Holy Carotene, Batman!

Tonight, Jay and I watched Julie & Julia and have both decided that while Julia is pretty damn cool, Julie left us unimpressed. No need to trash talk her (there has apparently been well enough of that over the blogosphere in general) but what did impress us was that she cooked 524 French recipes in 365 days and somehow managed to retain a full time job and not get fat. I mean, seriously. If I cooked and ate like that I would probably weigh 365 lbs at the end of the 365 days. So no Pâté de Canard en Croûte for us, instead we have soup. Yes, more soup. Today its more carrot soup, this time an Indian spiced carrot soup. To come up with this recipe I combined about three - two of which were sent by friend Erica (keep em coming guys):

Curried Carrot Soup

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger, minced

2 tbsp curry power

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp coriander

a pinch to 1 tsp red pepper flakes (depends on the spice in your curry)

1/2 granny smith apple, diced

3 cups carrots, peeled and sliced

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup milk or nonfat plain yogurt

1 tbsp lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot heat ghee over medium heat and add onions and cook for 5-6 minutes. Add spices, ginger, garlic and apple and cook for 4-5 minutes longer until everything is evenly browned and the spices are aromatic. Add carrots and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until the carrots are very soft. Take off heat and blend soup with an immersion blender or food processor. Add milk, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. I served with naan - recommended.

#27

So eleven days in I really wanted to cover my proverbial bases. Brainstorming, Jay and I figured we would try a Thai style soup - something a la my absolute favorite # 27 from Mae Phim. #27 is, I think, some version of heaven. It is also very rich. So when I made it I tried to make it a little less so, and add some veggies for some degree of nutritional value. We went to the new QFC in our hood, which didn't have a great selection of Asian style noodles, so we ended up with a Japanese style somen noodle. I think I would have preferred it with a wider udon. Other than that it turned out well, just the right amount of spice and flavor but not nearly as rich as the original #27:

Curry Noodle Soup

1 medium onion, 1/4 minced, the rest diced

2 tbsp ginger, minced

3 lemongrass stalks, the bottom 4 inches minced

3-6 tbsp good quality yellow curry paste (amount will vary depending on quality and type - look at the instructions on your curry paste for typical coconut milk/paste ratio)

2 cups vegetable broth

4 cups light coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 block nigari tofu (any extra firm tofu will work, chicken might be nice as well), cubed

1 tbsp canola oil

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 carrots cut on the bias into 1/2 inch pieces

2 small jalapeno or thai peppers, seeded and minced

10 oz. udon, soba, or rice noodles, cooked

2 green onions, thinly sliced

good quality chili paste to taste (optional)

In a soup pot heat 1/4 cup vegetable broth over medium high heat. Add minced ginger, lemongrass and onion for 3-4 minutes until just cooked. Add curry paste and mix thoroughly. Add 2 cups of coconut milk and, whisking thoroughly, heat to a boil. Add remaining coconut milk, remaining broth and fish sauce. Heat to a simmer and add cubed tofu. Simmer while you prepare the rest.

In a wok, heat canola oil over high heat. Saute each of the veggies (remaining onion, carrot, bell pepper and jalapeno) one at a time until just barely soft. As the veggies are cooked add them to the curry broth pot.

To serve place a 1/2 cup noodles at the bottom of a bowl. Ladle curry broth and veggies over until covered. Garnish with green onion and chili paste (if desired).

YaLentil

I am not an expert at preparing lentils, but I have recently been trying to find ways to work them into my cooking regimen. Lentils are high in protein and dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B1 and one of the best non-flesh sources of iron. As almost vegetarians and almost anemics lentils are especially good for us. Most lentil soups seem to rely on ham for their main flavor which is unacceptable for obvious reasons (though I do love ham). I found a recipe on Epicurious for a Curried Lentil Soup that I adapted a bit and made tonight. Perfect for a rainy Seattle spring day (that feels like winter) the soup is spicy and dense and very filling. Enjoy on your next rainy day.

Curried Lentil Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped peeled carrots

4 large garlic cloves

3 tbsp good quality madras style curry powder

1 tbsp cumin

2 bay leaf

1-3 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it)

6 cups veggie broth

4 cups water

2 1/2 cups dried lentils

6-8 ounces lacinato kale (or green of your choice), chopped

2 medium tomatoes, diced

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Cook onions, carrots, celery and garlic stirring often for 5-10 minutes until soft. Add curry, cumin, garlic, red pepper and bay leaf and cook a few minutes more to release the flavors of the curry. Add lentils, broth, and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until lentils are soft. Add kale (or other green) and tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes till kale is soft. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and fresh cilantro.