Roast Garlic, Broccoli & Pea Soup

Been meaning to upload this recipe for the past couple of days, but something or the other got in the way - but tonight, on the eve of my return to work after 5 months of maternity leave, here I am, finally writing!
Whipped this up with some left over Broccoli for a healthy lunch. Broccoli by itself is rich in Vitamin C and an excellent source of fiber. I love plain steamed Broccoli with just a dash of butter, but felt that the soup needed a little more. So in went the frozen peas, pushing the health quotient of this soup a notch higher. I love the flavour of roasted garlic, as it tastes fabulous and not as garlicky as you would expect, but also the caramalisation while roasting, makes it deliciously sweet, so in went a bulb (yes, a whole bulb!). If you are too lazy to use the oven to roast the garlic, you could try wrapping it in a foil and using a thick bottomed pan to do the trick. But if you do decide to skip the roasting and simply saute the garlic, then I suggest using half the quantity indicated below.
Make this and enjoy with some toasted bread, steamed corn, and you have a light, simple & healthy meal in no time at all!

Ingredients: (Makes about 4 servings)
- 1 medium head of Broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 cup of fresh/ frozen Green Peas
- 1 bulb of Garlic, with peel
- 1 large Onion, sliced thickly
- 1.5 Chicken OR Vegetable stock cube
- 1/2 cup low fat Milk
- 3-4 tbsp Olive Oil,
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 1 cup Feta cheese, roughly crumbled



Method:
1.)  Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Place whole bulb of garlic (with peel) and the onion slices on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle with some Olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 12-15 mins on a low rack (not too close to the heating coil), or till the garlic and onion are golden brown.

2.)  Bring a pot of water (lightly salted) to a rolling boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook the Broccoli florets and Peas till soft. Drain the veggies, but retain 2 cups of the water used to boil (you don't want to lose any nutrients!). Dissolve the chicken / vegetable stock cubes in this water. Transfer the stock to a saucepan/ pot in which you want to ultimately cook the entire soup. Save a few of the boiled broccoli florets, to use as a garnish for later.

3.)  Puree the - boiled Broccoli, Peas, Roasted (cooled & peeled) Garlic and Onion - till smooth. Add some of the stock water to thin out the veggies to help the process.

4.) Add the pureed veggie mix in to the saucepan with the stock water. Add the milk and bring to a full boil before turning off. Check seasonings and add salt/ pepper to suit your palette.

5.) Ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with the crumbled Feta cheese and reserved boiled Broccoli florets & Enjoy right away! 

Roast Pumpkin Soup

Put simply, 2012 has been great... It started off with a bang, with us finding out we were expecting a baby just days before our 3rd wedding anniversary. I surprised myself with how much I was cooking in spite of the fatigue and hormonal see-saw, but by the time I was done plating the food and it was ready to be photographed, I'd have eaten most of it... and when it was time to sit and write, I'd be far far away in dreamland... (allegedly also snoring in contentment, as per my dear husband!)

A whole 11 months later, the baby is down for her afternoon nap, the chores are done and the weather is fantastic - ok the last bit has nothing to do with writing this blog, but it helps to be in a good mood! 
Although I am not really "eating for two" any more, the 9 months of being pregnant made me extremely conscious of what was going into my belly (and on to my butt), and that streak is continuing as I have now graduated into a nursing mom.

I became addicted to Pumpkin soup during the initial months of my pregnancy...something about its mild flavour was comforting and put me in my happy place. Paired with hearty salad this is what I have been turning to quite regularly for weekday lunches when I have to cook for myself while Vineet is away at work ... Its packed with Vitamins A, B, C, E, Calcium and Potassium, and is low in Fat ... Good for me and therefore excellent for little Keya.

