Soup
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| Carrot, potato, turmeric, and ginger soup |
Here are a couple of soup recipes I've been working on recently. Healthy, tasty, healing, vegan.
Slow cooking is the way to go, if you can. That's how Gran made things so tasty. She had no choice, mostly, because the gas pressure back then was so low she had to leave it on all day in order for things to cook. We can use slow cookers these days, or have the electric on a very low setting.
I was talking to a friend in Morocco a couple of years ago, who was said to make the best tagine in the country (a tagine is a thick Moroccan stew that can have either meat and veg, or just veg, in it). I asked him for his recipe and he said, within reason it really doesn't matter what your ingredients are. Any standard tagine recipe is probably a good starting point. The real secret ingredient is to cook it over charcoal/a very low heat, all day. Start mid morning, and it'll be ready for dinner at 6 or 7pm. That's what give you the best taste.
I know cooking fuel can be expensive, and if you've a gas stove you might want to limit the time it stays on for health reasons, but if you can, cooking soups or stews for a few hours will improve taste.
So here's 2 recipes, for my version of a Corn Chowder, and a Carrot soup that many would market as a 'flu buster' because it's packed with the right sort of healthy ingredients to fight off colds. Both recipes will give you about 4 to 6 big bowls of soup. I still use salt but you can omit if needed.
CARROT, POTATO, TURMERIC, AND GINGER SOUP
Ingredients
2 lb carrots
4 potatoes of any kind, although white will break down best
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 inch chunk of ginger
1 turmeric root of about 1 or 2 inches length (I find this root in my local Asian shop. If you can't find this then use 1tsp powder)
1 tsp salt
1/2tsp cumin powder, and black pepper
1/4tsp cinnamon powder, and chili powder
1 tbsp maple syrup, or pomegranate molasses, or other sweetener
Method
Chop the onion. garlic, ginger, turmeric, potatoes and carrots. You can skin the veg first if you want but I favour scrubbing the dirt off and keeping the skins on, as there's lots of nutrient and fibre in them.
Put it all, along with the spices, into a stock pot with just enough water to cover the ingredients.
Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer, and put the lid on the pot. Cook for at least half an hour, although if you can leave it longer, then do so. I'm not suggesting the 8 hours of old days, but an hour is good if possible (longer if you've a slow cooker).
If you have a blender, let the soup cool then pour it in and blend until smooth. If you don't have a blender then just use a potato masher, or as a last resort, a large fork.
If it's thick enough for you, then you're finished. If you need it to be thicker, add 1tbsp cornstarch to a little cold water, whisk well, then add to the soup and keep the heat going until the cornstarch mix starts to thicken up. This should take between 5 and 10 minutes. Note; the cornstarch mix won't thicken unless you heat it.
Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, or sweetener if you need to. Serve with a sprinkling of fresh herbs or sprouts.
Once you've made it a couple of times you will learn how much water to put in at the time of boiling. More water makes for a thinner soup. You can also adjust the seasoning, trying other spices such as perhaps a little nutmeg, or allspice. Treat your first time making this as a test run and as an opportunity to work out what tastes and textures you really enjoy.
CORN CHOWDER
Ingredients
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
4 white potatoes
1 tsp oregano, salt, and pepper
4 bay leaves
2 cups of stock.
4 cups of frozen corn
2 cups plant based milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
Optional - 1 red pepper and 1 cup of chopped cabbage
Method
Chop the onion and garlic and fry in a little oil, in a stock pot, on a medium heat.
Chop the potatoes into cubes about 1cm square. Add these to the pot, along with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Also add the red pepper and cabbage at this time if you're using them. Fry, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
Add 2 cups of the corn, and the stock, and bring to the boil.
Whilst it's coming to the boil add the 2 remaining cups of corn and 2 cups of milk to a blender, and blend well. Add this to the stock pot and stir well. Then simmer for about an hour.
When the soup is done you might find it's not thick enough. This is purely personal, some people like a thicker chowder. If this is the case, put 2 tbsp cornstarch into a small bowl with about 1/2 cup cold water, whisk well, then add to the pot. Stir and continue to simmer. After 5 to 10 minutes it'll thicken up.
Note; I haven't add tumeric root to this corn soup recipe but you can. A big difference between turmeric root and turmeric powder is that the powder tastes earthy and can significantly effect the taste of a dish, whereas the turmeric root has very little taste. I add it along with garlic cloves to a great many dishes, including all my pasta sauces, as it's said to be extremely good for us.
