Tag: vegetable broth

John’s Spicy Lentil Soup

lentil soup - trust in kim

lentil soup - trust in kim

 

My good friend John made this soup for me a while back. We both wanted to eat something pretty healthy and warming, and something that wouldn’t take too long to cook. Don’t be afraid of the word ‘spicy;’ it has a only hint of chill, but loads of flavour.

John’s recipe is vegan, using vegetable broth, but I used chicken broth and added some chicken pieces that I had left over. Both versions are super tasty. I also used less olive oil; the original recipe says 3 tablespoons and I used about one.

The recipe is from the Food Network.

What you need:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (or ground if that’s what you have)
  • 1/2 cup green lentils
  • 1/2 cup red lentils
  • 1 small dried chili, crushed
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • leftover chicken, shredded or diced (optional)
  • salt
  • freshly cracked pepper
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

What you do:

  1. Drizzle the oil in a large pot and sauté the onion on medium heat until golden.
  2. Add the garlic and cumin and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until the garlic is golden.
  3. Add the stock, lentils, chili, carrots, celery, bay leaves and optional chicken to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
  4. Uncover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Add the vinegar, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the recipe John!

John Cloutier - trust in kim
Chef John

Vegetarian Mexican Soup Broth

Vegetarian Mexican Broth - trust in kim

This recipe is for the vegetarian version of a Mexican soup I made recently.  It’s got a little kick to it because of the guajillo pepper

What you need:

  • 1 small onion or half a big one
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 dried guajillo pepper
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 stalk celery
  • half a dozen peppercorns
  • cilantro stalks

What you do:

  1. Put everything in a pot and add about 4 cups of water.  Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about half an hour.
  2. Strain the veggies out and use the broth to make a soup.

Broccoli Soup

I wanted to make a nice light, fresh, healthy soup.  This is basically a combination of a flavourful broth, a little potato, onion, garlic, and some broccoli.  The broccoli isn’t cooked for too long, allowing the soup to remain a bright green.  This is pretty quick to whip up, provided you’ve got some stock on hand.  This is great with a little yogurt or cream swirled in before serving, along with a nice crusty bread.

What you need:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

4-5 garlic cloves, chopped finely

1 head roasted garlic (optional)

2 small white potatoes, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

a few heads of broccoli, chopped into florets

salt and pepper

to serve: a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of cream, also optional

What you do:

1. Heat a large pot to medium and add the olive oil.  When the oil is hot add the onion, cooking for a few minutes, then add the garlic.  Cook for a few minutes more, until the onion is translucent.

2.  Add the roasted garlic, rosemary, potatoes and stock.  Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are soft.

3.  Add the broccoli to the pot and put a lid on it for 4-5 minutes, until the broccoli is cooked but not losing its bright green colour.

4.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, or put it in the blender.  Serve it while it’s hot!

5.  To serve, top with a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of cream.

Black Bean and Corn Soup

This is my new favourite soup recipe –  hot sauce makes it a little spicy, corn adds a little sweetness, and a there’s a ton of flavour in here.  Some of the soup is pureed, but there’s lots of colour from the remaining vegetables.  Topped off with a little yogurt, it tastes decadent.

What you need:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 – 398 mL can of diced tomatoes

5 cups black beans, cooked (about 1 & 1/2 cups dry)

6 cups vegetable broth

2 – 341 mL cans of corn

salt and pepper

hot sauce

plain yogurt

1 lime

What you do:

1. If you are cooking your own beans, place them in a pot of boiling water, bring back to a boil and cook for a few minutes.  Turn heat off and soak for about two hours.  I like to drain in the middle of the soaking time and bring back to a boil – this helps ward of the gas causing properties beans can have.  The last step is to rinse, then bring the beans back to a boil, then lower the heat and cook until soft.  This shouldn’t take too long.

2.  Heat the olive oil and add the onions, garlic, peppers and carrots.  Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

3.  Add the oregano, cumin, beans, tomatoes and broth.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for about half an hour.

4.  Puree about a third of the soup.  I just put my immersion blender in and blended until I thought it looked good.

5.  Add the corn, along with its juice, and cook just long enough to heat through.

6.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

7.  Top with a big dollop of yogurt and some hot sauce.  Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze on top.