‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’#36 ‘Raiding the emergency groceries…’
RAIDING THE EMERGENCY GROCERIES…
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The number of winters I’ve survived and cooked through in Cape Town, you’d think by now, I’d be forewarned that our winter arrives unannounced:
BAM! WHOOSH! …a sudden 1-day torrent of wind and rain…not too cold, precedes the sudden chilly nights which appear from no-where!
We all get colds and flu, as no-one wants to change from summer clothing immediately to winter hues! So with nasal blues and heavy heads we begin our winter!
Oh my gosh! Winter…WINTER!...comfort food, I have to quickly drop all that I’m doing, in order to make thick veggie soup!
I am too lazy to rush to BloodyPack’nPiyClaremont supermarket , so I just have to see what emergency supplies my well-stocked kitchen might surprise….
UP, up that 2-step ladder I climb, to reach the deepest darkest depths of the top grocery cupboard, to search for suitable soup ingredients… I come upon 2 tins of asparagus…no, no!...just recently served You that “ Baked Asparagus” dish(blog # 25) , so s-s-s-somethingggg else to find..Yes!
T-o-m-a-t-o-e-s!!!! ... AND the puree too! A perfectly good base to add to those fresh-produce staples always readily found in my fridge..the onions and potatoes and carrots and celery (NO soup is a soup without CELERY!)…and dried legumes..ah-ha! Vacuum sealed and ready to soak - my “mise en place” for the start of winter!
…And by-the-way, those first rain showers in Cape Town cause untold panic, when we step out in the first few downpours , heavily clad in layers…sweaters and coats and umbrellas too, but truly, those early days are mild and still warm..for clothing, light, and perhaps a little rain-proof too!
And so to recipes…
THICK HEARTY VEGGIE SOUP
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| HEARTY THICK VEGETABLE SOUP - a WINTER STAPLE! |
What I found in my supplies….
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| THOSE DRIED LEGUMES... |
A mix of dried legumes…well I assume that all are ?...
The standard ready dried “soup mix” being:
2 cups of mixed dried:
Brown lentils, red lentils, yellow split peas, butterbeans / or black-eye beans, kidney beans and pearled barley. (or just mix your own.)
2 large onions sliced
3 to 4 medium potatoes, peeled and grated
5 medium carrots, peeled and grated
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced (across the width)
A handful of chopped parsley
1x 410g can of peeled tomatoes (can use 6 fresh ripe tomatoes instead)
1x small can of concentrated tomato puree
Pinch of marjoram and oregano (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
A generous 50g or more butter
4 cups veggie stock (can use 2 tablespoons powdered stock in 2 cups boiling water)…can use a good chicken stock too!
A further 6 to 8 cups boiling water added to the pot
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| 'MISE-EN-PLACE' for THICK VEGGIE SOUP |
METHOD:
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| PREPARED INGREDIENTS FOR THICK VEGETABLE SOUP: Soaked dried legumes, vegetable stock, grated potatoes, tomato puree, chopped celery, chopped parsley, pinch herbs, butter, canned tomatoes, grated carrots & sliced onions. |
2) Prepare all the vegetables for the pot.
3) Into a large pot, gently melt butter, then add all the veggies – onions first, then add the legumes, tomato puree and all other ingredients.
4) Add the stock and extra 8 cups boiling water.
5) Bring to a quick boil, then turn the heat down to low, to simmer with the lid on, for 1 ½ hours
When cooked, season to taste.
Then you have a CHOICE!
1) Enjoy this marvelously, thick, textured soup as is…a whole meal!
OR
2) When cool, blend till smooth…reheat, and ‘tis too, delicious!
- You might even discover the simply scrumptious Semolina-and-Rosewater cake in blog #3 (“Running away from ‘Mavis…”) Mmmmmmmm!!!
And ooh-la-lahhh..what about MAVIS’s BREASTS?..that’s blog #8
Until next time…
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| PEEK-A-BOOB |
‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’
Dear Mavis:
ReplyDeleteyour winter soup sounds good, unfortunately we are going into summer up here in the northern hemisphere, but I will make sure to keep a copy of it on file for future use!