Nourishing Root-Vegetable & Wild Rice Soup

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I haven't done much cooking over the last few weeks (actually months as you might have guessed). Somehow yo-yoing  being either sick or too busy I spent most of my evenings eating sandwiches or cereal. But even the most cereal-obsessed person will start craving something 'real' at some point. I reached this point last week and made a soup that not only tasted amazing but also lasted me for another 4 meals (which means the no-time excuse doesn't work anymore).

Anyhow, what can I tell you about this soup - it's a really pretty colour, it's good for you (my body didn't know what to do with all the vitamins and minerals it hadn't seen in weeks), and I was excited because I finally had a reason to use all this wild-rice I had sitting around in my pantry. If you can't get hold of wild-rice I would probably skip it because I put it in the soup for the texture and basmati just wouldn't be the same.
Also, at the risk of sounding patronising - it's a soup, replace some or all of the vegetables for other root-vegetables and I'm sure it's still going to be a nice soup. There was nothing scientific going on with my vegetable-choice. I simply went for the stuff that looked like it wanted to be used up in the next few days and added some other stuff that looked pretty.

Oh, and in case you are wondering - all my veg is from my local farmer's market - they were all on the small side of the spectrum.

Nourishing Root-Vegetable & Wild Rice Soup
4 small Beets
3 small Carrots (I used a mix of cooking carrots and purple carrots)
2 medium Parsnips
3 Celery Stalks
4 small Potatoes
1 small Onion
1/2 cup Wild Rice
Enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables
Salt, Pepper and whatever other spices you like

Cook the wild rice for 35-45 minutes in slightly salted water, drain and set aside. While the wild rice is cooking away, start on the veg.
Peel the beets etc. and wash the celery and cut it all into chunks - the cooking time is based on the chunks you can see in the photo above, if you make them smaller or bigger, adjust the cooking time.
Heat some oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot and sauté the onion until it becomes glassy. Add the carrot, parsnip, and celery pieces and give them a minute or two. Add the potato and beetroot and give things a good stir.
Add enough stock to cover the vegetables, cover the pan and simmer away over low to medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes.
Don't forget the wild rice.
Check how the vegetables are doing (the beets will take longer than the potatoes to become super-soft, but I like them fairly 'al dente' so I use the potatoes as a measure of doneness) when you feel they have about 10 minutes left to go, add the wild rice.
Once the vegetables are cooked but are hopefully still not falling to pieces, season and admire the colour of the soup.
Personally, I don't think you need bread with this soup but crackers make everything better. Oh, and a dollop of yoghurt or sour cream won't hurt either.

Buttermilk with Carrot and Butternut Squash Soup

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In case I have never told you before - I love meals that require only one pot or pan. Partly because for the entirety of my adult life I have not lived in a place with a dishwasher and I really don't like washing up. More importantly, though, I love all those dishes that allow flavours to build and mix and develop. Soups and stews and casseroles - take some simple things, give them some time and you end up with some amazing flavours and leftovers for the next couple of days :)
This soup is one of those amazing dishes - it's incredibly easy, it tastes like home and the last glorious autumn days even when it's already snowing outside, and while each of its ingredients is nice by itself, it is so much more than just the sum of its parts.

Buttermilk with Carrot and Butternut Squash Soup
200g Carrots (I used a variety of carrots that pretty much breaks apart when you cook it and that becomes super creamy, normal carrots will not be as creamy but will taste nice as well)
200g Butternut Squash
1/2 Apple
1 small Onion
Olive Oil
Beef Stock (trust me, the beef works wonders here!)
A small glass of white wine if you have some sitting around
Buttermilk (lots and lots and lots - I used 100ml for my bowl)
Salt, Pepper, Crushed Chilli Flakes

Peel and dice the carrots, butternut squash, onion and apple (eat the remaining 1/2 apple while you cook). I don't believe it makes a difference what size you go for other than that if you cut tiny pieces things are going to cook faster.
Heat some olive oil in a pot and sauté the onions until they become glassy, add the carrots, butternut squash and apple. Stir around for a bit, then add the wine and enough beef stock to cover everything.
Cook until the carrots are tender. If you get bored - do you have any more wine left? Remember the other half of that apple from earlier? They should go really well together :)
Once the carrots are tender, puree using an immersion blender.
Season until you are happy.
Put some soup in a bowl and then drown it in buttermilk (don't forget to stir because the buttermilk will sink). If I'm perfectly honest with you I tend to use more buttermilk than soup but then I do love soup with my buttermilk or yoghurt. If you're not convinced - the soup is lovely on its own but you should really try it with some (or lots) of buttermilk!
Oh, and bread obviously works really well with this :)

