Udon Miso soup

Made this yesterday and it turned out great. Instead of the traditional dashi with bonito flakes I made a vegetarian broth. The recipe for the broth is from here.


Vegan Dashi (Soup Stock)

4 cups cold water
5 inch piece kombu (kelp, find in Asian market)
3 whole shiitake mushroom
pinch dried wakame (kelp, similar to kombu)
2 tablespoon sake
2 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine) - Used sake with 1/2-1 tsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 tablespoon shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) - Used dark mushroom soy sauce

Directions:
Dust off kombu and cut with scissors 3/4 of the way though. In a pan, add water, kombu and shiitake and soak for about 1 hour. Then, bring the pot nearly to the boil, and remove kombu, add wakame and bring to boil, simmer for 5 min. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 2 mins, drain out shiitake and wakame.


I more than doubled the quantity to make more broth. Also, didn't discard the mushrooms after use but sliced the tender parts and retained in the soup.

For the soup:
Thinly sliced carrots
Thinly sliced baby bok choy, leafy parts kept separately
3-4 spring onions, thinky sliced
3 cups frozen udon noodles (or 2 "chunks")
Snow peas, sliced in 1/2 - about 1 cup
Enoki mushrooms, about 1/2 cup
shiro miso paste - 6 tbsp for about 7-8 cups of broth

Heat some water in a separate pan to heat the udon noodles. They are already cooked and just need 3-4 mins to heat through. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Heat broth and add carrots, bok choy stems and snow peas. Heat 2 minutes. Add sliced dried mushrooms if using. Add udon noodles and heat through 1 minute. Now lade some stock into the miso paste and whisk it in so there are no lumps left. Turn off heat on soup and add the miso paste in, stirring gently. Now add bok choy leaves and spring onions. Serve with sriracha if desired.

Verdict: This hit the spot. Loved it!

Homemade Italian sausage soup with kale and lentils

I made this soup in the middle of last week when I was pressed for time and had to come up with something easy and good. Well, let me tell you this soup did not disappoint! I used hot italian sausage but you can use the sweet kind as well if you prefer. Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup lentils, soaked for 3-4 hours and washed
2 cups hot italian sausage (casings removed)
8 cups chicken stock
1 bunch kale, washed and chopped (stems and ribs discarded)
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley

Method:
Pre-heat cooking pot and add olive oil. Brown italian sausage, using a wooden spoon to break the sausage into bite-size chunks. Once sausage is browned, add chopped onions and saute until it is translucent. Add red pepper flakes, some salt and pepper and saute 1 minute. Now add chicken stock and lentils and cover and cook until lentils are done. Add chopped kale and cook another 10 minutes or do. Do not over=cook kale as we do not want it mushy. To test if its done, pick up a piece of kale from the pot and try it. It should be cooked but still have some texture left to it. When kale is cooked, turn off stove and garnish with fresh parsley.

As simple as this dish is, the flavors were excellent. The italian sausage really does add a ton of flavor and the parsley completes the dish. Try it and let me know how you liked it!

Chicken and gnocchi soup with mushrooms

Its soup time! I have always loved soups, especially a good bowl of creamy, not-so-good-for-you-because-its-too-fattening soup. I wanted to try my hand at making a gnocchi soup and at the same time wanted to get rid of a can of cream of chicken soup I had bought a few months ago (yes, I did check the expiration date!). Whats better than a creamy bowl of goodness this time of year? Nothing, I tell you!

I used shelf-stabilized gnocchi. I know this violates my no-preservatives rule but do you really want to peel, cook, mash and form gnocchi for this recipe? I didn't think so. I did it once and I'm not about to do it again anytime soon. Its worth taking shortcuts, especially once in a while, and if you want to avoid the preservatives, just get frozen gnocchi. Also, I made my own chicken stock so that counts for some bonus points doesn't it?

