Tag: soup

3-Grain Soup

3-Grain Soup

A couple of years ago, I only had two soup recipes – and I only used them once or twice a season.

This year, I think I’ve tried twenty new soup recipes, and have remade a few of them.


I’m not really into sipping cosommé (do people do that??). I like a soup that eats like a meal, but doesn’t come in a ready-made gelatinous blob. I’m not sure where the dividing line between soup and stew is, but I think I’m clumsily walking along it.

This soup was a great find, because it allowed me to use a few ingredients I don’t normally buy (like wheat berries and le puy lentils). Do you really need to buy le puy lentils? I don’t think so. I’ve made the soup twice now: once with le puy lentils; and once with brown lentils. Both were great. This is my first time cooking le puy lentils, so I haven’t quite formed an opinion of them.

If you’re not sure whether you’ll ever use wheat berries or lentils again, go to your local bulk store and buy just the amount you need. I do that to save money, and cupboard space.

The amount of garlic in it may sound shocking, but don’t skimp! The garlic mellows out while it cooks, and lightly flavours the soup. I prefer to mash the whole cloves in my bowl just before I eat – it’s less startling than a mouthful of garlic, and nicely seasons the rest of the soup.

3-Grain Soup

3-Grain Soup

One tip – don’t undercook the soup. You might think that the rice should be intact, but I would disagree. I tested the soup with the rice intact, and the broth seemed a little thin. A little more cooking, and the rice starts to break down and thicken the soup. You don’t need the rice to stay perfect in order to have a nice texture – the lentils and the wheat berries do just fine in that regard.

Where to buy in Toronto?

  • Le puy lentils – I thought I should be able to find these at Bulk Barn, or Loblaws, but no luck. I got them from Rube’s at St. Lawrence Market. You should be able to find them at ‘finer’ bulk stores.
  • Wheat Berries – These are pretty easy to find. I got mine at Bulk Barn, but I think you can find them at Rube’s. You might be able to get them from grocery stores.

 

3-Grain Soup

Source: Adapted from this recipe.

6-8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 medium leeks, white parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced (3-4 cups of sliced leek)
  • 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • Fine sea salt
  • 14-ounces canned peeled whole tomatoes, crushed, with juices
  • 6 cups cold water or light-flavoured stock
  • 1 head of garlic, separated into whole peeled cloves
  • 1/3 cup brown rice
  • 1/3 cup le Puy lentils
  • 1/3 cup wheat berries
  • Freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

  1. Heat oil in a preheated, heavy soup pot.
  2. Add the leeks, carrots, olive oil, bay leaves, thyme and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover and cook over low heat until softened.
  3. Add the tomatoes with their juices, the water/stock and garlic and bring to a boil over medium heat.
  4. Turn the heat down to low, add the rice, lentils and wheat berries, cover and simmer until the grains are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  5. Discard the bay leaves, season with salt and pepper and serve.

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Greek Fakkes (Lentil Soup)

Fakkes (Greek Lentil Soup)

Eating vegetarian can sometimes be tricky, because you have to really think about ways of getting the protein you need. On the other hand, I know so many meat eaters that don’t get enough of the nutrients you usually get from veggies! Hahaha. I guess we’re really all in the same boat here.

In the winter months, it’s easier to remember to eat legumes because they are perfect in hearty, warming dishes like Fakkes (Greek lentil soup).

Continue reading Greek Fakkes (Lentil Soup)

Soba Noodle Soup

Soba Noodle Soup

Something happened on the way to the last Daring Kitchen challenge…

I actually divided the challenge up, and did the work on three separate occasions. To accompany the tempura, I thought I would try making a soba noodle soup. I have long been a fan of the lovely Japanese soup broths I’ve tried, and figured it was time to try it for myself!! So worth it!

Continue reading Soba Noodle Soup

Yummy Noodle Soup

Noodle soups are one of my favourite things to have in the winter. It gets to be an addiction to slurp up the noodles and broth, with a hit of spice.

Funny I hadn’t tried to make many until this year. This time around, I decided to try making Tom Yum soup with some noodles added to make it into a meal. The results weren’t quite what I expected, but it sure did hit the spot!

Continue reading Yummy Noodle Soup

Indian-Spiced Squash Soup

Indian-Spiced Squash Soup

Where were you when the weather bomb hit? I was waiting for the crazy to arrive, but it seems to have changed its flight plans.

I didn’t even know ‘weather bomb’ was a real term until I looked it up. What does one eat during an impending (but never arriving) weather bomb? Squash soup, of course!

Over the years, I’ve made a few different squash soups, with varying degrees of success. Some turned out bland, while others were waaay too spicy. Most of the time, I go for something curried – I started with Thai spices, and ventured into Indian.

Making Indian-Spiced Squash Soup

Along the way, I think I’ve developed a pretty good base for the soup – mostly squash, with some carrot to round out the flavour. Whether this is needed really depends on the squash you use… I add carrot all the time now, just because I like it. I also add Granny Smith apple to the blend, to give a hit of sweet and sour. Some of the recipes I found over the years called for sugar — by adding an apple or two, you can avoid that.

This time, I pulled some spices from my masala dabba and seared some paneer to give us something to chew on.

This is a nice toasty, warming soup that’s great on a cold and/or blustery day! Or Tuesday.

Recipe after the jump!

Continue reading Indian-Spiced Squash Soup

Winter Warming Ginger Tomato Soup

Ginger Tomato Soup

This is one of my favourite soups in the winter. It’s fresh and gingery, a little spicy and very hearty. For a more brothy, soupy soup, you can reduce the amount of barley to 1/2 cup. The introduction of either chipotle pepper (a smoked pepper), or smoked paprika gives it a rich, rounded flavour. Fresh ginger gives a bit of a bite, but also a slight citrusy flavour that cannot be replicated with dried ginger.

Feel free to add in any random veggies, or leftover stuff in the fridge (within reason). This kind of soup can be a great ‘use it up’ meal!

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 tsp oil
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery, chopped (plus some of the celery leaves, if you like)
  • 6 medium mushrooms, halved or quartered (depending on size and preference)
  • 1-2 medium carrots, cut into thick slices
  • 1-2 large potatoes, cut into big chunks
  • 2tbsp fresh grated ginger (dried will be quite different, so I do not recommend it)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped
  • 1 tsp chipotle pepper, powdered (if you don’t want spicy, you can use smoked paprika instead)
  • 1 cup corn kernels (can use fresh, frozen or canned)
  • 1 796 ml can of diced tomatoes
  • 4+ cups of broth (a lightly flavoured one, like vegetarian or chicken, can substitute with water if needed)
  • 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 cup of barley, dried
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions:

  1. Heat oil in a pot on medium heat.
  2. Once heated, add onion and celery. Cook until golden and soft – can add a tablespoon or so of broth or water to help with this. Be sure to cook off any extra liquid before the next step.
  3. Add the mushrooms, and saute until soft and lightly browned.
  4. Add the carrots, potatoes, ginger, garlic and chipotle (or paprika). Stir, and cook for a couple of minutes.
  5. Add the corn. If you’re using frozen or cold corn, cook until the corn warms up a little.
  6. Add the diced tomatoes.
  7. Add 4 cups of broth (or water). Make sure the liquid covers the vegetables completely. Add more broth or water if necessary.
  8. Cover. Let this cook for about 20 minutes on low heat.
  9. Add the barley. Cover, and cook for 30 minutes, or until barley is cooked through. Stir occasionally, and check to make sure everything is still covered in broth. Add more broth or water as needed.
  10. Add the chopped parsley and chopped peppers. Cook for another 10 minutes.
  11. Add salt and pepper, to taste.