Whats on Tonights Menu? Tomato and Lentil Soup!

Its almost winter, which is officially soup season! Making soups are a great way to get nutrients in a delicious form and are so easy to make. Tonight I experimented to make a tomato and lentil soup, based on a recipe I found online and then I changed it to spice it up a little.

Message me if you want the original recipe, but heres what I made...

Serves: 6 large serves, 8 normal serves

Ingredients

• 2 brown onions, chopped roughly
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 10 roma tomatoes, chopped roughly
• 2 cans of lentils (800g), drained and washed thoroughly (you could also use non-canned as well!)
• 1 teaspoon dried hot chilli powder
• 1/3 bunch of fresh basil
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 500ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 stalks of celery 
• 5 cloves of garlic, smashed but not chopped

Preparation method

1. Heat the butter in a large heavy based saucepan. Cook the onion and celery until onion starts to go translucent and celery is slightly aromatic.
2. Add the tomatoes, lentils, garlic, chilli, basil and cumin, stock and a few grinds of salt and pepper. Stir, then bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Stir occasionally and get a whiff of the awesome concoction you are making. Enjoying food can start with the aroma!



Simmer, simmer... sniff! sniff!

3. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly, then purée the soup with a hand-held blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. For a special touch, garnish each bowl with a dollop of natural yoghurt or cream, plus some finely chopped spring onions. Serve with a crusty seeded wholegrain roll if you want some bread with it as well, as pictured.

This has been quoted by my husband to be “Best. tomato. Soup. Ever.” My brother who rates his palate for good food on par with Matt Preston said that the soup was "well balanced, a good flavour hit without being overpowering and leaves you feeling full but not bloated". Not bad for very little effort! I often make a large batch when making soups, then keep it for lunches during the week, or freeze it to use later. Bulk cooking saves time and money, so is a great option for those who are busy!

The real hero of this soup is the cumin, a spice native to India and the Eastern Mediterranean.  It is an aromatic warming spice commonly added to curries, stews and soups.

Medicinally speaking, cumin is used and highly valued is Ayurvedic (Traditional Indian) medicine. It is a known carminative, which means it helps soothe intestinal spasm, relieve bloating & flatulence and improve peristalsis (your intestinal digestion movement). It has also been shown to improve liver detoxification, help pancreatic enzyme stimulation, be a potent antioxidant and help fight colds. Keep in mind, this would be at a much higher dose than a couple of teaspoons in soup, but with regular eating, may help digestion long term.

Another kitchen experiment success! 

Whats on tonight's menu? Ridiculously Easy Pasta!

I grew up on supermarket pasta sauces. Ads make them look delish, showing a saucepan filled with tomato, garlic, onion and other herbs which have been gently simmering together.  Apparently this saucepan of goodness is the sauce you buy in the jar.  I don’t know what half of the ingredients are on the back of those sauce jars, but I know its not like an Italian mamma used to make!

People buy stuff in a jar because its convenient and easy. I offer you a pasta sauce which is ridiculously easy, 100% real food ingredients and healthy for you too!

All you need...

• Roma tomatoes (2-3 big ones, or 5-6 small ones)
• 1 Red onion
• Fresh basil leaves,torn up (a small handful should do)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

*****

1. Chop up your onion and gently fry.
2. When onions are translucent, add the tomatoes (which are diced up to your desired level of chunkiness), plus some salt & pepper to taste. Allow it to simmer gently (just like the ads!)
3.  Add the basil a few minutes before the pasta is cooked.
4. Once the pasta is drained, put the pasta back in the saucepan, add the sauce plus a few drizzles of olive oil. Toss, then serve with freshly shaved parmesan cheese.

Yep, thats it.  And you can improvise with this too – pine nuts, garlic, carrot, fresh mince, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, chilli, beans, rosemary, oregano, parsley – all these can be added to the sauce.  My sauce tonight has added sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and garlic.

Simmering up a storm!

 To keep the healthiness going in this dish, avoid using white pasta. There is little nutritional value in white pasta and it has a high glycemic index (which means it will give you a high energy boost quickly, followed by a quick energy drop). Wholemeal pasta, buckwheat pasta or spelt pasta has a lower glycemic index (lower energy release) and contains fibre. Did I mention that they taste good as well?

Bon appétit!  

-Laura x

Creamy sauces on a non-refrigerated shelf... anyone else think this is just plain wrong??

Whats on tonights menu? Rainbow Salad!

Whats on tonights menu?

It’s getting colder outside, so its good to have a nice hearty meal! Winter doesn’t mean you should give salads a rest either! You can make lighter salads for summer and use more root vegetables (carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, beetroot) in winter. This is one of my favourite winter salads, which I named rainbow salad because its o so pretty to look at! It is a tasty side dish for most meats. I usually have it with fish or chicken.

How to make...

1. Lightly fry up 1 sweet potato, which has been chopped into 1cm cubes. Add salt and pepper to taste.When the colour starts to change (it will go a deeper orange when cooked) and it starts to go a bit brown, add in 1 chopped red onion and 4 chopped broccolini stalks (broccoli also works well). Cook until onion is transluscent and broccolini is a brighter green. Take off the heat and allow it to cool.
2. Grate up 1 medium sized raw beetroot. Add to the bowl.
3. Chop up 4 cups of leafy greens. I use 2 cups of baby spinach, 1 cup of kale and 1 cup of rocket. Use whatever combination you want, but avoid iceberg lettuce! Add to the bowl.
4. Finely chop up 100-150g of sundried tomatoes. These add a fantastic flavour to the mix.  Add to the bowl.
5. Once cooled, add your sweet potato mix to the bowl, then add some cracked pepper and drizzle extra virgin olive oil. Toss just prior to serving (otherwise the beetroot tends to overtake the colour!)

Serves 4.

Another success which shows that experimentation in the kitchen can take your taste buds on an amazing journey. –Laura x