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Recipes:
Brussel Sprout and Almond Soup
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Tips
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Brussel Sprout and Almond Soup
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Indian Dal
Wash 200 gr split chana dal or harhar dal. If you cannot find them, you can also use yellow split peas or lentils. Cook in pressure cooker for about 10 minutes with 1 liter water, 1 or 2 cups of shredded vegetables (potato, tomato, carrot, radish, pumpkin, etc), one spoon of grated coconut and a teaspoon of turmeric. While the pot cools, stir fry a masala in 2 teaspoons of clarified butter in this order: shredded ginger, a pinch of black mustard seeds, a pinch of black cumin seeds, one chopped green chili pepper, a couple of curry leaves, a pinch asafetida. Let the pressure cooker cool a little, open it, then pour in the masala. Add salt to taste, heat again for 5 minutes and serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves.
Minestrone
Soak 200 gr of mixed dried beans for the whole night (in water with a little bicarbonate), then drain and boil in fresh water (15 minutes in pressure cooker) with one spoon of mixed herbs: bay leaf, marjoram, thyme, etc. In the meantime wash and clean about 1 kg of mixed vegetables: for example 1 potato, 1-2 carrots, 1 celery stalk, a piece of pumpkin, a bunch of string beans, 1 leek, 3 tomatoes. Wait for the steam to cool down, then open the pot and add the finely diced vegetables and 200 gr of small size pasta. Cook for another 10 minutes, then add 100 gr parmesan or other cheese, a pinch of black pepper, salt to taste, 2 spoons good olive oil or a nugget of butter. Serve with toasted bread cubes. Variants of this recipe can be made by substituting pasta with rice or barley or both: in this case the process is the same. If you want to use brown rice, wheat berries or other whole grains (that take longer to cook), then simply put the in the pot at the beginning, when you start cooking the beans.
Pumpkin Cream Soup
Bake or microwave 1 kg red pumpkin. This will give more taste to the pumpkin meat and facilitate the peeling work by making it softer. Then peel and blend the pumpkin in the mixer with about 1 cup fresh milk and 100 gr ricotta cheese or tofu. Stir fry in 1/2 spoon clarified butter: 1 spoon shredded leeks, 1 spoon shredded ginger, then add cayenne pepper, salt to taste, a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon or allspice. Pour in the pumpkin puree, let simmer for 10 minutes, then serve garnished with a little fresh milk cream and/or a little chopped parsley.
Asparagus Cream Soup
Wash and trim 1 kg. fresh asparagus. Keep the tips aside, slice the stalk and peel and slice the lower part that is still green and relatively soft. By peeling the lower stalk you will eliminate the most fibrous parts. Stew the stalks (pot covered) with 2 cups of vegetable stock, a nugget of butter and a pinch of nutmeg. When they are done, add 1 spoon of flour or cornstarch dissolved in 2 spoons of water or milk, add the uncooked tips and let cool. Pour in the blender with 100 gr ricotta cheese or tofu, mix well and then heat again for 5 minutes just before serving.
Italian Bean Soup
Wash and soak 300 gr cannellino beans for the entire night, then boil them in pressure cooker for 20 minutes with 1 liter water, 1 carrot, 1 potato, 1 celery stalk (all shredded or diced small). You can also add some herbs such as bay leaf, rosmary, thyme, juniper, according to your taste. While the beans cook, simmer 1 cup tomato puree with a spoon of oil or butter and a pinch of salt. When the beans are done, pour them into the tomato puree and finish cooking. Chop a few fresh basil leaves and add just before serving. Keep toasted bread on the table.
Sambar
Soak 50 gr (dry weight) each mung dal (green soya bean), matar dal (split peas), and toor dal (lentils). Then pressure cook for 10 minutes with 1 liter water, 1 green bell pepper, 1 zucchini, 100 gr pumpkin, 1 carrot, 100 gr string beans, 1/2 eggplant, 1 potato, 1 spoon tamarind paste, 1 spoon grated coconut, 1 teaspoon turmeric and 2 teaspoons coriander powder. In the meantime stir fry in 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon each shredded ginger, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds. Add to the soup, then garnish with 1 or 2 small green chili peppers (chopped) and a tablespoon chopped coriander leaves.
Spinach Soup
Wash very carefully (3 times), trim and chop 1/2 kg spinach and 1/2 kg assorted seasonal greens as per your taste. Also wash, trim and chop one medium size leek. Heat 50 gr butter or margarine in a pot, stir fry the leek, adding salt to taste and your favorite spices - for example red cayenne, green pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, or a ready-made masala. When the leek is reddish-brown add the greens, cover the pot and let simmer on low fire for 15 minutes. Allow the greens to cool, then blend with 2 cups vegetable stock, and heat again for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh milk cream or thick soya milk, and serve with toasted bread.
Indian Tomato Soup
Wash and trim 1/2 kg tomato, keep one or two for garnish and liquidize the rest in the blender with 1 cup of water or vegetable stock. Stir fry in 1 teaspoon of oil, 1 teaspon shredded ginger, a small piece of onion or leek, 2 fresh chili peppers, nutmeg, black pepper, then add the tomato puree and cook for 5 minutes. Dissolve 1 spoon cornstarch or flour in 1/2 cup water, add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vinegar, then pour into the tomato soup. Chop the garnish tomato in small pieces, and add 2 minutes before serving. You can also garnish with some cilantro leaves (coriander leaves).
