Tag Archives: Slow Energy Release

Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tomato, Carrot and Black-Eyed Bean Soup

A need for a last minute supper and no interest in racing to the shops to buy stuff. A good ferret around the cupboard and fridge and this is what I came up with. I blitzed this in the liquidiser but only to blend the ingredients rather than to puree the mix. This gave the soup a nice texture when the beans were added.

Turned out to be very tasty indeed and nicely filling. Thumbs up from the teen who made off with the leftovers for lunch!

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
3 carrots, grated
2 tablespoons, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon, dried parsley
1 heaped teaspoon, dried basil
¾ pint, vegetable stock
2 tins, chopped tomatoes
1 tin, black-eyed beans*
½ to 1 teaspoon, sugar**
Sea salt and ground black pepper to season

Method
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan
2. Add the onion, cover with the lid and allow to cook for about 5 minutes until soft
3. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes
4. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes
5. Add the herbs, tomatoes and stock
6. Cook for about 20 minutes
7. Add the sugar according to taste**
8. Season with salt and lots of black pepper
9. Blitz in the liquidiser until the ingredients are blended but not pureed
10. Return to the pan and add the black-eyed beans*
11. Heat through and serve

* With the amount of soup, more beans would be possible to turn this into a heartier soup or even a main meal. Next time, I will try adding a tin of borlotti beans
** I usually like tinned tomatoes cooked with sugar to season. This soup, however, was nicer with less sugar.

Standard
Soups, Tomato and Basil

Soupy winter weather leads to a yearning for…eh…soup!

The teen loves soup – all colours, textures and varieties. Here is another point at which we differ. I have an aversion to ‘sameness’ – I have to have variety on my plate so I steer clear of bowls of pasta or soup. Conversely, the teen loves these and would happily live out her days feasting on pasta and eating her soup.

When she was at school, I always encouraged her to bring soup as it is a slow-energy releasing food which helps the learning process. These days, the college going teen tells me it is an important/urgent necessity for her studying process in a ploy to get me to make her soup.

Always making my own, however, I think I spoilt her from an early age. Now she turns her nose up at any shop bought preparations, packets or tins which could make my life a tad bit easier! While some soups take time to make, there are a few firm favourites which can be whipped up quickly. Here is one of the teen’s all-time favourites.

Tomato and Basil Soup

This recipe is a quick and easy way to prepare soup. The vegetables do not have to be cut neatly or precisely as the whole lot gets chucked into a blender before serving. I often throw in some softened tomatoes but always use fresh basil as the dried variety just does not pack the same punch.

Ingredients
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped (how much you add depends on your own taste preference)
2 carrots, chopped in small pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tins of tomatoes, chopped or about 1lb fresh tomatoes, chopped
1½ pints stock (vegetable)
Handful of fresh, washed, basil leaves
Salt
Sugar
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Heat the oil
2. Add the onions and fry until soft
3. Add the garlic and cook
4. Add the carrots and cook for a few minutes
5. Add the stock and tomatoes
6. Bring to the boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes
7. Season with salt and pepper (I leave out the salt if using a shop bought stock)
8. Add sugar to taste (starting with one teaspoonful) as this brings out the taste of the tomatoes
9. Place in a liquidiser. Add the fresh basil leaves and blitz (the teen likes it with a bit of texture and not completely smooth)
10. Return to the saucepan and ensure it is heated thoroughly before serving
11. Serve with crusty bread or if you are studying, a large mug and spoon!

Copyright © 2013 · All Rights Reserved ·

Standard