Curried lentil soup

This is a new 'make, freeze and take to work' lunch option I'm trying. Got a good bit of heat going on!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp cumin seed
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
4 dried chillies, chopped
1/2 head of green cabbage, spring greens or similar, shredded
1/2 carrot or courgette, finely diced
1.5 litres vegetable stock or bouillon
2 cups green or puy lentils

Method:

Fry the onions in the oil until translucent and then add the garlic and other spices, mixed in together and fry for another couple of minutes, then add the greens and the carrot/courgette and continue to fry in the oil, stirring quickly until the greens reduce down. Now add the stock, then the lentils, bring back to a boil and then simmer for around 20 minutes or until the lentils are nicely soft.

Spicy Lentil and Peanut Butter Soup

'Warming Soups' should not really be the order of the day at this time of year but as we appear to have broken the sky, melted a load of ice cap and shoulder-barged the Atlantic Jet Stream off course, hearty soups are here! This one is a proper keeper... I was thinking of doing a big batch of lentil soup, then saw the peanut butter standing there and bingo, in it went.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, mashed up
2 tsp root ginger, similarly mashed
3 dried chillies, crushed up into small chunks
3 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
3 tsp soy sauce
1 litre vegetable bouillon or stock
250g red lentils

Method:

In a large saucepan fry the onion for a minute or so, and then add the red pepper. Fry for a couple of minutes further and then add the garlic and ginger. Give this just under a minute to release its flavour and then add the coriander, peanut butter and soy sauce. Cook through for a couple of minutes and then add the bouillon or stock, and the red lentils. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes and then serve with a big dollop of fresh coriander on top. Yum.

Tofu & Miso Soup

My lot at home don't like chilli. Or curry for that matter. Wifey blanches at the very thought of such ingredients, and the little people do a lot of screaming on the very odd occasion where some of the chilli or hotter ingredients (which I love) sneak into their food, usually airborne. This means that when cooking vaguely oriental dishes, I need to pile in the other flavours to make up for the fact that for family cooking, I can't use chillis to fire up the taste... here combinations like coconut and peanut butter work brilliantly, even bringing a bit of umami to soups and stir fries.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp miso paste
2 litres boiling water
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 carrots, chopped finely
1 tbsp peanut butter
150g bean sprouts
1 head pak choi, finely chopped
200 ml coconut milk
Few chunks of deep fried tofu
Handful of fresh, chopped, coriander
Splash of tamari

Method:

In a large saucepan, dissolve the miso paste in the boiling water, and simmer as you add the crushed garlic and the chopped carrots. Continue to cook for two minutes or so, and then stir in the peanut butter. Allow to simmer for another few minutes and then add the pak choi and breansprouts. Bring back to a simmer and then turn the heat way down before adding the coconut milk (you don't want it to boil from this point on). Stir through, and then add the remaining ingredients...

Jerusalem artichoke soup

Ok. Let's get this one out of the way. Yes, if cooked incorrectly and if you happen to be susceptible, jerusalem artichokes can make you, well, a bit trumpy. If you're vegan, this is already a supposed constant state of being so it's tricky to know how you could ramp things up still further with a portion of toot-inducing tubers. Frankly, it's never happened to me, so I'd give this a try as they are very yummy and a totally different kind of smokey, sweet, nutty taste. They can be mashed up, roasted, and here, I've made soup.

Ingredients:

600g peeled and chopped Jerusalem artichokes

Two medium leeks, washed well and chopped

4 cloves garlic

1 apple, peeled, cores and chopped

Tbsp dried parsley

Tbsp dried chives

Tbsp vegetable oil

800ml vegetable bouillon

300ml Soya milk

Method:

In a large saucepan on a medium heat, turn the jerusalem artichokes, leeks, garlic, apple and herbs through in the vegetable oil for around five minutes. Then add the bouillon and simmer on a low heat for a good hour or so, until everything is really tender and well cooked through. One quick note on the bouillon – I've used that here rather than vegetable stock and it's always a bit salty, which is whey there's no added salt in this dish. If you're using stock, you might want to add a teaspoon of salt.