Gratin French Soup
Wash and trim 1/2 kg seasonal vegetables (potato, carrot, celery, fennel bulbs, string beans, green peas, leek, onion, cauliflower etc), then cut in small pieces and pressure cook with 1 liter salted water or vegetable stock for 10 minutes. In a small pan heat 50 gr butter or margarine, roast 50 gr flour, then add nutmeg and salt, and 1 cup milk, stir well and make a smooth white sauce. Add 200 gr shredded or grated Swiss cheese or a similar cheese and mix well. Transfer the vegetables in a baking pot, pour the white sauce on top, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake for 20 minutes until a golden crust is formed. Take the baking pot on the table to serve.
Brussel Sprout and Almond Soup
Wash and trim 1/2 kg Brussel sprouts, 1 small lettuce head, and chop finely. Pressure cook for 5 minutes in 1/2 lt water, then let cool. In the meantime blend 200 gr blanched almonds with sufficient milk or soya milk, keeping aside 1 spoon slivered almonds for each serving as a garnish. Add the almond puree to the vegetables and blend well, add salt, nutmeg, black pepper, and heat again for 5 minutes. Stir fry the slivered almonds in butter or margarine, chop a small bunch of parsley leaves and use to garnish. Serve with toasted bread cubes. Instead of almonds, you can use cashews, in the same proportions.
Potato Herb Soup
Wash and peel 1/2 kg potato, cut in small cubes. Cut and slice 1 leek, including the tender green tops, stir fry leek and potato in 1 spoon butter or margarine, then add water or vegetable stock and cook for 5 minutes in pressure cooker. Then let cool, open, add 3 spoons fresh milk cream or thick soya milk, and assorted chopped herbs: chives, parsley, basil, etc. Serve with toasted bread cubes.
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Useful Tips
The traditional European staple in ancient times, soup is the easiest and most effective and economic way to use small quantities of different types of ingredients. Very often, it was also the best way to use leftovers. The housewife lighted the fire in the fireplace in the morning and put the soup pot hanging there for several hours while doing other chores in the house. Later, the fireplace was substituted by a heating stove fueled by wood or coals, but the system was the same: the stove heated the house of the poor and cooked their meals at the same time. In the houses of rich people, where different foods were cooked by expert servants, the stoves became more complex, incorporating a small bread oven. Cooking soups should be done very slowly, on a simmering fire, to allow the ingredients to blend thoroughly. The secret in utilizing odd bits of ingredients in a soup is to add them gradually to the cooking pot in the proper order. The ingredients that require a longer cooking time, like beans, should go first, vegetables should be added when the beans or whole grains are half cooked, while the most delicate ingredients, like fresh herbs and butter, should go last, just before serving. A good hearty soup can be a perfectly complete and balanced meal in itself. Accompany it with freshly baked or grilled whole wheat bread, and serve it after a mixed crudités appetizer, and you can rest assured that your diet is perfectly balanced. For important dinners with several courses, choose very light soups to favor digestion. Soups containing legumes, cheese or tofu are better served in simpler meals.
Dried beans seem to take forever for cooking! So many people prefer to used canned beans, that are already boiled soft. However, you can also get soft boiled beans in a short time if you: 1. first soak the beans in water with a little bicarbonate, for the entire night 2. cook the beans in pressure cooker for 20 minutes with a pinch asafetida and a couple of bay leaves 3. cook the beans first when you start to prepare the meal and let them sit in the pressure cooker until you are ready with the other dishes.
To speed up your work in the kitchen, a pressure cooker is a very useful tool. Besides, it makes you save a lot of gas or electricity because it utilizes the higher temperature created by steam under pressure. However, you must remember a few important facts about pressure cookers: 1. Never fill the pot to capacity. Always keep at least 1/3 of the pot empty to allow the steam to do its work properly. 2. Clean the steam valve well to avoid clogging -- which would be dangerous. 3. Never attempt to open the lid of the pressure cooker while there is still pressured steam inside. It is dangerous and your food will spill violently. 4. Calculate the cooking time from the first whistle of the cooker. 5. When you turn off the fire, unhook the lid (do not remove it) and let the pot cool by itself. You will know that the steam has abated when the lid collapses inside. Remove it immediately to avoid damage to the rubber ring.
bread cubes Cut the bread slices in small cubes. Prepare a small cup with 1 spoon good oil, 1 spoon water or vegetable stock, 1 teaspoon soya sauce, a pinch cayenne powder, a pinch nutmeg. Sprinkle the bread cubes with this mixture, then mix well and transfer to a baking pan. Bake at 180 C for 10 minutes, until crisp. If you prefer, you can roast the bread cubes in a pan, but in this case you have to stir and toss them all the time, and they may break.
If you don't want to use the commercial vegetable stock cubes, you can prepare your own stock by slowly boiling together in a pressure cooker: 4 liters water, 2 carrots, 1 zucchini, 2 celery stalks, 1 onion or leek, 1 potato, a small piece of pumpkin, 1 bunch of chard or spinach, 1 bunch string beans, a few external leaves of lettuce or other salad greens, 2 medium size tomatoes, 50 gr fresh ginger, 1/2 spoon turmeric, 5 bay leaves, a small bunch of parsley leaves, 2 cloves, 2 garlic cloves (optional), a pinch cardamom, a pinch cinnamom, 2 spoons tamari or shoyu (or miso), 1 spoon olive oil or butter. Cook for 30 minutes in pressure cooker, until all the vegetables are dissolved. Allow to cool, filter and freeze the stock in ice trays, then put the cubes in a plastic bag in the freezer. You can use the stock cubes to flavor your soups, risottos, veggies and sauces. |
