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[tugga-food]

Tom’s Soup

So here's the soup recipe I mentioned. It's from a modern Claudia Roden book called Tamarind and Saffron.

You can buy cumin and coriander seeds cheaply in bulk, then (toast and) grind them as you use them.

The soup reheats really well, and you can save or make more garnish as needed.

Ingredients 1 large chopped onion 3 tablespoons (light) olive oil 3 crushed garlic cloves 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes, to taste 375g orange lentils (I mean, they ARE orange, right, not "red") 2 sticks diced celery 1 diced carrot 2 litres stock (veggie cube is fine) salt and pepper to taste 1 lemon juiced

To garnish (this is important) 2 sliced onions 2 tablespoons (light) olive oil 1 toasted pita bread, broken into small pieces lemon wedges, 1 per person

Instructions Gently fry the onion in the oil until soft. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and chilli flakes. Add the lentils, carrot and celery. Add the stock, and simmer covered for 30-45 minutes, until the lentils have disintegrated. Claudia says you might need more water to keep the soup thin, but I've not needed this.

For the garnish, fry the onion slices in the oil until almost caramelised. At serving, add a spoon of the onions on top of the soup, and serve with the croutons and lemon wedges to add as preferred.

Total yum, and super cheap.

[tugga-food]

Smoked Tofu and Mushroom Stroganoff

275g/10 oz. smoked tofu 2 tbspn sunflower oil 50g/2 oz chopped blanched almonds 225g/8 oz sliced mushrooms 50g/2 oz ground almonds 1 tbspn chopped fresh parsley or tspn dried 1/4 (quarter) tspn garlic salt freshly ground black pepper 150ml/1/4 pint vegetable stock 1/4 tspn ground paprika

Cut tofu into 5cm/2in strips. Heat oil in frying pan and cook tofu and almonds for 2-3 mins until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. (At this point I usually find it easier to set the pan aside completely and begin a new pan with a little oil in for the mushrooms). Add the mushrooms to pan and cook for 5 mins until soft. Stir in ground almonds, parsley, paprika, garlic salt and pepper. Gradually add the stock and bring to the boil stirring occasionally until sauce has thickened. Return tofuc and chopped almonds to pan and simmer for 2- 3 mins. ENJOY!!!!

I find chopping the almonds needs patience. Time to meditate! If you grind them it's not the same so they need to be chopped quite small.

[tugga-food]

Vegetarian French Onion Soup.

I think this came from Cranks recipe book and was passed on to me by my friend Sylvia - it's very easy and wonderfully warming. The croutons and grated mature cheddar are integral to the dish...I fry my croutons in butter with a little swedish herb salt until crispy. 

Ingredients:

Large onion x2

Oil 3 x tbsp (45ml)

Veg stock 1 + 1/2 pints. I prefer Vecon stock.

Mixed herbs 1 tsp (or whatever nice dried herbs you have to hand)

Yeast extract 1 tsp (5ml)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Croutons (the recipe recommends wholemeal which is tasty but I find any bread works okay)

Cheddar cheese, grated 4oz/100g. 

Method:

Finely slice the onions 

Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the onions until golden brown. This bit can take a while..15 mins or longer so this is a good time to put some music on.

Add the remaining ingredients.

Bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15mins.

Serve with croutons and cheese sprinkled on top.

Serves 4 (or 2 if you have 2 portions each!)  Freezes well so sometimes I'll triple the ingredients and make a bigger batch.

[tugga-food]

Poached eggs on rye toast with avocado plus a little pepper and lemon juice.

Easy.

[tugga-food]

Cristal’s Lentil Soup.

This soup is really quick and easy to make and surprisingly good (I say that as someone who’s not a huge lentil fan). Taught to me by my lovely friend Cristal. I’ve found it’s pretty robust - I measure the ingredients less and less accurately and it always comes out tasting great. 

Ingredients:

Roughly 2 medium onions.

Roughly 2 cups/medium mugs of red lentils - rinsed.

1 tablespoon of Tomato Puree or Tomato Ketchup - optional.

4 or 5 cups/medium mugs of veg stock - I use one Kallo veg cube between 3 cups and one large teaspoon of Vecon in another cup. I really recommend Vecon veg stock if you can get hold of it. I find most health/wholefood shops can order it. You can also use chicken stock if you prefer.

A clove or two of garlic

Lemon juice (2 tablespoons or if like me you like it extra lemony - the juice of 1/2 a smallish lemon).

A bag of spinach (one of those salad bags - or a couple of big bunches rinsed with the larger stalks removed) - rinsed.

Soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Chop (roughly if you like) the onions and garlic and fry in a medium saucepan for 4/5 mins or until soft. Put the (optional) tomato paste in half way through.

Add the lentils and veg stock.

Bring to the boil then simmer for 15mins or until lentils cooked.

Then add spinach and lemon juice and stir for 2 to 5 mins.

If it gets too think just add water.

Add a splash of soy sauce (and salt and pepper if you like).

And it’s done!

Cristal says it also works well adding ginger or chilli. A good recipe for meat eaters unsure what to cook for a vegetarian guest as it’s just so easy to make. I love it with buttery white sour dough toast and mature cheddar.