20120112 Sweetcorn Chowder with Toasted Tortilla Chips

(SOURCE: Nigella Lawson - Sweetcorn Chowder with Toasted Tortillas)

Today is Heather's 32nd birthday, and she is coming over for chats and lunch. As she has been craving Mexican food lately, we decided to make this Mexican-inspired soup for lunch today. It is very simple to make, so I was able to chat with Heather while preparing and cooking the soup. The soup tasted pretty strong, so it was really nice to dip the toasted tortilla chips in. But next time I may use less garlic and only the green parts of the spring onions.

INGREDIENTS
500g canned sweetcorn, drained
1.5 spring onions, debearded and cut into small chunks (some cut into rings for garnishing)
1 small garlic clove, peeled
15g flour
750ml hot vegetable stock
200g lightly salted tortilla chips
100g grated cheese

METHOD
1. Heat the oven to 200 degree C.
2. In a food processor, blitz the sweetcorn, spring onions, garlic, and flour into a mush. Tip the mixture into a saucepan, add the stock and bring to the boil. Then turn down the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
3. In the meantime, spread the tortilla chips out on a baking sheet and sprinkle the cheese over. Warm in the oven until the cheese melts over the chips.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls. Scatter over the soup some chips and spring onion rings.

20110323 Lentil Soup with Paprika and Pancetta

(SOURCE: Tasty Kitchen Blog - Lentil Soup with Smoked Paprika and Pancetta)

I used to get dahl soup for lunch from a catering lady called Kat. But since Kat disappeared off the face of the earth and never answered our email order, I haven't had dahl soup for a long time. As I bought 2kg of red lentils from that little Asian supermarket last time, I thought I would make dahl soup myself. I added a little too much water by accident, but the soup was still very tasty - the pancetta gave it a very intense flavor.

INGREDIENTS
90g pancetta slices, cut into small pieces
1 large onion, diced
4 small carrots, sliced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
dash of chili pepper
1/2 cup white wine
2L chicken broth
450g lentils
salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD
1. Cook pancetta in a large soup pan over medium high heat until fat renders and it starts to brown. Add onions, carrots, and celery, saute until softened. Add garlic, cumin, paprika, and saute until fragrant. Add wine, continue to cook another minute or so. Add broth and lentils and bring to a  boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until lentils are just tender, about 30 minutes. Add water if the soups becomes too thick. Puree the soup into a consistency you desire. Season with salt and pepper.

20101110 Soto Ajam

(SOURCE: Albert Heijn Recepten - Soto ajam)

A delicious Javanese meal soup with chicken, a soup recipe from Indonesia. A perfect dish for a cold and rainy evening. Once the bouillon is done, the rest is no brainer - that's why I made the bouillon the day before, and thought my husband could simply heat up a packet of microwaved rice and make this himself when I had an evening out. But as my evening plan was cancelled, my husband didn't even lift a finger!

Instead of chucking the garlic, I simply mashed it and threw it back into the bouillon. And I added A LOT of chopped celery leaves to my soup as they just added so much fragrance! Next time I may add a tsp of ground coriander and a tsp of turmeric to the soup to make it taste even richer. I may replace the cooked rice with grass noodles to give it a Vietnamese touch too.

INGREDIENTS
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 chicken legs
5cm ginger, cut into big chunks
1 1/2 tsp ground lemon grass
1 chicken stock cube
1 tbsp oil
100g cooked rice
20g wild celery leaves (selderij), finely chopped
60g bean sprouts
handful of fried onions

METHOD
1. Add 1L of water, the chicken, 1 garlic clove, ginger, lemongrass, and chicken stock cube into a large pan. Bring it to the boil, then simmer with the lid on for about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Remove chicken from the pan, and sieve out the ginger and garlic from the pan. Mash the garlic and through it back into the bouillon. Use two forks to remove the bones from the chicken. Put the chicken meat back into the bouillon.
3. Slice the last garlic clove. Heat oil in a pan, and brown the sliced garlic.
4. In each soup bowl, add rice, wild celery, bean sprouts, and fried garlic slices. Spoon the hot soup and chicken into the bowl. Sprinkle with fried onions and serve.

20101002 Baked Potato Soup

(SOURCE: Baked Bree - Baked Potato Soup)

INGREDIENTS
1kg potatoes, cleaned and poked
2 cups (1.2L) chicken broth
salt and pepper
grated cheese
sliced green onions
crispy bacon bits
sour cream

METHOD
1. Heat oven to 175 degree C. Bake the potatoes in the oven for about 60 to 90 minutes. Place a baking sheet under the rack to catch any drippings.Let the potatoes cool and scoop out the flesh.
2. Add the potato to a pot and add some chicken stock, puree it with an immersion blender. Add enough chicken stock to get the consistency of a thick soup (or just a consistency you like).
3. Season with salt and pepper. Heat over low to medium heat until hot and serve. Top the soup with the cheese, green onions, bacon, and sour cream.