soup

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Thai Sweet Potato Soup with Roasted Cashews: Easy Gluten Free – Helen Tzouganatos

Easy Gluten Free by Helen Tzouganatos

Published by Plum

RRP $39.99,

Photography by Jeremy Simons

 

SERVES 4–6 DF, GF, VG
“Sweet potato is beautiful in soups because it has a thick, creamy texture when pureed and carries other
flavours well, particularly spices that balance its natural sweetness. If you love extra heat feel free to
increase the quantity of curry paste in this recipe; I keep mine fairly mild so it’s family friendly.” p 91

 

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 tablespoons gluten-free Thai red curry paste
1 kg sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into
3 cm cubes
1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos
750 ml (3 cups) gluten-free vegetable stock
125 ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
handful of chopped roasted cashews,

 

to serve

handful of coriander leaves, to serve

 

Melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the ginger, garlic and curry paste and sauté for another 2 minutes.

Add the sweet potato, tamari or coconut aminos and stock. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the potato has softened. Take the soup off the heat and stir in the coconut milk and lime juice.
Blitz with a hand-held blender or in a food processor until smooth and creamy.

Adjust the seasoning to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with cashews and coriander.

NOTE
• Sweet potatoes are a great source of fibre, vitamins and beta-carotene,
a powerful antioxidant that gives orange fruits and vegetables their colour.

 

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#MeatFreeMonday Creamy Vegetable Soup: Eat Drink and Still Shrink – Michele Chevalley Hedge

Eat, Drink and Still Shrink by Michele Chevalley Hedge,

Published by Plum, RRP $34.99,

Photography by Cath Muscat.

 

C R E A M Y   V E G E T A B L E  S O U P 

“I love cream and I love veggies so when I can combine them both in a soup I do. But the tastebud explosion here is not cream at all … it is the creaminess of cashews, making it a lighter meal than you might expect, but still packed with protein and nutrients. Enjoy it just as it is, or sprinkle over your choice of fresh herbs.” p150  

SERVES 4  PREPARATION TIME: 15 MINS COOKING TIME: 30 MINS
1 cup raw unsalted cashews
2 tablespoons coconut oil or
extra virgin olive oil
1 large brown onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
5 cups chopped broccoli,cauliflower and/or carrots
3–4 cups vegetable stock or water
2 teaspoons sea salt
1–2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (to taste)
coriander sprigs, to serve

Soak the cashews in water for 15 minutes, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the vegetables and enough stock or water to cover, then season with the
salt and cayenne pepper.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the drained cashews, then blend with a stick blender (or in an upright blender) until smooth.

Divide among four bowls and serve hot garnished
with coriander.

DITCH THE NUTS: If you don’t eat nuts, add 200 ml coconut milk
just before blending (heat it through at a simmer over low heat
otherwise it will separate).

BULK IT UP: Add a drained 400 g tin of chickpeas or legumes of your
choice after blending and simmer for 10 minutes. Remember legumes
are both a carb and a protein so go easy on them at dinner.

SPICE IT UP: Add a pinch of smoked paprika, chilli powder or
jalapeno pepper powder.

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#MeatFree Monday: Pumpkin Curry and Cashew Soup – Pete Evans

Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens by Pete Evans, Published by Plum, RRP $39.99,

Photography by William Meppem

This meal in a soup has to be one of the best comfort foods I have come across. It is delicious, nutritious and can be easily modified ( use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock ) to make this a satisfying vegetarian dish. Since I  received this book I have made this particular recipe on a weekly basis.  I am sure you will enjoy it too.

pumpkin, curry and cashew soup_

 

“Pumpkin soup will always be a family favourite, as it ticks all the boxes when it comes to flavour. It is also budget friendly, very easy to get on the table and a great time saver; you can make up a big batch and freeze the leftovers to have on hand for when you need a quick meal. With this recipe I have lightly spiced it with curry powder and added
cashews for a lovely texture. If you wanted to add some fish or prawns, then be my guest.” p237

Comfort Food
Serves 4–6

SPICED PUMPKIN AND CASHEW SOUP
2 tablespoons coconut oil or good-quality animal fat,* melted
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, cut into 1.5 cm dice
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons finely grated ginger
1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
120 g cashew nuts (activated if possible*)
1 litre vegetable stock or Chicken Bone Broth (page 312)
500 g butternut pumpkin, cut into 2 cm dice
2 tomatoes, cut into 2 cm dice
400 ml coconut milk
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves

Heat the oil or fat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the veggies are softened and slightly caramelised. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Stir in the cashews and stock or broth and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium–low, add the pumpkin, tomato and coconut milk to the pan, stir and bring back to the boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Season with salt and pepper
and stir in the spinach. Ladle the soup into warm bowls, scatter on the coriander and chilli flakes (if using) and serve.

To serve
roughly chopped coriander leaves a couple of pinches of chilli flakes (if you like it a little spicy)

* See Glossary

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Spicy Ginger and Tomato Soup: A Whole New Way To Eat – Vladia Cobrdova

Recipes and Images from A Whole New Way to Eat by Vladia Cobrdova (Murdoch Books)

 

SPICY GINGER & TOMATO SOUP

 

 

+ Vegetarian, + Vegan, + Gluten-free, + Dairy-free

 

“The vibrant colour of this rich antioxidant soup speaks for itself. You can really see the betacarotenoids in it.”p. 101

 

Spicy GingerTomatoSoup

prep time:15 minutes

cooking time:20 minutes

Serves 4

 

 

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 large red (Spanish) onion, finely chopped

100 g (3½ oz/½ cup) coarsely chopped fresh ginger

6 carrots, chopped

2 x 400 g (14 oz) tins chopped tomatoes

375 ml (13 fl oz/1½ cups) tinned coconut milk

20 g (¾ oz/1/3 cup) chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves (optional)

1 lime

 

Crispy topping

2 teaspoons coconut oil

2 fresh long red chillies, sliced

2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

40 g (1½ oz/1 cup) coconut chips

 

 

Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger and cook for 2–3 minutes until golden. Add the carrots, tomatoes and 375 ml (13 fl oz/1½ cups) of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots are very tender. Stir in the coconut milk, then remove from the heat. Using a stick blender, purée the soup until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Meanwhile, to make the crispy topping, heat the coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chilli, chopped ginger and coconut chips and stir for 5–6 minutes until crisp.

 

To serve, ladle the soup into four bowls, scatter with the crispy topping and coriander leaves (if using), then squeeze a lime over.

 

 

+ note  Tomatoes have the interesting attribute of being better for you when cooked. Cooking encourages the easier absorption of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that may even have a role in cancer prevention.

 

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Chicken Soup: Baby Pip Eats – Amie Harper

Baby Pip Eats

 Recipes and Images from Baby Pip Eats by Amie Harper (Murdoch Books) available in all bookshops and online.

CHICKEN SOUP

C IS FOR CHICKEN

 

eat me from: 7–8 months (once chewing developed)
Source of: iron & Zinc
Serves: 1 baby & family of 4

 

Heat a non-stick sauté pan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil or butter. Add 1 washed and chopped leek (pale part only) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until soft. Add 2 diced carrots, 2 diced celery sticks and 2 tsp chopped thyme. Cook for a further 3 minutes. Add 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) chopped chicken thigh fillets and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add 1.5 litres (52 fl oz/6 cups) water or chicken stock (homemade stock is best as it’s less salty, or use a reduced-salt one) and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 1–1½ hours. Alternatively you can transfer the mixture to a slow cooker after the stock has been added and cook for 4 hours on the fast setting or 6–8 hours on the slow setting. Remove the chicken from the soup and shred into small pieces. Return the chicken to the soup, stir through, then serve with bread and mashed pumpkin for dipping.

 

Chicken Soup

Try: You can use diced skinless chicken breast fillets instead of thighs; they don’t take as long to cook, so reduce the simmering time to 30 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are soft). I don’t recommend using breast meat if you’re cooking this in a slow cooker, though, as the meat tends to dry out.

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Ginger Carrot Soup: It’s All Easy – Gwyneth Paltrow with Thea Baumann

it's all easy

It’s All Easy: Delicious Weekday Recipes for the Super-Busy Home Cook by Gwyneth Paltrow ($45), published by Hachette Australia.

Ginger Carrot Soup

Gluten Free

Serves 4

“This ubiquitous combo has been around for ages, popping up at spas, restaurants, and even the canned soup isle at the supermarket. I’ve had a million  iterations of this soup, but our version, naturally sweet from the slowly sauteed onion and bright with lots of fresh ginger, is particularly good ( and easy!). Don’t bother  peeling the carrots for this recipe  – just give them a good scrub.” (p. 102) 

GINGER CARROT SOUP

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 large onion cut in half and thinly sliced

Salt

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 pound (500 g) carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces ( about 2 1/2 cups)

3 cups of chicken  or vegetable stock

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the coconut oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, cover the pot, and saute over low heat for about 20 minutes, until the onion is very soft and sweet.

Add the garlic and the ginger, saute for 1 minute, then add the cumin, coriander, and the garam masala. Saute for another minute, then add the carrots, sock, and another big pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, or until very tender.

Carefully transfer the soup in batches to a high speed blender, or or belnd the soup directly in the pot with an immersion blender.  Season with salt and pepper.