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#Soups

7 posts5 participants0 posts today
Public
Ganga

I have been lying in bed this morning – a cool morning of Autumn where it is nice to be sipping coffee and reading under the warm blankets. I have been watching the sky as I read, wondering what kind of day it will be, and it has varied from blue with clouds, to dark and stormy, and back to clouds without patches of sky. Such are the joys of our Australian weather. We watch the sky in Summer to see what heat levels we need to endure during the day, in Autumn we watch the sky for much needed rain, in Winter it is about how cold and wet it will be, and in Spring we wait for the first warm to hot day to arrive.

So it is heading towards Winter and the soup pot has emerged from the depths of the cupboard again. We made an awesome spicy tomato soup the other day, quite Indian in style, and today we turn towards Italy and the simple but awesome products that come out of kitchens.

I have heard the food of Tuscany particularly is called Poor Man’s Food, that is, food that is made from locally grown produce without fanciness or pretension. Exactly my kind of food. I remain a country girl at heart despite living in various cities for the majority of my life. The influence of those first 15 – 20 years never leaves you.

The recipe for this soup is from Ilva, a Nordic gal married to an Italian and living in Tuscany. She ran a very successful blog back in the day, but eventually specialised in food photography.instagram.com/ilvaberetta/

Her recipes were always simple, with a focus on making the ingredients shine. I loved them.

Roast broccoli and white bean soup sits in a white plate. The broccoli is chunky and sits in the creamy white bean base.
#ItalianFood#TuscanFood#Soups
Continued thread
Public
Ganga

How to Make Really Flavoursome Vegetarian Stocks 5/5

My Usual Base for Winter Dishes

My base, especially for Winter, is bay leaf, juniper berry, brown cardamom and allspice berries with some acid (see above). Truly it is enough for most dishes, saves hours of time and room in the freezer, and provides the underlying deep, grounding flavours that are required. If I have some quick-cooking and fall-apart lentils - like mung lentils or red lentils - throw a small handful into the soup as well - it is almost essential for creamy winter soups.

Once I have this base I can layer it with any of the flavours mentioned above, depending on what is in the kitchen or pantry at the time.

A lovely, lemony lentil soiup topped with crispy curry leaves.
#Food#FromTheKitchen#Vegetarian
Continued thread
Public
Ganga

How to Make Really Flavoursome Vegetarian Stocks 4/5

Make them as you need them – in the dish

Now I don’t bother as often with making traditional stocks, perhaps a light one for Summer usage where the vegetables are not much more than blanched (as opposed to boiled for 30 mins or so).

My trick now is to include herbs and spices that best suit the dish in the actual dish .

Include an acid

An acidic ingredient lifts any dish to new heights. Add judiciously – a little at a time until you get the right flavour balance. Always add at the end of cooking the dish, not during, as cooking changes the flavours of acid ingredients. Try lemon/lime, cumquat juice, tamarind, a splash of vinegar or verjuice, angostura bitters, tomatoes (with a sour edge) etc. Use different vinegars – Palm, Coconut or Rice vinegar, and the Chinese black and red vinegars are examples that you can try. Umaboshi Vinegar too. These are easily available at Asian shops. Use only a small dash, mind you.

Fava bean soup with turmeric and fennel.
#food#Vegetarian#stock
Continued thread
Public
Ganga

How to Make Really Flavoursome Vegetarian Stocks 3/5

Miso, Wakame and Kombu

Again over time – some years – miso began to make an appearance in my stocks, from the lightest miso to the darkest of dark miso, depending on the use and time of year. Wakame and Kombu (kelp) too. BTW, Miso is such a relaxing soup, make it on its own at any time.

Tamarind and Soy Sauce

Then later still I began to explore the inclusion of tamarind where I needed dark flavours – I had always included a lemon, cut in half, and tomatoes in my vegetable stocks, so this was just a progression. I found that a few drops of Angostura Bitters enlivened any stock. A little soy sauce made an appearance too.

Miso soup with beans and herbs/spices.
#food#Vegetarian#stock
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