When the soup has simmered for a good long while, remove from the heat and blend well, then add the soya milk and continue to blend. Serve with fresh chives if you have 'em.

Carrot, lentil and coriander soup

"Soup's not for dinner!" Is a refrain often heard in our house, when the awesome and fabulous Anne, my partner, suggests that it is in some way acceptable to serve soup as an evening meal. It is not. And attempting to 'pad things out' with the odd baked potato or maybe some garlic bread just serves to compound the situation. Terrible idea.

BUT... soup is obviously a top option for lunch, and you can freeze it and take it for work, etc. etc. So I make a fair few soups. Here's a good standby, the ever wonderful mix of carrots and coriander with red lentils thrown in to make it packed with iron and give it a little more umami. This dish can be swerved into a slightly more thai direction with a little lemongrass and substituting the soya milk for coconut milk.

Ingredients:

One medium sized onion
230g carrots, chopped
Four cloves garlic
Tbsp vegetable oil
2 litres vegetable stock
Tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander
200g red lentils
150ml soya milk
Black pepper to taste

Method:

In a large saucepan turn the carrots, onion and garlic through in the vegetable oil over a medium heat. This is apparently known as sweating them, rather unpleasantly.

After a couple of minutes add the vegetable stock and simmer for around ten minutes, add the salt and coriander and crack on with the simmer until the carrots are becoming tender. Then add the red lentils, bring back to a simmer, and leave to cook until the lentils are cooked, through - around 15-20 minutes or so - you'll known when it's happened as they start to break down wonderfully and take on a slight fluffiness.

Remove from the heat and in a dedicated blender or with a hand blender in the pan (my preference) blend the soup until totally smooth. Then add the soya milk and blend in.

Serve in posh bowls with some lovely bread, black pepper to taste and a little more fresh coriander.

Tofu & Pak Choi Noodle Soup

The level of domestic craziness was pretty high tonight as I cooked this, so it's all from memory and the weights are guessed. At least I remembered to take photo. So - noodle soup - spectacularly easy dinner to do, dead popular with the kiddies, practically makes itself. You'll note there are no chillies in the recipe, this is because my loved ones, unlike me, aren't up for a bit of firey fun so if you decide to make this ADD CHILLIES! Yum.

Ingredients:


One small onion
100g carrots, sliced into thin, 5cm batons
200g shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
150g cubed, deep fried tofu
200g pak choi
300g wheat noodles
750cl vegetable stock
One can coconut milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp coriander
3 cloves garlic
3 tsp fresh root ginger
3 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Juice of one lime
2 tsp sugar or mirin
1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Method:

Right, once you've started cooking this it goes like the clappers, so try and prep all the ingredients beforehand if you can. First of all, I'd soften up the noodles in boiling water for three minutes and then rinse and let to stand in COLD water while the rest gets done.

If you've got a blender, it works well if you blend the coriander, garlic, root ginger, soya sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, mirin (or sugar) and rice wine vinegar beforehand too. If you've no blender don't worry - just finely chop or mince them all, mix in a bowl and retain to add at the right moment.

So with noodles softened and the sauce mix prepared, start off by frying the onions, in a large wok, in the vegetable oil. Once they've gone translucent and are on the edge of browning, add the carrot batons. When the carrots are softening, add the tofu and then, after a minute or so, the mushrooms. Let the mix cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the sauce mix, and cook for a further five minutes.

Now add the vegetable stock and coconut milk, and bring to a gentle simmer. At this point add the softened noodles and stir through well. All done.

To serve: 

Some more fresh coriander is dead nice now, and if you're feeling dead posh, some sesame seeds sprinkled over the top looks rather swanky. Have some soya sauce to hand in case you want some more and, don't forget - add some chillies!