Ingredients: (for 2 large servings)
- 2.5 cups Pumpkin, peeled and cubed
- 1 largish Onion, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 medium Carrot, peeled, cut into cubes
- 2 cloves Garlic (un-peeled)
- 1 or 2 Bacon rashers (Optional)
- 1 Vegetable / Chicken stock cube, crushed
- 1 cup low fat Milk, slightly warmed
- 2-3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp dried Oregano
- Salt & cracked Black Pepper, to taste

Method:
Before you begin, set your oven to pre heat to 220 deg C. Then,
1.) In a mixing bowl, combine the peeled, cubed Pumpkin, Carrot, Onion & unpeeled Garlic cloves. Drizzle with Olive oil and season the veggies with a sprinkling of salt and cracked black pepper & the dried Oregano.

2.) Tumble the seasoned, oiled veggies onto a aluminum foil- lined baking tray and pop it into the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until soft and slightly golden brown around the edges.

3.) Saute the bacon in a non-stick frying pan until its browned but still not crisp. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. 

4.) Allow the roasted veggies to cool down a little. Transfer into a food processor after discarding the peels of the garlic. Add the cooked bacon (if using) and then pour a little luke warm water over the veggies and blitz on "pulse"mode till the softened veggies are mashed, and then puree everything till its creamy and lump-free.

5.) Bring 1/2 a cup of water to a simmer and dissolve the Veg/ Chicken stock cube. Mix in the pureed pumpkin mixture and stir gently to combine. Add the milk and bring the soup up to a full boil. Turn down the heat and allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat. Season once again with Salt/ Pepper/ Oregano to your liking. 

6.) Done! 


The soup puree can be made in bulk and refrigerated for 3-4 days or then frozen for atleast a couple of weeks if you want to use it later. 

Roasted ONCATOCA Soup

If I told you what "OnCaToCa" was in the beginning of this post... you will most certainly laugh at my (in)ability to come up with creative names...
But I do want you to know about this soup, is that its downright yummers!! And if made with fresh OnCaToCa, it guarantees 100% soup satisfaction :)

Ok, I'm going to kill the suspense right here... it was the shortest name I came up with for Roasted veggie soup I made... with roasted Onions, Carrots, Tomatoes and Capsicum :P  hence the name OnCaToCa... so no, its not some mysterious exotic ingredient that I discovered :)

We enjoyed this soup along side a lovely Couscous salad, the recipe for which comes from Fred, a friend from work who brought this for a potluck party a couple of weeks ago. You will find the recipe for the couscous in the "salad" section of the blog.

Ingredients:
- 3 medium Tomatoes, cut into larg chunks
- 1 red/ yellow Capsicum, deseeded
- 1 large/ or 2 small Onions, peeled
- 1 medium Carrot, peeled
- 1 tsp dried Thyme

- 6-7 leaves, fresh Basil, chopped
- 1/2 cup Vegetable stock
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin Olive oil
- Salt, Pepper, to taste

Method:
1.) Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.

2.) Chop the Onions, Carrots and capsicum into largish chunks, more or less of the same size, to ensure that they cook in the same time frame. Arrange the chopped veggies onto the baking pan. Drizzle with Olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast the veggies in the hot oven for about 20-25 mins, or till they're cooked and slightly charred in parts.

3.) While the first batch of veggies roast, cut the tomatoes into chunks. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Roast the tomatoes after drizzling them with the olive oil (about 40 mins)
The reason I roasted the tomatoes and the rest of the veggies separately, is that tomatoes have a lot more water, and therefore moisture, before they cook and get slightly charred. This time period is too long for comparatively drier veggies and they will overcook and burn if roasted with the tomatoes.

4.) In a saucepan, bring a cup of water to a simmer and dissolve the stock cube in it. While the water simmers, transfer the roasted vegatables and tomatoes to a blender along with the basil leaves and puree till nice and smooth. Add a little water if it gets too thick.

5.) Pour the roasted vegetable puree into the sauce pan with the water and mix well. Bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning (salt / pepper / thyme) and switch off heat. Let the soup rest for about 5 minutes.

Although this soup is vegetarian, I have also made this with fresh prawns... just season the prawns with salt and pepper & saute a tablespoon of olive oil. To make this more seafood-y puree some of the prawns along with the vegetables in the blender. Add the remaining to the simmering soup right before you switch off the heat. Yum!


