Don't knock it til you've tried it... Tomato-ginger soup

I know this isn't going to be my most popular post - the two comments I had on Facebook to this soup were 'yuck' and 'ew, pregnancy does give you weird cravings'.

But let me state officially for the record. I liked this LONG BEFORE I became pregnant. And it's yummy. If you like any sort of Indian food, you'll like this. And even if you don't like Indian food, I think you'll like it, as in my mind it has more of a European feel to it than anything else.

I first tried this back in 2005, when I found a recipe for tomato-ginger soup paired with grilled cheese and fennel sandwiches with curry mayo. I was very intrigued by the combination, and found I loved it - with or without the always wonderful grilled cheeses.

The second time I had it was in Provence in the summer - after picking lovely ripe wonderful tomatoes from the garden, we wondered what we could do to give a tomato soup a bit of oomph - and my mind raced back to the warmth that the ginger brought to the soup.

Years later, in the late months of winter, I think this soup has its merits - it's so easy to make, it's healthy and it's really tasty. And you can use those tins of basic chopped tomatoes from the supermarket that cost only 31p a go to make a fantastic soup. I made a huge batch and freezed some in individual portions.

Tomato-ginger soup

serves 2

2 tins chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium red onion, finely sliced

fresh ginger - about 1 inch, peeled and chopped

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of paprika

pinch of curry powder or garam masala

salt and pepper

cracked dried red chillies

optional: reduced-fat sour cream

Okay, this is almost too easy: heat the oil in the pot. Saute the onions over medium-high heat until translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and saute for a few more minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about half an hour, checking the seasoning along the way and adding more salt/pepper/water to the mixture if needed.

After half an hour, use a handblender to puree the soup. Serve immediately or allow to cool and serve later. 

Lovely with a dollop of sour cream on top if you want a cool aftertaste to all that lovely warm ginger.

Calories: I don't have the exact figure, but each serving is easily less than 250 calories, including the sour cream. Would be good with a slice of bread to (or those grilled cheese sandwiches...)


So tell me your thoughts - would you try it? Do you think it sounds disgusting? Or would you only eat it with the divine grilled curry and cheese sandwiches?!

Recipes I'm going to play with this week...

...courtesy of the August issue of Gourmet magazine, my monthly treat from the States. You can find all their recipes online, though, but perusing the pages of the print version brings me much joy.

For iPhone lovers - Epicurious (the online home to Gourmet and Bon Appetit recipes, amongst others) has a great free app now. Wonderful for browsing on a train or bus ride home.

Baked tomatoes with hazelnut bread crumbs
Roasted tomatoes in general are one of my favourite summertime side dishes, but the addition of hazelnuts was just too exciting to pass up. I won't, however, use a half of a stick of butter - 1 tbsp of olive oil - max - will do just fine. In my opinion, butter would really mask the flavour of the tomatoes. Is that just me?

Baked chicken meatballs with peperonata
Okay, I don't even know if you can get minced chicken here in the UK. But you can get minced/ground turkey, which should work just fine. And I'll probably skip the pancetta - not because I think I wouldn't like it - but I'm on a budget here and I think it will taste lovely even without.

What do you think? I'm really excited about trying them - they should be fun, cheap ways to inject some excitement into summer suppers.

tomato, fennel and butter bean “bisque”

Speaking of eating your water, here’s a lovely new soup recipe I’ve come up with. I made it a few weekends ago, when I had an extra bulb of fennel lying around, but then I froze it.

Last night, arriving home and in no mood for a long kitchen session, this soup did the trick. Served with some toasted bread, this bisque of sorts was really lovely. Though there was no pureed seafood (unfortunately) the thick, creamy, tomatoey consistency was quite filling, especially for a vegetarian soup.

Tomato, fennel and butter bean “bisque”
(serves 4 as a first course or 2 generously)

1 can of cherry tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 can of butter beans
100 g leeks, chopped
1 large fennel bulb, sliced
1 tbsp bouillion powder such as Marigold mixed into 750 ml of freshly-boiled water
4 tbsp single cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sautee the leeks and the fennel in olive oil over medium heat until translucent – about 7 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and sautee for another 3 minutes. Rinse the butter beans and add to the pot. Then add the stock mixture slowly. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Add the tomato paste spoon by spoon and distribute well through the soup. Season.

(If you’re going to freeze the soup – stop here. The cream can be added on the day of serving.)

