Silverbeet, Pea and Watercress Soup with croutons

First up, the croutons…

…really added a lot to this soup. They came about because I bought a loaf of DELICIOUS potato & rosemary bread from Central Baking Depot, but forgot about it and it went stale. Not one to waste, I ripped it into chunks (crust and all) and baked it in the oven til crispy.

Now the soup…

Ingredients (are as always not weighed or measured as I make these things for dinner and am usually tired and hungry)

• onion
• few cloves garlic
• silverbeet and water cress in equal amounts
• about 15Og peas
• vege stock
• 1 carrot
• sprinkling dried mixed herbs
• goats cheese or sour cream to serve
• lots chopped parsley to serve

1. 1. Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil to soften
2. 2. Add the chopped white stalks of the silverbeet and fry a little to soften
3. 3. Add the peas, herbs and stock and bring to the boil
4. 4. Add the green parts of the silverbeet and cook for about 15 minutes.
5. 5. Take off heat and stir in water cress leaves to wilt
6. 6. Blend
7. 7. Re-heat (but don’t boil extensively]
8. 8. Serve over croutons with a dollop of goats cheese or sour cream and a generous helping of chopped parsley

What do you do when all you have in the fridge is a fennel bulb and a can of lentils?

Lentil and Fennel Soup

1 can brown lentils
1 onion
Half a lemon juice
Teaspoon oregano
3 cloves garlic
vege stock
splash Tabasco
1 shallot

Fry onion in olive oil til softened. Add sliced fennel and sliced garlic and stir fry for a while. Squeeze in lemon juice. Add Tabasco and oregano then just cover with vege stock. Add lentils and serve.

Serve topped with sliced shallot.

Sweet Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Soup

Oh I really must start using measurements. But while I know them to be important, my brand of savoury experimenting just doesn't require them. I promise I will start. But not today. So, here goes - another vague recipe. Also, am aware crappy iphone pics of food are, well, crappy, but alas I cannot find the cord that connects camera to computer.

Years ago a housemate of mine, Lou, made a soup like this and it was divine. I decided to make it for a friend who came over last week to flush my nasal passages with salt water - a yogic practice of some sort that I agreed to mainly because I like the phrase "flush my passages" so much. He told me dairy was bad for the flu (which I know already but ignore) so I set about making vegan dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red lentils, soaked over night
• 1 large sweet potato, chopped into small pieces
• Half a can of coconut cream
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 large cloves of garlic
• 1 nob of ginger approx. 2cm square
• Vege stock
• 2 teaspoons dried chilli (or fresh chilli) - the amount of chilli really depends on your taste. I like to add little bit by little bit tasting along the way
• 1 heaped teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander powder
• Salt & Pepper
• Sesame oil for frying (or vege or canola oil)

1. Soak lentils overnight in water, covered by a cloth.

2. Lightly fry the ginger (grated on a small hole grater) and onion in oil. Add spices. As they soften, add the chopped garlic.

3. Add the lentils and chopped sweet potato and cover the mixture with vege stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer til the sweet potato and lentils are very soft.

4. Blend til smooth.

5. At this point, you can leave the mixture overnight (if preparing in advance) or freeze portions. This soup was actually the most flavoursome on day 3!

6. Heat soup before serving and add coconut milk. Stir and serve.

I served this with cumin flat/crispbread. Shall be uploading various flat bread recipes soon!

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