Here's how I made the soup:

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped (optional)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
10 cups of chicken stock
2 cups cooked chicken meat
1 cream of chicken soup can
500 gms shelf-stablilized gnocchi (1 package)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram (use up that spice rack!)
salt and pepper (to taste)
parmesan cheese (to taste)
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Method:

Heat a deep pot over medium low. Add butter and olive oil. When butter starts melting, add onion, garlic, celery and carrot (if using). Saute until onion is translucent. We do not want to brown the onion and garlic. Add mushrooms and saute until they start releasing their liquid. Now add chicken stock and cooked chicken. Cover and bring to a simmer. Dissolve cream of chicken soup with some of the hot chicken stock and whisk until smooth. Transfer to the rest of the soup and add thyme and marjoram. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 minutes to let the flavors meld. Add gnocchi to the soup and cook for an additional 5 minutes. The gnocchi will float to the top when it is cooked. Add some cornstarch diluted in a little water if you want the soup to be thicker. Turn off stove. Add parmesan cheese and garnish with some chopped parsley.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

With it being so cold here I try to make soup at least once a week. It's light and warms you from the inside out. Here's a really easy and quick soup recipe...you can make it in 20 minutes flat and while the soup is cooking you can make a quick salad or sandwich to go with it!

Ingredients:
1 inch ginger, minced
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 sweet potato, cubed
3 small potatoes or 2 medium potatoes, cubed
8 cups of chicken stock
2 canned chipotle peppers with 2 tsp adobo sauce
3 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper (to taste)
cilantro, for garnishing
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp oil

Method:
In a deep pot, heat oil on medium heat and saute onion, ginger and garlic (if using). When onion becomes translucent and you can smell the ginger/garlic, add the cubed potatoes. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper and stir to coat. Saute the mixture for 2-3 minutes and then add chicken stock. Cover, bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and using an immersion blender puree until smooth. Alternatively, wait for the soup to cool a bit and blend in the blender. Return to the pot, turn on heat and add milk. Heat for 2 minutes or until heated through (you do not want to bring it to a boil). Turn off heat, add lime juice and cilantro and serve!

There are so many variations of this soup. I have added peanut butter and various spices when I make it without the chipotle. You can also add a little coconut milk if you like. Either way it is delicious and healthy.

Spicy chicken and wheat soup

I obtained the basic recipe for this soup from a Pakistani cooking show hosted by the famous Chef Rahat. This soup is comforting, nourishing, and most of all plain good. Do not leave out the ginger and garlic as these really enhance the flavor of the soup. There's nothing like a deliciously steaming bowl of hot soup in this cold weather. I have included the basic recipe below. Please remember to use your judgement on quantities as I do not typically measure when cooking. Also, you can use any combination of veggies to your heart's desire.

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast, cut into thin strips
6-8 cups of reduced sodium canned chicken stock
OR you can make the stock yourself by simmering or pressure cooking some chicken pieces and reserving the meat.
1 inch piece ginger, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1/2 - 1 jalapeno, chopped finely (deoending on how much heat you can handle)
1 carrot, julienned
1 cup cabbage, julienned
1 cup snow peas, halved
1 bell pepper, julienned
1/2 cup whole wheat, soaked in water for 1/2 hr and cooked 3/4 of the way in 2 cups of water
1 tsbp chili paste (optional)
2 tbsp soy sauce
Salt (to taste)
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp cornstarch and 4 tsbp water (if you need to thicken the soup)
Cilantro for garnishing (if desired)
Juice of 1 lime

Method:
Start by sauteeing the chicken in 1 tsbp oil. When the chicken is half cooked add the ginger, garlic and jalapenos to the pot and season with salt and freshly crushed black pepper. If you need a little more oil at this stage add some more. Once the chicken pieces start browning a bit add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and add the wheat along with any liquid to the pot. Simmer 5 minutes more. Add carrots and bell pepper at this stage along with chili paste and soy sauce. If you are using other vegetables you will want to add them in the order that they cook (i.e. veggies that take longer to cook are added first and so on).

Taste the soup. If it needs more salt add some more. Does it need more thickening? Add some of the cornstarch and water mixture and bring to a boil. Now add cabbage and snow peas and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the veggies are just done. Turn off stove and add lemon juice, garnish with cilantro and enjoy!