Tomato Soup Anyone??

It's been a little on the chilly side here in Sydney the last few weeks. Well, maybe a bit longer than that. Anyhow, when it gets chilly out, there is nothing I like better than some hot homemade soup. This time around, I decided to make one of my all time favorites; Cream of Tomato Basil Soup.

I started with a recipe off the Atkins website and modified it some. First thing I did was cut the amount made to four servings. It's just my husband and I here so we make enough for dinner the night before and lunch the next day. This soup fit the bill for that perfectly.

Here's my recipe (my husband said it was perfect) for you to try. I certainly enjoyed it and I believe you will too.

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP unsalted butter
• 1 leek chopped, white part only
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 can (400 gram or 14 oz) of diced tomatoes, strained
• 1 med to large fresh tomato, de-seeded and diced
• 500 ML chicken broth (roughly two cups)
• 2/3 - 1 cup of basil, roughly chopped
• pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 2 TBSP of good sherry
• 2 TBSP of tomato paste

Method:

1. Heat the butter in a deep pan. Add the leeks and garlic and saute until tender, stirring frequently.
2. Add the strained and fresh tomatoes, broth, chopped basil, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3. Either transfer to a blender and blend in batches or use a hand held blending sick and blend in the pot.
4. Stir in the cream, sherry, and tomato paste. Heat over low heat until very hot but NOT boiling.
5. Divide between serving bowls, garnish with your favorite toppings (mine were homemade croutons, fresh basil, and Parmesan cheese) and serve.

It is a very easy and delicious recipe. Next time, I think I will use all fresh tomatoes and roast them prior to using them in a soup. That should be interesting.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.  

Cauliflower Soup

I love love love Donna Hay!  There, I said it.  She is a fantastic chef and wonderful creator of great recipes.  The recipe that I am currently enamored with is out of the Donna Hay Magazine Jun/Jul 2013 (Issue 69) on page 81.  It's called cauliflower soup with spiced cauliflower.  I've made it twice now, once the way she does it in the magazine and once my vegan way.  I have plenty of friends who are vegetarian and/or vegan and I thought that maybe I'd give it a go for them.  Take one for the team so to speak.  :)

Since her recipe was absolutely fabulous on all levels of consciousness, I thought I would play around with it and see if I could a) make a vegan version and b) experiment with additions to it.  I'll feature my adapted version here but I strongly suggest that you buy the magazine (Issue 69) and try making it her way if you are not vegan.

So, start with gathering the ingredients.  I used the following:

• 2 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 leek, trimmed and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 400 grams raw cauliflower, chopped
• 200 grams potato, peeled and chopped
• 3 1/2 cups of vegetable stock or water
• sea salt and cracked black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a medium stock pan over medium to medium high heat.  Add the leek and cook for about five minutes until soft.  Be sure and stir it on occasion to keep it from browning too much.
2. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.
3. Add the cauliflower, potato, vegetable stock (or water), salt, and pepper then bring to a boil.  
   
4. Reduce heat to simmer and then cover with a tight fitting lid.  Cook for twenty minutes or until cauliflower is tender.
5. Remove from the heat and blend the soup until smooth.  
6. Set aside and keep warm.

The spiced cauliflower that I made had a different ingredient than what she did and I think it came out just as good as hers.  The following ingredients are needed for the topping:

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 100 grams of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander (cilantro for those in the US)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin OR cumin seeds
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin kernels

Method:

1. Place the oils, garlic, cauliflower, coriander and cumin in a small frying pan over medium / medium high heat.  Cook, stirring often, for about five minutes.
2. When the cauliflower starts to get crisp and golden, add the pumpkin kernels and cook for another minute or two.

To assemble, pour soup into bowls and top with spiced cauliflower.  Bon Appétit!!