Zucchini and Pea Soup

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I know...it's been forever and I don't know when I'll write again (I already feel bad starting a post this way) but it's crunch-time and I must admit that my ready-meal consumption has skyrocketed and even I am happy to admit that I am operating on waay to little sleep these days. If you feel like coming for a visit and cooking us some homemade meals Ashley and I will love you forever :)

Anyhow, a while back I actually cooked something that involved more than just a pan and some eggs, and since it was really nice I thought I could share this summery soup with you. It's perfect at the end of a long, end-of-summer day and if you (like me) live in a place where you can only imagine what summer is like (and you are worried that you might start glowing in the dark some time very soon) this soup does a really good job at making you feel like it's summer.

I got the idea for this soup in a copy of Für Sie magazine that I found in the waiting room while I was waiting for the doctor back home to fix my wrist (and guess what - I walked out after 10 minutes and it hasn't hurt since). Anyhow, so I saw this recipe and had obviously left my phone at home and who brings paper and a pen to the doctor's (if you can read all the trashy magazines on the planet while you wait), so I was sitting there trying to memorise the recipe and I have the slight suspicion that I looked really stupid sitting there staring at one single page for nearly 10 minutes.

But, I still remembered the recipe two weeks later, and then I changed all the quantities and decided that I could turn a slightly unhealthy soup into something that I believe is actually good for you.

So after all of this, if you haven't died from boredom, here is the recipe :)

Zucchini and Pea Soup

500g Zucchini

300g Peas (I used frozen ones)
½  Onion
1 Garlic Clove
Some Olive Oil
800 ml Vegetable Stock
300-500g Low Fat Yoghurt (you can go for the full fat version, I'm sure it'll taste nice, but the low fat one works beautifully and why eat calories that feel slightly wasted if you can just enjoy some chocolate after having the soup instead :) )
Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg
A few fresh Mint Leaves

Wash the zucchini and cut it into slices (try to get them to about the same thickness so they'll all be done at the same time, but don't worry too much about it, nobody is going to see them later anyway)
Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Heat some olive oil in the stockpot you will use for the soup and sauté the onion, once the pieces are see through (I just had to stop myself from writing translucent, this whole writing-up thing is getting to me, I'm starting to use weird words...), then add the garlic and wait until your kitchen smells all lovely and garlicky.
Add the zucchini and give it a couple of minutes of love and affection by stirring every once in a while while you sauté it before you add the peas.
Give things a quick stir before you add the stock.
Simmer until the zucchini is tender (i.e. not mushy) and the peas are soft as well.
Add some mint, then take the pot of the heat and puree everything until you are looking a nice and smooth green soup.
Stir in the yoghurt - I like to have soup with my yoghurt so I tend to use the full 500g, if you're not that keen or just not sure, start with about 300g, then add more if you think it could do with some more.
Season with some salt, pepper and nutmeg if you don't feel the stock isn't already enough.
Enjoy with some bread or before said chocolate :)
All right, I hope you are having a lovely time and I'll try to write again some time soon, but I can't really promise anything until I submit (hopefully really soon).

Black-Eyed Bean and Roasted Pepper Soup

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I know a lot of you live in places where it actually gets warm but around here we have been getting excited about the semi-lack of rain (there was some hail on Monday though) and the balmy 16˚C we've been having for the last couple of days...I mean isn't it exciting if you don't have to wear a scarf...
Anyhow, the reason I'm complaining is twofold a) I think complaining about the weather here makes it so much easier for me to write because leaving the cold asap is a really good motivator for me (and if I finish writing up quickly enough I'll get to go on a holiday with my friend Sandra so I'm writing like a crazy person right now) and b) I know you might not want to cook what I write about these days because it'll be too warm for where you are right now but I won't start making ice-cream or anything else like that until I stop making a hot water-bottle every evening :)
So after all of that, today's recipe is one for a lovely soup I made a while back when the wind decided to uproot the tree in front of our house and when the only thing you really wanted was curl up under a blanket and drink some tea.