If you’re serving on the day, stir through 4 tbsp of single cream and season further to taste.

Serve with toasted bread – and maybe some fresh basil leaves on top.

Calories: 194 calories for a first-course serving (very low for such an indulgent-tasting concoction!). The “large” serving is 388, so still not very much at all. Of course, bread (and a glass of wine, which would go down nicely) would add to it, but given how healthy the soup is, I wouldn’t think that’s a problem.

Enjoy!

chicken cacciatore with steamed broccoli and green beans

Chicken casserole dishes: love or hate? On one hand, they are wholesome, usually cost-effective, and homey. On the other hand, they tend to be a bit boring, and if the chicken is not cooked correctly, the meat will be dry and flavourless despite the juices surrounding it.

For these reasons, I have often stayed away from cooking chicken casseroles like coq au vin. They just do not excite me. But when I found Delia’s recipe for a version of the Italian classic chicken cacciatore, I had to try it. The vivid orange-red of the sauce, flecked with deep green rosemary and bay leaf, had an entrancing effect. Look for yourself.

I substituted several chicken drumsticks in place of the whole chicken and found it worked really well. The chicken needs to be browned off first and left to sit while concocting the rest of the casserole. Don’t skip this step!

Of course, all of that chicken skin adds quite a lot of fat to the dish. Although it can be messy, I advise removing the skin before eating with a fork and knife. It could save 300-400 calories, which is quite a lot. Much of the flavour remains, since the chicken and the sauce were still cooked in the skin casing. Besides, the rich liquor of tomatoes, wine, tomato puree, garlic, onion, and rosemary is fantastic all on its own.

This recipe takes about an hour and a half to prepare and cook. I would recommend it for a lazy Sunday afternoon when you can check on the dish intermittently whilst reading a book or watching a film.

Serve the chicken cacciatore with some freshly steamed broccoli and green beans. Delia recommends green tagliatelle, but I think vegetables fit better with the overall dish.

Calories per serving (2 chicken drumsticks with one-third of the sauce, with the skin removed before eating): around 700. Using other, less fatty, cuts of chicken would decrease the calorie count.

italian rice salad

Salads with rice are often overlooked, I think. This may be due to the temperature dilemma – either serve a rice salad very cold, in which case it must be made in advance, or serve it warm. The latter option means that the complimentary ingredients must be well thought out to avoid wilting or the odd consistency of mismatched temperatures on the tongue. I’m not particularly keen on cold rice salads at home, though some of the takeaway rice salads in, say, Marks and Spencer are decent.

I do, however, really enjoy warm rice salads, and have created what I think is a great summer version – replete with flavour. “This is scrummy,” murmured my husband, happily forking his way through the bowl on Thursday evening.

If nothing else, follow this tip: with rice salads, the rice must be braised. Otherwise, it can become gloopy, and for a salad, the individual grains of rice must be separate.

This salad is very summery and has the lovely aroma of pizza.

italian rice salad (serves 2 – either one very large and one modest portion, or two medium-sized portions)

200 g long grain brown rice
250 g baby plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
50 g spring onions
1 ball (125 g) of reduced fat mozzarella
1 tbsp and 1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano (dried is fine, though fresh would be lovely)
60-100 g wild rocket

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large saute pan. Once the oil is hot, add the rice and garlic and stir so that all the grains are coated. Allow this to sizzle over med-high heat for a few minutes. Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes and put a roasting tin with white wine vinegar, oregano and a tsp of olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Add the hot stock to the rice pan - a little at first but then pour it all in. It should boil furiously for a minute. Then reduce heat to med-low and cover. By the time the stock boils off, the rice should be done. Check about 20 minutes in - if the rice isn't done or close to being done, but the liquid is nearly gone, add a bit more.

Meanwhile, chop the spring onions and shred the mozzarella. Split them into equal piles to mix through the rice. Prepare large bowls by putting about 50 g of wild rocket at the bottom of each bowl. The rice will go on top once it has cooked.

Then top with the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and spring onions and mix through the rice slightly. The dish should smell amazing.

Calories: for a small serving, 415; for a medium serving, 600; for a large serving, 775.

Dishes like these are perfect for a group - some may want more rice, some less, but the flavours in the tomatoes and garlic stay strong no matter what the portion size. My husband had the large portion but the same amount of tomatoes as I had in my small portion.