Garnish with additional fresh basil leaves and Enjoy with a nice salad or toasted bread. This makes for a delicious, filling and supremely healthy weeknight dinner. Eat up! 

Chinese Chicken-Noodle Soup (with its Vegetarian variant)

We spent last weekend in picture-perfect Thailand... eating, drinking, diving, eating, swimming, getting massages, eating, lazing on white sandy beaches, eating... you get the general picture ;)
But we are back to our city lives now... and after a couple of days of being depressed about our vacation coming to an end, we're shamelessly scouting locations for our next holiday :)
While we're at that, we really wanted to go easy on our stomachs and eat light after all the delicious food we stuffed our faces with, so I like a good little girl, I turned to Soup!

Not only are soups filling and delicious, they're easy to make and extremely good for you... And all one needs to do, is patiently allow a bunch of ingredients to bubble away in a basic broth, while you can take a shower, change and generally feel more human at the end of a busy work day.
Inspired from recipes I've been reading on South-east Asian cooking, all you need for this dinner-in-a-bowl is, a bunch of ingredients, a hungry tummy and....  a BIG bowl! :)

Ingredients:
- 250g boneless Chicken
(or 1 chopped carrot + 1 cup chopped french beans)
- 3 tbsp Soya Sauce
- 3 tsp rice wine Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Sesame oil
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
- 2-3 tsp Sesame seeds,
- 2 tsp Ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 2 cups Cabbage, chopped
- 6-7 Spring Onions, finely sliced
- 2 cups Chicken or Vegetable broth
- 1/2 packet Chinese pan-fry noodles (or whole wheat spaghetti if you cant find noodles)
- 1/4 cup Coriander, chopped

Method:
1.)  Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Transfer to a bowl. Add the Soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil, and allow the chicken to marinate in this for about 15-20 mins.

2.) Toast the sesame seeds on a hot pan and grind a little to form a coarse powder. Whisk together the garlic, crushed sesame seeds, ginger, sugar and some vinegar in a bowl. Set aside.

3.) Bring a pot of water to boil on high heat. Add a tablespoon of salt and Cook noodles till tender. Drain.

4.)  Heat the remaining Sesame oil in a large pan. Add the chopped spring onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the chopped Cabbage, and saute till the cabbage is tender. (If making this vegetarian, add the chopped carrots and beans at this point, and saute till tender)

5.)  Add the chicken (or vegetable) broth and bring to a full boil. Add the marinated chicken along with the marinade, and the garlic-sesame mixture. Reduce heat and simmer till the chicken is cooked.

6.) Add the noodles and stir in half of the chopped Coriander. Switch off heat.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with remaining coriander. Add some sweet-chili sauce if you like ( I love it!) and Eat up! :)

*A quick note about the chicken/ vegetable broth... It's basically 2 stock cubes dissolved in 2 cups of hot water, or a can of ready to use broth.*

Herb-Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup

Its Tuesday. Saturday is THREE whole days away. Work has been slightly busy since I have a presentation coming up at the end of this week, and I wanted to keep dinner as simple as possible, and in sync with our on-going resolution to eat healthy (excuse the chocolate mousse, but we have our weak moments!)
Soups are the easiest and healthiest route to a filling, delicious dinner for Vineet and me. The large batch of tomatoes stashed in the fridge (that were beginning to go soft!), made our decision much easier. This is a slight twist on a traditional tomato soup. Its loaded with the goodness of carrots, celery and (ofcourse!) tomatoes with the fresh basil giving it a beautiful peppery flavour. Enjoy!

This recipe is quantified to make 4 medium or 3 large bowls of Soup.