Black-Eyed Bean and Roasted Pepper Soup
1 cup Black-Eyed Beans, dried
2 Red Peppers
1/2 Onion, diced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
Vegetable Stock
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
A pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
3 tbsp Parmesan, grated

The night before you are planning to make the soup soak the beans in cold water.
On the day, drain the water, and cook the beans in some fresh water until they are tender. This depends a bit on the the size and age of your beans so just keep checking, mine took just over an hour.
While the beans are cooking, preheat the grill in your oven.
Wash the peppers, pat them dry, half them and deseed them. Then put them into a baking dish skin-up and stick them under the grill for about 20 minutes. You'll want to check them every once in a while to make sure they're not  super black on one side and still completely raw on the other side (i.e. you might have to rotate them) but some charring is perfectly acceptable. When they're starting to be done the skin will start lifting off in some places and they'll start looking softer.
Take them out of the oven and let them cool.
Once the beans are cooked through, drain them and put them to the side.
If you haven't done so, dice the onion.
Take the cooled peppers and peel off the skin (most of it will just rub off, but if you're having problems with some bits, a knife should do the job :) ) and dice them.
Heat some olive oil in a pot, then sauté the onions, once they're all lovely and translucent, add the garlic and wait until your kitchen smells like you're trying to get rid of some vampires (I know, I've been watching too much Buffy), then add the beans and pepper.
Add enough stock to cover everything and give the beans and the peppers some time to get to know each other, about 10 minutes should be enough.
Puree everything until you have a very smooth soup, then season with salt, pepper and some cayenne pepper if you feel like a bit of a kick.
Stir in the tomato puree (this is mainly for the colour but it also works wonders flavour-wise).
Just before you're ready to serve the soup, add the parmesan.
Enjoy your soup with some fresh bread and some tea if you're still not warm enough :)

Semolina Soup

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I made some soup for dinner.
Now, you might ask why I was telling you about this soup when I was writing about foods that are nice when you're ill. This was my grandpa's favourite soup when I was little and for me it's not just the soup itself but also the way your kitchen smells when you are roasting the  semolina.
Oh, and the taste makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I made a really simple version of this soup today - you normally chop some vegetables and put them in before you add the stock - but if you have seen me try to navigate a spoon to my mouth with my right hand you will agree that me wielding a sharp knife right now is a very scary thought...very scary indeed...
So, let's make some soup :)

Semolina Soup
30g Butter
35g Semolina
750ml Stock
Some vegetables such as leek, celeriac, and carrot if you feel like it

Heat the butter in a pot, then add the semolina. Cook (or fry or whatever you call this) the semolina for about 10 minutes on a low heat until it has become a golden yellow (you are basically making a roux just with semolina instead of flour, so keep stirring).
If you are using vegetables, chop them finely and add them now.
Keep cooking the mix until the semolina has turned a dark yellow, then add the stock, turn the heat down as low as it will go, cover the pot and find something to do for an hour (may I recommend crappy TV).
Serve on it's own or with some chives on top. Oh, and the Charlie and Lola bowl is obviously vital for your enjoyment of the soup :)
 

Carrot, Coriander, and Chicken Soup

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I hope you're getting ready for Christmas at the moment and I am keeping my fingers crossed that those of you who are stranded at the moment will make it home to your families in time!
I must admit I haven't touched a pot or an oven since Wednesday (and that was a simple dish of bavettine with a tomato sauce).
We went to Paris and had some amazing food. How often do you get macarons at a conference?!?
But as much as I enjoyed the food I was craving something slightly more on the healthy side of things by the time I made it home, so forgive me if I refuse to give you another sweet recipe for one or two posts.
I made this soup a while back and it's pretty much the Carrot and Coriander Soup I wrote about earlier this year with some chicken added but it really does turn a simple, warming soup into a full meal.

Carrot, Coriander, and Chicken Soup

1kg Carrots, peeled and sliced

1 Onion, diced

2 Garlic cloves, diced

2-3 tsp Red curry paste

1 tbsp Vegetable oil

2 Chicken Breasts (without the skin), cut into chunks

A handful of Desiccated Coconut 

1 Vegetable stock cube

1tsp Marmite

1/2 l Hot water

50g Fresh coriander

Yoghurt

Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the chicken. Once the chicken is done, take it out of the pot but leave the remaining oil in the pot, add the red curry paste and watch it bubble away for around 30 seconds. Add the onion and the garlic, stir and give it a couple of minutes, stirring more or less continuously.

Add the chicken and the carrots, then add enough water to cover everything.

Add the stock cube and the marmite and the coconut and simmer until the carrots are tender.

If the carrots are just about done, turn down the heat, find your trusty friend the hand blender thing and blend away :) 

I got a bit carried away with the blender but I think it would be the nicest texture-wise if you could still identify some of the chicken as actual chicken.

Chop the coriander, stir it into the soup and enjoy the soup with some yoghurt and a slice of rye bread.

Savoy-Cabbage and Salmon Stew

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I don't know about you guys but I've been freezing lately. So while browsing through a copy of Delicious I came across this winter cabbage and chorizo stew (Mick, don't you dare to even think the comment I know you desperately want to make!!!). Anyhow, I thought a hot and spicy stew would be a lovely thing for tonight. I must admit my choice of veg was dictated by me trying to save money for when I go to the States next month (I've got one word for you - roadtrip!!!!!) so it's a mixture of what I had left and what was on offer :)
Oh, and it's a bit of a mixture of measurements (I made enough stew for probably 4 or 5 portions but I only used salmon for 1)

Savoy-Cabbage and Salmon Stew
1 Savoy Cabbage
1 Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
200g Celery
2 tins Chopped Tomatoes
2 tsp Thai Red Curry Paste
Olive Oil
250ml Vegetable Stock
170gr Salmon Filet per person
Some Yoghurt

Chop the veg (like all of it) while listening to some good music :)
Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and give it some time to turn glassy. Then add the garlic and once that has gotten all lovely and fragrant add the curry paste. Give it a minute or so while stirring to make sure it doesn't start sticking to the pan.
Add the celery and the savoy cabbage, give it another stir and then add the stock and the tomatoes, mix everything together and then sit back and relax.
Thinking about stock, I normally make mine by using some powdered vegetable stock and then adding some Marmite. It really makes a difference! Give it a go, even if you don't like it on bread.
Anyhow, back to the stew, wait until the cabbage is al dente, then add the salmon. I chopped mine into pieces and stirred it into some of the stew but it would probably be just as nice as a large piece that you steam by sitting it on top of the stew and covering it with a lid. Once the salmon is done, turn off the heat, put it into bowls and then add a couple of teaspoons of yoghurt to each bowl.
Enjoy on its own or with some warm bread...and then tell me what this magical thing called bread tastes like...

Warming Red Curry Carrot and Coriander Soup

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If you are lucky enough to be somewhere it's actually warm I have to apologize in advance. But I'm freezing here in St Andrews so it's back to the warming soups and stews :)
For this recipe I was aiming for the warmth you get from using a small amount of Thai Red Curry Paste, so don't overdo it with the paste.

Warming Red Curry Carrot and Coriander Soup
1kg Carrots, peeled and sliced
1 Onion, diced
2 Garlic cloves, diced
2-3 tsp Red curry paste
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 tin Coconut milk
1 Vegetable stock cube
1tsp Marmite
1/2 l Hot water
50g Fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the red curry paste and watch it bubble away for around 30 seconds. Add the onion and the garlic, stir and give it a couple of minutes (make sure you don't let the paste burn, so keep stirring).
Add the coconut milk and after stirring thoroughly add the carrots.
Add enough water until the carrots are just about covered, then add the stock cube and the Marmite. Simmer for around 10 minutes.
If the carrots are just about done, turn down the heat, find your trusty friend the hand blender thing and blend away :) I thought it would be nicer with some of the carrot still identifiable...
Anyhow, back to the soup, we're nearly done - chop the coriander, add it to the soup and find some pretty bowl to serve it in.
Enjoy how the soup warms up your hands both from the outside and the inside :)

Minty Pea and Watercress Soup

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As I promised you on Tuesday, it's time for a summery soup again.
I originally wanted to call it something like 'Slimegreen Goo' but I was shouted down by several people who shall remain nameless :) but you have to admit it would have been an aweseomely appropriate name.
This is the kind of soup you can make after a day of too much work and still feel a bit like Nigella.
Also, go for the generous side of what you think would be appropriate portion-size wise. I made the following recipe for 6 and it wasn't enough (even with the better part of 2 baguettes). BUT, that means you have the perfect excuse to either defrost some cake (like we did) or to spend your time whipping up some culinary amazingness (if you do please send me a picture!).
All right, here we go :)

Minty Pea and Watercress Soup
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Garlic clove, chopped or sliced or whatever you feel like
4 Baby potatoes (ok, I admit it that was the only stuff I had in...be sensible and use a proper floury potato)
1.5 l stock (I have this addiction thing going on with the Alnatura vegetable stock, if you're in Germany you should try that one!!! It's amazingly amazing!!! And it doesn't have any MSG in it)
1 kg Peas (that is without the hull, i.e. frozen or shelled)
A dash of white wine
150 g Watercress
Some mint leaves
Some (ok, lots of) grated parmesan

Let's get going!
Heat up some olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot, add the onion and garlic and sauté them for a couple of minutes. While they are on their way to slightly glassy oblivion, peel the potato(es) and dice them.
Add the potato and fry for another minute.
Add the stock and simmer for about 15 minutes (while your amazing friends set the table).
Add the peas and the wine and bring back to the boil and give it another 3 or so minutes before you add the watercress.
Allow the watercress to wilt a bit before you take the pot off the heat. Add the mint and whizz it with your best friend the hand-held blender thing.
Season if it's not quite there yet and serve it with some parmesan sprinkled on top.
Relax and enjoy the flavours tango in your mouth :)

Gazpacho

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I know this is gonna lead to a few more annoyed emails amongst those of you in St Andrews, but I'm still complaining about the heat :)
Berlin is boiling, so most of the time I don't even feel like thinking about food (how often will you hear me say that?!) so today's recipe is a chilled soup. I must admit the picture is one I took this weekend when I ate some gazpacho in a lovely little restaurant serving only soup (and before you ask - I was lost at that point and don't have a clue where I was, I had an  awesome time being lost and looking at buildings though!) but the recipe is one (based on a BBC Good Food recipe) that I made last week with my amazingly amazing friend Bettina while admiring her flat (oh the floor-jealousy!!!).
Give this recipe a try if you're somewhere warm, If you're somewhere cold I promise to write about something more warming :) once I get back to St Andrews and start complaining about being freezing again.

Gazpacho
6 Really ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 Spring onions, chopped
1 Garlic clove
1/2 Cucumber, peeled
Olive oil
Aceto balsamico
Salt & pepper
1/2 Green pepper

Put the tomatoes, spring onions, garlic, and cucumber in a blender and whizz until smooth (the original suggested straining the mix through a sieve but our mix was already ultra smooth so we couldn't be bothered, if you don't like pulp then that would be an option).
Turn down the speed of your blender and add some olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper (I didn't add any quantities because that really depends on how you prefer your gazpacho - keep trying!).
Put everything into a container you can cover and put it into the fridge (this is a step that makes it nice but if you're as rushed as I was last week it'll still taste nice at room temperature - sorry I had to rush off, Bettina!).
Once you're ready to serve the gazpacho, chop the green pepper into 1cm cubes and use them as a garnish.
Serve with some bread and hopefully more time than I had :)

Sweet Potato and Cashew Curry Soup

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This recipe was inspired by a visit to Nahm-Jim in St Andrews. Is there anyone who doesn't love their food? Anyhow, on a cold Friday night in March a (back then) vegan Katharina got blown away by this curry.
Here's my version of this little piece of heaven in soup form

Sweet Potato and Cashew Curry Soup
2 largeish Sweet potatoes chopped into nice big chunks
1 handful Cashews
1/2 Onion, finely diced
2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 tsp Red curry paste
2 tbsp Cream of Coconut
1 tin Coconut milk
Enough stock to cover the sweet potatoes

Heat some oil in a pan, saute the onions, add the garlic and once it starts smelling all lovely and  garlicky, add the red curry paste and cook for a minute.
Add the cream of coconut and cook for a bit longer. If it goes a bit too thick, add a bit of the stock. Don't forget to stir :)
Add the sweet potatoes the coconut milk and add enough stock so the sweet potatoes are pretty much covered (i.e. you don't want half the chunks to be uncovered).
Simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender.
Depending on how you like your cashews you could either add them relatively early (they go all buttery tender) or just before serving (they'll still be nice and crunchy....well as crunchy as cashews will ever be...).
Enjoy on it's own or with some bread (strips of corn tortillas work really well, too).