy eating them as a cooked side dish.

    Add spices and 2 tsp each of salt and pepper.

    Add chicken stock, lentils and coconut milk.

    Bring to boil, then simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

    Taste the soup. Adjust salt and pepper.

    When you are satisfied with spicing, blend the soup in batches in a high-powered blender.

    Enjoy!

    *Homemade stock makes all the difference. See my previous soup posts on tracedelements.com for recipe for homemade chicken stock. I store the stock in clear 3-cup Ziploc twist-lid containers. I like these as you can see what is inside and, unlike most other storage containers for the freezer, the lids on these ones don’t fall off! (this is not a paid endorsement but I would be interested in this kind of thing!!)

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    Here is a photo of what my pot looks like with soup stock simmering. My chicken carcass is in there along with all my veggie ends and a quarter cup of peppercorns. This is a good one to two week supply of stock. I often use stock to reheat leftovers on the stove. It heats everything more evenly and adds flavour!

  • Another soup – Sweet Potato and Red Lentil!

    Another soup – Sweet Potato and Red Lentil!

    As I sit here it is -5 (feeling like -10 and going to drop down to -13 later). So that calls for only one thing. A big bowl of something steaming and filling and nourishing for the soul.

    I’ve wanted to make a soup with lentils for ages, mainly because I have a tried and tested Chicken and Red Lentil Curry with Toasted Cashew Nuts that I absolutely love! So, after a quick search on Pinterest, this recipe for Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup caught my eye.

    It’s a super thick soup, almost a puree, hence really filling. Plus:

    • There’s 485% of your daily recommended dietary allowance of vitamin A. Essential for keeping all your vital organs in working order!
    • There are only 309 calories per serving, or 15% of calorie intake on a 2000 calorie per day diet.
    • The fat content is just 2g, only 3% of your daily recommended dietary allowance.

    With it being so low in calories and fat it’s good for those currently on a weight loss plan (like me – again!). Although I may have negated all the goodness with the “drop” of cream and fresh slices of bread!

    Let me know if you have any other lentil soups for me to try and I hope you like this one!

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 onion diced
    • 1 kg sweet potatoes peeled and diced
    • 1.5 L vegetable stock
    • 210 g red split lentils
    • 1 tsp ground turmeric
    • 1/2 tsp mild chilli powder
    • Freshly ground salt and pepper
    • 1 tbsp coriander chopped

    Directions

    1. Gently heat the oil in a large soup pot and add the diced onion to soften it, stirring occasionally for about 4 – 5 minutes. Then add the diced potatoes and continue to stir for a further 3 – 4 minutes.
    2. Add the vegetable stock, lentils, ground turmeric and mild chilli powder.
    3. Stir well, bring to the boil and turn down to simmer gently for 20 –25 minutes until all the mixture is completely softened. Remove from the heat.
    4. When the soup has cooled a little, blitz it in a blender / food processor and return to the pan, season to taste, garnish with the chopped coriander and then serve.
    5. Serve with fresh bread.
  • Soup for (F)all seasons!

    Soup for (F)all seasons!

    I just took the dog for a walk. It was chilly and windy. It was Fall in Pemberton.

    There’s only one thing for those kind of days and that’s a delicious, hearty bowl of soup with some fresh crusty bread, still warm if you can find it.

    I have two go to recipes. Roasted Butternut Squash, one of my all-time favourites, and Cock-a-Leekie which I love because it harks back to the Scottish side of my family and is quick and simple to make, well my version anyway!

    To make my uncomplicated variation all you will need is celery, leeks, carrots, potatoes and chicken breasts cooked together to miraculously become a wonderful warming soup.

    The traditional version includes other ingredients including prunes and oatmeal, and I have never made it this way, but the simplified version allows all the vegetables to shine – especially the leeks who are the stars of the bowl!

    Whichever version you attempt this will certainly warm you up on a cold Fall, or even Winter’s, day. Enjoy!

    Ingredients

    • 2 sticks of celery, sliced
    • 2 leeks, sliced
    • 2 carrots, sliced
    • 4 to 5 potatoes, diced
    • 2 chicken breasts, cubed
    • 1 to 1.5 litres chicken stock
    • Salt and pepper

    Directions

    1. In a large stock pot heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and add in the celery and leeks and cook over a medium-high heat to soften.

