Really complicated dahl soup

I made a really complicated dahl recipe by from the Guardian by Urvesh Parvais (me neither) when some friends came round for lunch on New Year's Day. As usual, I had tons left over, and as usual I turned the leftover dahl into soup.

Really complicated dahl soup

As I said, this dahl was really complicated. To give you an idea how complicated, here's the list of ingredients:

Complicated dahl ingredients

• red lentils 250g
• sunflower oil 3 tbsp 
• dry chilli 1 
• cumin seeds 1 heaped tsp 
• asafoetida ¼ tsp 
• garlic ½ small bulb, sliced 1mm 
• onion ½, finely sliced
• turmeric ½ level tsp 
• salt 2 level tsp (then add to taste) 
• ginger finely chopped 1½ heaped tbsp 
• green chilli 2, finely chopped (adjust to your taste) 
• dhana jeru (2 parts coriander seed, 1 part cumin seed) 3 heaped tsp 
• fresh coriander ½ bunch (reserve a little for garnish), roughly chopped 
• tomatoes 100g, roughly chopped 
• jaggery (or sugar) 1½ level tsp (add less to begin with then adjust to taste) 
• garam masalo ½ level tsp

I could go on to explain the extremely complicated method for making this dahl, but my guess is you're not going to bother making it, so I'm not going to bother writing it. If you fancy giving it a shot, go to the Guardian website.  

My friends did say that it was lovely dahl, though it was a little too thick for my liking. However, when I turned it into soup and had some at work it was way too garlicky. When I first read the recipe I wasn't sure if it really meant 1/2 bulb garlic, or if this was a typo and was meant to read 1/2 clove garlic. Deciding a clove was too little and a bulb too much, I think I settled on about 4 cloves. The garlic is sliced, not crushed, and half of it is added in the last 5-10 minutes' cooking time. It was these slices that I picked out of my soup, though admittedly they were slightly larger than the recommended 1mm thickness. Guiltily, I threw away the remaining portion of soup.

Polenta with tomato sauce

This recipe comes from the River Cottage Veg Book, my favourite (only) vegetarian cookery book. You can find the original recipe here.

However I used my own Magic Number tomato sauce recipe rather than the one in the book. As a rule, I never add even a pinch of sugar to tomato sauce.

Polenta. Meh

I hate any recipe that requires frying (other than onions etc) - I can't stand oil spluttering all over the place, hate things getting stuck to the pan and seem to have real problems flipping food over. So maybe this wasn't the best choice of recipe for me, but I wanted to give it a go.

As I anticipated I found the whole frying thing pretty stressful. I had to use way more oil than I'd like and the polenta slices still broke up. I found the results a bit 'meh', but was surprised that Ollie really liked it.

Having bought a pack of quick cook polenta especially to make this recipe, I now have an almost full packet left. So expect some more culinary polenta adventures soon.

Pumpkin soup

This soup turned out to be really quite hot - perfect for the first week in January back at work.

Pumpkin soup ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 1/2 medium pumpkin
• 1 small carrot
• 1/2 tablespoon ginger purée 
• 1/2 tablespoon homemade curry powder
• 1 small hot red chilli
• 200ml coconut milk
• 200ml vegetable stock
• Handful sweet corn

  How to make pumpkin soup

1. Heat a little groundnut oil in a large pan.
2. Chop the onion finely and sweat in the pan till soft (about 5 minutes).
3. Chop the pumpkin into small chunks.  
4. Grate the carrot. 
5. Add the ginger puree and curry powder and stir for 30 seconds.
6. Add the pumpkin and carrot and sweat for a couple of minutes.
7. Pour in the coconut milk and vegetable stock.
8. Pierce the chilli and add to the pan.
9. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer.
10. Simmer until the pumpkin is soft and beginning to collapse - about 20 minutes as a guide but the time will depend on the size of the pumpkin pieces. 
11. Turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly.
12. Fish out the chilli.
13. Mash the pumpkin with a potato masher. You could liquidize the soup if you prefer, but I like a bit of texture.
14. Sprinkle the sweet corn over the top of the soup before you serve. 

 

Pumpkin soup

Chicken noodle soup

Not leftover roast chicken risotto

I'm so bored with being told that you can make a roast chicken last 3 days by making risotto with some of the leftover chicken and homemade stock. For me, risotto is monotonous stodge on a plate.

Go for something light like this healthy soup instead. You'll still have plenty stock left to freeze or use for thick chicken soup, and leftover cold roast chicken is a fine addition to any salad. 

Chicken noodle soup ingredients

 

• 2 bowls homemade chicken stock
• A handful mange tout
• A handful kale leaves, roughly chopped
• 4 spring onions, diagonally sliced
• A splash dark soy sauce
• A tiny splash nam pla
• 1 bruised blade  lemongrass
• 1/2 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli paste
• I nest dried thin noodles
• As much leftover roast chicken as you want to add

How to make chicken noodle soup

1. Bring the chicken stock to a rolling boil in a medium-sized pan.
2. Add the splashes of nam pla and dark soy sauce, together with the bruised lemongrass stalk and chilli paste.
3. Add the noodles then after 1 minute drop in the vegetables and the cooked chicken. 
4. Simmer for a minute or 2, until the chicken is warmed but the vegetables remain crunchy.
5. Remove from the heat and ladle into individual bowls, then squeeze 1/4 lime into each bowl.

Thick chicken soup

For this soup I used the leftovers and stock from New Year's Eve's roast chicken with tarragon, so if you don't have any tarragon wilting in your fridge you can do without. 

  Thick chicken soup ingredients

• About 700ml homemade chicken stock
• 1 large leek
• 1 large banana shallot
• About 200ml milk
• 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
• 1 handful cooked chicken per person
• About 3 sprigs tarragon
• 1 medium potato

How to make thick chicken soup

1. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a large pan.
2. Finely chop the shallot and leek, add to the pan and sweat gently till soft.
3. Add the stock to the pan.
4. Peel the potato, chop into small cubes and add to the pan.
5. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
6. Chop the tarragon very finely and add to the soup along with the milk and crème fraîche.
7. Simmer for another 10 minutes - the potato should have collapsed completely and the soup thickened. If the soup is not as thick as you'd like, turn the heat up a little and continue to cook till it reduces and thickens.
8. Add the cooked chicken, torn into pieces, just before you want to serve the soup to warm through. 

If you've made a big batch of soup to freeze or have later and only want a portion or two now, heat just enough soup and chicken as you need in a separate pan - if you heat then reheat the chicken it will get tough and taste awful. 

Salami and vegetable pasta with feta

Another really quick and easy pasta dish that can be ready in the time it takes your pasta to cook (unless you use fresh pasta which cooks in 2 minutes).  

Pasta with salami, vegetables and pasta ingredients

• 1 medium or 2 large fresh plum tomatoes, chopped into 8th or quarters
• 1 large handful frozen grilled mixed veg (from Waitrose, others may exist, I haven't found them if they do)
• 1 large slice from a pack of feta (or half fat feta), crumbled
• 1-2 tablespoons homemade pesto
• 4 or 5  salami (I used a few slices of mixed salami from Aldi - some were actually a bit spicy)
• Enough spaghetti for 2 people 

How to make salami and vegetable pasta with feta

1. Put the pasta in a pan of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes under the cooking time stated on the packet.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a frying pan to a high heat then add the frozen vegetables.
3. Cut the salami into strips. 
4. Cook the vegetables for a a few minutes till cooked through then turn off the heat.
5. Add the tomatoes and salami to the vegetables and stir through. 
6. Drain the pasta then tip it back into the pan and stir through the pesto.
7. Add the vegetables and feta to the pasta and stir through.

Smoked mackerel and potato cakes

Smoked mackerel with potato cakes

Not for lunch, but a lovely supper that uses up any leftover mashed potatoes you might have. (Being from the North, I hate waste.)

I used the following quantities for 2 people, and ate far too much - I could have happily done with half the amount. Admittedly I served this with a corn on the cob, which was wholly unnecessary. The potato cakes need a lot of oil too, so this is more of a mid-week indulgence than a healthy supper. I don't think you should add any flour to potato cakes - this may help keep them in one piece but their taste will be spoiled.

Ingredients for the potato cakes

• Approx 250g cooked mashed potato
• About 30g goat's cheese
• About 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

To serve with potato cakes

• 1 pack smoked mackerel fillets (ie 4 fillets)
• 4 cornichon (small gherkins), chopped
• 10 baby plum tomatoes

 

Optional vegetables to serve with potato cakes if you're greedy (like me)

• Greens
• Corn on the cob

Method for making potato cakes with smoked mackerel

1. Add enough rapeseed oil to cover the bottom of a large frying pan then heat till hot.
2. Heat the grill to medium, ie about 230 degrees C.
3. Add the finely diced goat's cheese to the mashed potato.
4. Stir in the parsley.
5. Season well with tons of salt and black pepper.
6. Shape the potato mixture into 4 equal sized balls, then flatten ball to give flatish cakes.
7. Lower each cake into the hot oil in the frying pan.
8. While the cakes are cooking, line a baking tin with tin foil, pour in a small drop of rapeseed oil and spread this all over the tin either with your fingers or a pastry brush. 
9. Add the smoked mackerel to the lined tin along with the baby tomatoes and scatter over the chopped cornichon.
10. Place under the grill for about 5 minutes till the fish is warmed through and the tomatoes are bursting. 
11. Once the underside of the potato cakes are crispy, carefully turn them over to brown the other side.
12. Boil the kettle, then fill a large pan with the boiling water, and place on hob.
13. Remove the thick vein from the centre of the greens' leaves, cut into even sized pieces and place in a bamboo steamer. 
14. Put 2 plates in the oven below the grill to warm.
15. Lower the corn cobs into the boiling water and add a little salt.
16. Boil for about 4 minutes before placing the bamboo steamer over the pan and steam the greens for another 2 minutes. 
17. Remove everything from the pans/grill and transfer to the warm plates to serve.
18. Add a small drizzle of rapeseed oil to the corn on the cob, plus plenty of salt and pepper. 

 

Potato cakes cooking