Ingredients:
- 5 nos. medium Tomatoes
- 2-3 cloves Garlic,sliced
- 1 large Onion, diced
- 1/2 cup Celery, diced
- 1/2 cup Carrots, diced
- 10-12 fresh Basil leaves, chopped
- 1 -1/2 tbsp Extra-virgin Olive oil
- 1-1/2 tbsp Olive oil (to sautee veggies)
- 1 tbsp Dried Thyme
- Cracked Black pepper &
- Salt to taste


Method:
1.) Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C. Take 4 of the tomatoes. Cut into quarters. Lay out onto a baking tray. Drizzle the extra-virgin olive oil over the tomato. Dust the tomato wedges with the dried thyme. Roast in the oven for about 40 mins.

2.) Meanwhile, Heat the Olive oil in a saucepan. Saute the chopped Garlic and Onions till soft. Add the Celery and carrots and saute. Cover the pan with a lid and let the veggies "sweat" and cook in their own steam.

3.) Chop the 5th tomato into chunks. Discard seeds. Chop the basil leaves. Add the chopped tomato and basil leaves to the saucepan and replace the lid. Cover and cook till the carrots are soft enough to mash with the back of a spoon. Switch off the heat.

4.) Dissolve the soup cube in 1/2 a cup of hot water. Transfer the Sauteed veggies to a blender. Puree on pulse mode. Add the dissolved soup cube & water, and the roasted tomato wedges. Add a little more water (another 1/2 cup) and blend till the soup is thick and smooth.

5.) Transfer the blended soup back into the saucepan. Drizzle an additional 1 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil on top if you like (i do!). Pour the milk into the soup and bring to a full boil.

6.) Garnish with a sprig of basil leaves and enjoy with some toasted bread! :)

Real Thai, by Real Thai

Vineet and I are BIG fans of Thai food and have been wanting to cook Thai for a long time now. Although we love the commercially popular, red, green and yellow curries and raw papaya salads of the Thai world, I wanted to try something different ... something that real Thai's cook in their kitchen's regularly... put simply, almost a Aloo-gobhi-daal-chawal equivalent of Indian food.
Sudapim and Panintra, my Thai friends from work, offered to teach me... they shopped for all the ingredients, noted down and very patiently explained how things were done :) This is 100% aunthentic... and I quite enjoyed playing sous chef this time around...
Quantified to feed 2-3 persons, the Thai line-up for this post is:
1.) Thai Raw Mango Salad
2.) Chicken Basil
3.) Thai Chicken Soup
4.) Sudapim's Stir fry Garlic-Shrimp!

THAI RAW MANGO SALAD

Ingredients:

2 medium raw Mangoes

1 large Onion

1 small bunch Coriander, roughly chopped

5-6 tbsp Roasted Peanuts, coarsely ground

3-4 tsp dried Shrimp

1 red Padi Chilli

2 tbsp brown Sugar

1 tsp Fish sauce

2 tsp Soya Sauce

1 Lemon

Method:

1.) Wash and dry the mangoes. Peel using a vegetable peeler. Cut into thin-match stick- like strips. A traditional Thai technique to make these shredded mango strips is to hold the peeled mango in one hand. Using a sharp knife, make quick dices in the flesh length-wise. Then hold the knife parallel to the surface of the mango, and shave off the shredded pieces. Transfer into a bowl. Set aside.

(This can be tricky and I almost diced my thumb off a couple of times... so if you tend to be as clumsy as me, then stick to the safer option of actually cutting them normally...Will take slightly longer, but at least you have all fingers intact!)

2.) Peel and cut the onion in half. Slice finely, to more or less match the size of the mango strips. Add to the shredded mango.

3.) Finely chop the Padi chilli, shred the coriander leaves by hand and add to the salad bowl. Add the dried shrimp and toss gently.

4.) For dressing: Heat a non-stick saucepan. Dissolve the sugar in about 1/2 cup of water and bring to a full boil. Add the fish sauce and soy sauce and continue to boil till the sauce thickens and becomes sticky. Add the coarsely ground roasted peanuts. Switch off heat and allow the sauce to cool a bit.

5.) Pour the sauce over the salad and toss gently to mix well. Garnish with a few sprigs of coriander and sliced red padi chilli (if you can handle the heat!).

CHICKEN BASIL, THAI STYLE

Made with Minced chicken (kheema), and enjoyed with some piping hot steamed rice!

Ingredients:
250g Chicken, minced (kheema)
1 bunch Thai Basil leaves (sweet basil), torn
3-4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Sugar



Method:

1.) Heat the oil in a thick bottomed wok or kadhai. Stir fry the minced garlic. Add the chopped padi chilli followed by the roughly torn basil leaves.

2.) Add the Fish sauce, Oyster sauce and sugar, followed by the minced Chicken. Add the Soya sauce and continue to stir fry till the chicken is cooked. Enjoy with steamed rice.

Warning! The contents of the pan might suddenly catch fire while you stir fry... Don't panic - like I did - and just lower the flame and let the fire go out naturally :)

THAI CHICKEN SOUP (Tom yum kai)

Tom yum soup is a kind of Thai soup that is known for its broth which is both savoury, spicy, and sour. This soup is incredibly flavorful, very light on the stomach and extremely healthy. Sudapim's only special instruction is to not 'stir' the soup as it boils - That might be to allow a slow release of all the flavors of the soups ingredients.

Ingredients:

5-6 Chicken drumsticks

2 large Tomatoes, cut into large chunks

8-10 button Mushrooms, cut in half

1 large onion, cut into large-ish chunks

1-1/2 Knorr Chicken/Vegetable soup cubes

3-4 Lime leaves, cut into thin strips

2 stalks, Lemon grass, bruised

1-1/2" pc of Ginger, sliced into rounds

2 Lemons

2 tbsp Fish Sauce

2 tsp roast Garlic

1 bunch Coriander,roughly chopped

Method:

1.) Heat 3-4 cups of water in a thick bottomed pot. Add the chunks of Onion, Tomatoes and Mushroom, and allow the them to simmer in the water. Dissolve the Knorr soup cubes into the simmering broth.

2.) Bruise 2 stalks of lemon grass using a mortar pestle or the blade of your knife. Add it to the soup, followed by the ginger.
3.) Cut the lime leaves into thin strips and add it to the pot, along with the fish sauce and roasted garlic.
4.) Bring the soup to a full boil. Reduce heat and add the chicken drumsticks. Keep boiling till the chicken is tender and cooked.

5.) Switch off the heat and add the lemon juice and coriander and allow the soup to rest for a few minutes. Tom YUM, Indeed! :)

SUDAPIM'S STIR FRY GARLIC-SHRIMP

This is something chef Sudapim concocted herself... It's a super quick and very yummy stir-fry shrimp, flavoured with basic Thai sauces - fish sauce, oyster sauce and Soya sauce (What's not to like, right?)  The thai padi chilli, adds a lot of heat, so have a glass of chilled water on stand-by! :)

Ingredients:

12-15 Prawns/ Shrimp, shelled & chopped

1-1/2 tbsp Vegetable oil

2-3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp roast minced Garlic

1 red thai padi Chilli

1-1/2 tbsp Soya sauce

1 tbsp Fish sauce

1 tbsp Oyster sauce

1 small bunch Coriander, chopped

1 lime, to squeeze

Method:

1.) Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Stir-fry the chopped garlic and padi chilli.

2.) Add the Fish sauce, the Oyster sauce and the Soya sauce, followed by the roast garlic.

3.) Add the chopped shrimp. Stir fry and cook for a couple of minutes. 

4.) Garnish with copped coriander and a squirt of lime juice.

Simple Mushroom Soup

Although he isn't a regular in the kitchen, my grand dad always cooks with a lot of love and enthusiasm. He makes a few signature "Baba" dishes that have been our favorites since we were kids. Mushroom soup isn't something that kids normally develop a taste for but the way Baba makes it, made it desirable. His recipes almost always involve a generous quantity of butter and cream (but then again, he also belongs to a generation that was 'really' active and did not spend a better part of their day parked in front of a computer, getting up only to refill their coffee mugs!) which are probably what that make his cooking SO good! It rained cats, dogs and monkeys the other day, and for standard Singapore weather it was surprisingly cool. It called for something warm and comforting, and since I had some mushrooms stashed in the fridge from the previous nights pasta, I turned to Baba's mushroom soup for dinner. But of course, since we're trying to eat as healthy as possible, I altered his original recipe and tailored it to make for a super healthy, delicious and light weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:
- 1 pkt white buttom Mushrooms
- 1 tsp Olive Oil / butter
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 large Onion, chopped
- 1-1/2 Vegetable stock cubes (or chicken)
- 2 tbsp All-purpose flour (maida)
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1 tbsp heavy Cream

Method:
1.) Heat the oil in a saucepan. Saute the garlic and onion till they take on some colour. Add the mushrooms when the onions are golden brown. Add the flour to the mushrooms and stir it in to mix well. Stir in the milk and switch off the heat.
2.) Allow the mushrooms to cool down a little. Puree them on 'pulse' mode in a blender till smooth, or chunky if you like. Transfer back into the sauce pan on low heat.
3.) Dissolve the vegetable stock cubes in 1 cup of hot water and milk. Pour into the pureed mushrooms in the saucepan and bring to a slow boil.
4.) Serve up with a swirl of cream and some freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy with some warm garlic toast.

KP's Sopa Mexicana

So, for this weeks weekly-food-exploration, I was keen to try something different & delicious, yet healthy. I was wondering which part of the world we'd explore on our plates this week, when I remembered a recipe that Krithika (my sister from another mother, and probably the most loyal reader of my blog) had passed on to me a couple of months ago. She ofcourse had access to the most authentic ingredients, and since I could'nt find them here easily (i.e. at the store next-door!) I decided to substitute a few of the ingredients. The result was a healthy, supremely-delicious and filling, one-bowl-meal, that was perfect at the end of a lazy Sunday evening. 
The list of ingredients is a little exhaustive, but trust me, its worth it! Although the original recipe calls for Taco seasoning, I used dried Oregano since I couldn't find any. This version uses boiled chicken, and chicken stock as a base, but can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead and enjoyed with some toasted bread. 
Comer bien a mis amigos! :)

Ingredients:
200g Boneless Chicken (2 lbs)
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 Large onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup Celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup Carrot, finely chopped
1/2 Green capsicum, finely chopped
1 cup Rajma beans (soaked,cooked)
7-8 Cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Avocado, cubed (1/2" pieces)
4-5 tbsp Oregano flakes
2-3 tsp Black peppercorns, cracked
1-1/2 tsp Red chilli powder 
Salt, to taste
4-5 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped 
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated


Method, if Using Chicken:
1.) Cut the chicken into curry sized pieces. Put into a microwave-safe container. Pour about 1-1/2 cups of water, and microwave for about 5-6 mins till chicken is cooked. Remove the boiled chicken and set aside to cool. Store the broth (the water) as this will be the base for your soup.
2.) While the chicken boils, Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the chopped Onion & Garlic. Saute till the onion is golden and softens. At this point, add the chopped Celery, Carrots & Capsicum. Cook till soft.
3.) While the contents of the pan are still cooking, shred the chicken pieces using a fork. Add the shredded chicken to the pan and stir to mix well. Add the cooked Rajma beans (black beans) and mix well. 
4.) Add the chicken broth and allow the soup to simmer for a few minutes. Add the chopped Avocado & cherry tomatoes. Add the cracked Black pepper, dried Oregano leaves, Red chilli powder and salt.
5.) Add the chopped Coriander leaves, and let the soup bubble away for a few minutes.
6.) Squeeze the juice of about 1-1/2 limes into the soup. Serve hot garnished with shredded Cheddar cheese. Yum!

To make this Vegetarian:
Leave out step 01. Begin with step 02 and follow through Step 03. Dissolve 1-1/2 cubes of Vegetable stock in 1-1/2 cups of warm water. Add in place of chicken broth in step 04. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as usual.