    2. Add in the carrots and potatoes.

    3. Pour over the stock.

    4. Add in the chicken.

    5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

    6. Bring everything up to boil and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes have softened and the chicken is cooked.

    7. Serve with fresh bread.

  • The Last Squash

    The Last Squash

    Bittersweet times are upon me these days as my personal stock levels of fresh garden produce dwindle down to the last survivors. Luckily seed ordering is in full effect to keep the dream alive! Yet, even though the light at the end of the winter tunnel grows brighter every day, you can still guarantee there will be times when we feel the need to: bundle up, get adventurous, come home and devour a hot bowl of soup.

    But I’ll reiterate before continuing that… #summeriscoming.

    Feeling inspired from an Instagram post by my “neighbor” Anna for a mega hearty vegetable broth and a recipe from My New Roots, I set forth to honor my last butternut squash with a soup so full of nutritional goodness that would make the new Canadian Food Guide salivate.

    So here we go – Butternut Miso Soup.

    Step Uno: Make Anna’s stock.

    • Once you’ve got all the goods simmering away go out and adventure for a few hours then come home to the most AMAZING smell, ladle up yourself a cup and savor the goods! Freeze what you don’t use in different sized containers for later. (I added in some carrot and celery because I had it on hand and well, I’ve never made a stock with out either!)

     

     

     

    Step Two: Start making the soup.

    Butternut squash, peeled & diced into ½“ pieces (approx. 3 cups), roasted at 375°F with some coconut oil, salt and pepper – one medium sized onion, diced – 3-4 cloves garlic, minced – 2-3 Tbsp fresh grated ginger (I keep mine in the freezer for easy grating and its keeps longer) – miso paste (Fuji Market in Whistler has a great selection, I used AWASE Miso)

    • Add some coconut oil into a Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the onion and cook until translucent then add in the garlic and ginger; allow everyone to mingle until fragrant. Then add in the butternut squash and cook for 5 minutes to absorb the flavors. Top the lot with the veggie stock and allow to simmer for 10-15minutes. Use one cup of water and combine with ¼ cup miso paste, whisking to combine then add to the pot. Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to smooth out the soup. Add more stock or water to obtain your desired consistency and season with salt & pepper.

    Step 3: Wasabi cream.

    1 Tbsp wasabi powder – 1 Tbsp water – 2 Tbsp mayo – squeeze lemon or lime juice – dash of tamari

    • Whisk everything together and get ready to be addicted, and willing to putting this sauce on everything.

    Step Quatro: Eat the soup.

    • Serve the soup drizzled with the wasabi cream, sprinkled with black sesame seeds and topped with some pea shoots, micro greens or whatever is on hand. That is all.

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    Simple. Delicious. Nutritious. Most importantly: made and grown with love.

    And remember… always trust a Swede.

     

     

  • Soup for a Future Rainy Day – Curried Lentil Cauliflower Soup

    Soup for a Future Rainy Day – Curried Lentil Cauliflower Soup

    We had a cool period for a bit recently and being on the coast, it was a good opportunity to bring out my soup pot. Back into a heat wave so save this one for the next cool spell. I didn’t get a photo of it but it was a hit with some children I served it to as well as adults. Attached is a photo of some beautiful Squamish salal.

    Curried Lentil Cauliflower Soup with Coconut Milk and Cilantro

    Ingredients:

    3 tbs pure olive oil

    2 leeks, cleaned and chopped

    1 fennel bulb, chopped

    4 tomatoes, chopped

    1 medium cauliflower, chopped

    1 cup cilantro, chopped

    6 cups chicken broth

    1.5 cups red lentils

    2 tsp salt

    2 tsp pepper

    2 tbs cumin

    1 tbs curry powder

    1 can full fat coconut milk

    Method:

    Sauté leeks in olive oil on medium low heat until caramelised. Add all other vegetables and cilantro, and sauté until soft and caramelised.

    Add broth and lentils and coconut milk.

    Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes.

    Blend half of soup in blender until smooth and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

    Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired.