Spicy Spinato - Spicy Spinach Stew (or Pasta Sauce)

SPICY SPINATO

6-7 desilitres of washed, chopped fresh spinach
1 tomato
1 clove of garlic
0.75-1 teaspoon of curcuma
pinch of chilli powder
sea salt

1. Wash and chop the fresh spinach.
2. Wash the tomato and cut it into small pieces.
3. Chop the garlic finely.
4. Put a tiny bit of water on the bottom of a pot. Mix the curcuma, a little bit of sea salt, and a pinch of chilli powder with the water. Add the garlic, the tomatoes and the spinach on top - in that order.
5. Heat the ingredients under a lid, until the spinach has wilted.
6. Occasionally stirring, let the dish simmer under the lid for about ten minutes.
7. Serve as a stew/soup with 20-25 almonds (enough for one person), or as a pasta sauce with gluten-free pasta (enough for two people).

Annika

Che Cavolo! – Cabbage-Turnip-Leek Soup

The idea for this lovely soup came from one of my workmates who told me that he had made a tasty soup combining leeks, turnips and green cabbage. This is what I came up using those ingredients, and some more.





 
CHE CAVOLO!

half a small, green cabbage

2 medium-sized leeks

2 medium-sized turnips

small red pepper

3 cloves of garlic

fresh ginger

gluten-free bouillon powder

½-¾ teaspoons of cardamom

freshly ground pepper

sea salt

extra virgin olive oil

1. Peel the garlic and the fresh ginger, and chop them in small pieces.

2. Peel the turnips and cut them in smaller chunks.

3. Wash the leeks, the red pepper and the green cabbage and cut them in smaller chunks.

4. Put the bouillon powder, the salt, the cardamom, the garlic and the ginger into a medium-sized pot together with some water and bring to a boil.

5. Add the turnips, the leeks and the red pepper, turn down the heat and leave the soup simmering under a lid for about five minutes.

6. Add the cabbage, and leave the soup simmering until all the ingredients are soft enough to blend.

7. Blend until the soup has become a creamy puree.

8. Serve with extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground pepper.

Annika

Pumpkin Soup with Dill

I love pumpkin soup, and I make quite a few different versions of it. This weekend, I found fresh dill at the market, so went for the below version with dill.

Oh, I should take this opportunity to share a valuable piece of advice: Don't waste your life cutting with crap knives! Using my old set of Ikea knives, I used to think that cutting pumpkins was one of the most tedious and difficult jobs in the kitchen... until my brother gave me a fancy Japanese knife that cuts through anything - probably even my fingers if I don't take care - with absolutely no effort at all. My life has changed.

PUMPKIN SOUP WITH DILL

pumpkin
1-2 onions
2-3 cloves of garlic
dill
gluten-free bouillon powder
sea salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil

1. Peel the pumpkin, the onions and the garlic and chop them coarsely.

2. Wash and cut as much dill as you want to add into the soup. I think I used four branches this time but I would've been happy with more.

3. Put the pumpkin, the onions, the garlic and the dill into a pot, and add enough water to cover all the vegetables.

4. Add the bouillon powder, the salt and the pepper, and bring to a boil.

5. Blend when the pumpkin is soft.

6. Serve with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Mmmm.

Annika

My Dahl-ing Soup - Spicy Lentil Soup

I've been planning on learning to cook dahl for a while now. In India, where they have loads of vegetarians, they eat dahl (or, rather, lentils) for protein. Combined with rice, you actually get a complete protein - every vegetarian's dream come true!

Breaking news: On 2 February 2011, this dahl won Soup Contest 2011, a soup making competition against five of my Italian workmates.


MY DAHL-ING SOUP

1.5 dl of red lentils
3.5-4 dl of water
gluten-free bouillon powder
sunflower seed oil
a large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
a large tomato
3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of curcuma
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon of cardamom / 4 cardamom seeds
sea salt

1. Mix the bouillon powder with the water and bring to the boil.

2. Wash the lentils well, add them into the boiling water, and let them cook for about 15 minutes.

3. In the meantime, chop the onion, the garlic and the ginger as finely as you can, and cut the tomato in medium-sized pieces.

4. Heat the oil at the bottom of a pot and saute the onion, the garlic, the ginger and the spices.

5. Add the lentils (together with the stock), the tomato and the sea salt into the pot, and let the dahl simmer for about 20 minutes.

6. Enjoy.

Annika

Ruby Soup – Beetroot Soup with Fresh Herbs

This lovely soup should be tried by anyone who says that they hate beetroots. I used to hate beetroots, too, until I actually started using fresh beetroots in my cooking. Give beetroots another chance!

Ruby Soup

4 beetroots
2 carrots
2 small red onions
3-4 smallish cloves of garlic
fresh ginger
fresh coriander
fresh parsley
gluten-free bouillon powder
sea salt

1. Peel the beetroots, the carrots, the onions, the garlic and the ginger, and chop them coarsely.

2. Wash the coriander and the parsley. I used a generous amount of coriander!

3. Put all the ingredients – including the bouillon powder and the salt – in a large pot, and add enough water to cover all the ingredients.

4. Cook until the beetroots and the carrots are ready.

5. Liquidise and serve.

6. Let me know if you still hate beetroots.

Annika

Asparagusto Delizioso - Asparagus Soup

I had eagerly been waiting for the asparagus season to begin, so I was very pleased to find organic asparagus at the farmers' market today. It could only mean one thing: I would try to reproduce the lovely asparagus soup I made last year and share the recipe with you.

Here it is. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.






Asparagusto Delizioso

~1 kg of asparagus spears
2 medium-sized onions
3-4 small cloves of garlic
gluten-free bouillon powder
coconut milk
lemon
water
sea salt
pepper

1. Peel and chop the onions and the garlic roughly, and add them into a large pot together with the water, te bouillon powder, the sea salt and the pepper. Bring to a boil.

2. Wash the asparagus spears and chop them roughly. Add the asparagus into the boiling water. There should be enough water to cover all the ingredients. Cover the pot, and let it all cook until the asparagus is soft.

3. Blend until smooth.

4. Check the taste, and add salt and pepper if necessary. Add coconut milk and lemon juice, constantly checking the taste for the right proportions. I typically use a fourth or a third of a can of coconut milk and about half a lemon.

5. Heat it up, and enjoy!

Annika

Leeky Lentils - Leek & Lentil Soup

So far, this has been my favourite variant of the leeky lentil soup inspired by one of our (two) followers. In fact, it's one of my favourite soups.

Leeky Lentils

5 leeks
1.5-2 cups of green lentils
2 stalks of celery
a huge bunch of parsley
gluten-free bouillon powder
loads of garlic
sea salt
black pepper
extra vergine olive oil

0. Soak the lentils overnight.
1. Let the lentils cook while you're preparing the other ingredients.
2. Wash and cut the leek and the celery into smaller pieces, peel and cut the garlic in small pieces, and wash the parsley.
3. Add the leek, the celery, the garlic, the parsley, the pepper and the bouillon powder.
4. When the lentils are almost ready, add the salt.
5. When the lentils are ready, blend the soup until smooth.
6. Serve with a bit of extra vergine olive oil.

Annika