Gazpacho

I may have developed a slight addition to gazpacho this summer. It is, without a doubt, my favorite summer dish. It's so light and refreshing. Not only is it delicious, it is probably the easiest and quickest thing to make. 

4 fresh tomatoes

1 green capsicum (bell pepper)

1/4 of a large cucumber

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar

A small handful of fresh baguette

1-2 small cloves of garlic

A small white onion

Salt and pepper to taste

a hand mixer or food processor 

How to make your gazpacho

1. Wash your veggies
2. Seed your capsicum 
3. Peel the cucumber (seed if you prefer, I'm lazy so I tend not to)
4. Add all your ingredients together in a food processor (or you can use a hand mixer) until your ingredients are as fine as possible
5. Be sure to taste as you go, I tend to not measure anything
6. OPTIONAL - if you want to make a very traditional gazpacho, pour your blended ingredients through an extremely fine sieve  to make it even smoother and leave over night in the fridge. I, however, tend to prefer a bit more texture to mine and don't add this step. But be sure to serve your gazpacho cold.
7. Garnish with garlic croutons and finely diced onions and green capsicum

Vegetable Soup

 This recipe is one based of of a delicious soup my mother would make. The nice thing about it is you can toss in any vegetables you like and that are in season.

• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 3 medium sized yellow onions
• 1 head of broccoli 
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2-3 fist sized potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 2 cubes of vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 litres of water (approximately)
• 1 large tin of tomatoes
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Some sugar (if you find the tomatoes have made the soup bitter)
• Mild paprika to taste
• Cumin to taste
• Coriander powder to taste
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

While these were the veggies I used, feel free to be creative with this recipe and use whatever you like - peas, squash, anything

1. Finely chop the onions and mince the garlic. Let them simmer in the olive oil in your pot for a few minutes until the onions are translucent
2. Pour in the hot water mixed with the stock cubes, slice the tinned tomatoes and pour them in as well
3. Since I am truly lazy, I like to prepare all my vegetables (peel and chop the potatoes and carrots in large pieces, chop the celery and brocoli) and then... I just throw them all in together. I add a bit of spices and salt and pepper, cover up the soup and let it cook on a medium heat.
4. Once your veggies are cooked, use a hand mixer to blend some of your soup to make the broth thicker. (You could also use a blender too!)
5. Continue to taste and season your soup until it is how you like it and enjoy!

French Onion Soup

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 4-5 large gold onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
• 6 cups of vegetable stock 
• Baguette
• Swiss or gruyere cheese

1. Chop the onions and crush the garlic
2. Saute the onions in the melted butter mixed with olive oil for about 5 minutes before adding the garlic and stir for about 2 minutes
3. Turn the heat down so it is extremely low (lowest setting ideally) and leave the mix to simmer with a lid for about an hour
4. Add the worcestershire sauce, stock and sugar and cover once again
5. Be sure to taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed
6. Preheat the oven
7. Prepare the bowls by filling them with soup, adding a piece of sliced baguette and topping it with cheese
8. Bake until the cheese is melted!

Miso Soup

• 4 cups of water
• Just over 3/4 of a cup of clean tofu
• 1/4 of a cup of miso paste
• 1/3 of a cup of minced spring onions
• 1/3 of a cup of sliced mushrooms
• 25 grams of kelp (seaweed)

1. Wash the mushrooms and spring onion and finely chop them
2. In a pot, place the water and add the mushrooms, cook on a high heat until the mushrooms are nearly cooked
3. Add the miso paste, spring onions, kelp and tofu and let the soup cook for another 10 minutes

Lentil Kale Soup with Moroccan Spices

On his recent trip to Morocco, my uncle was kind enough to bring me ras el hanout - a traditional blend of Moroccan spices. I hope to use it for some delicious tajine (soon to come!)

I didn't use vegetable stock because I was out, but I actually felt that I didn't need it in the end.

You will need:

• 1 large carrot
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/2  cup of lentils 
• 1 potato (optional)
• 1 medium sized onion
• 1 small cloves of garlic
• 4 large kale leaves
• A pinch of cumin
• A pinch of paprika
• 1-2 teaspoons of ras el hanout 
• Salt and pepper to taste

The simplicity of this recipe is wonderful.

1. Peel the carrot and potato, chop them finely along with the celery and onion
2. Crush the garlic
3. Wash and slice the kale
4. In a pot, combine all your ingredients along with seasonings on a medium high heat - stirring occasionally until the lentils are soft. As it cooks, cover it and let the spices sink in. 
5. With a hand mixer, I blended part of the soup to give it a thicker base, but that is up to you :)

Tom Yum Goong - Spicy Thai Soup with Shrimp and Lemongrass

Ok so, I must admit I did cheat and use a cube of stock with tom yum goong flavouring because I didn't want to use pork or chicken stock. I am also not a huge fan of an overly fishy taste, so I didn't add fish sauce, but if you want a more authentic tom yum goong, add some fish sauce. 

You will need:

• A handfull of fresh and shelled shrimp
• A stalk of lemongrass
• One full lime
• A spring onion
• One red chili 
• A few stems of fresh coriander
• 1 cube of tom yum goong flavouring
• 2 table spoons of ginger
• Sea salt
• 4 cups of water
• 1-2 teaspoons of fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon of chili paste
• 1 tomato

1. Prepare all the ingredients: remove the outer layer of the lemongrass, cut it into 2 inch pieces and crush it with a knife. Wash the fresh coriander leaves. Slice the spring onion. Finely chop and crush the chili, cut the tomato in very thin slices, peel the ginger and slice it thinly
2. Pour the water and cube of flavouring in a pot with fish sauce and chili paste on a moderately high heat
3. Wash and deshell the shrimp and add them the pot aside from the coriander 
4. Toss in all the prepped ingredients and let simmer on a medium-high heat for 10 minutes
5. Squeeze in the lime juice, add the fresh coriander leaves
6. Be sure to taste your soup and add more salt, chili or limes as desired

Carrot and Ginger Soup

My new favourite soup :)

You will need:

• 3/4 of a kilo of carrots (around 5 cups)
• 1/4 cup of fresh ginger
• 2 medium sized potatoes
• 2 onions
• A pinch of brown sugar
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cubes of vegetable stock
• 4 cups of water
• 2 oranges
• A splash of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt and pepper

1. Peel the carrots and potatoes and place them in a ziplock bag
2. Sprinkle them with olive oil, freshly grated ginger, minced garlic, salt and peper, brown sugar and nutmeg and freshly squeezed orange juice - leave them to marinate in the fridge for approximately an hour
3. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius 
4. Rest your marinated veggies in an oven pan and leave them to bake for approximately 25 minutes (depending on how you sliced them, it may be faster or slower). Just make sure when they are taken out, they are moderately soft. 
5. Meanwhile, finely dice the onions and cook them in a large pot with olive oil until they are translucent.
6. Add the cups of water mixed with the vegetable stock cubes to the pot and add the cooked vegetables from the oven. 
7. Leave in the pot for 30 minutes on a low heat with a lid so the flavours mix in.
8. Puree the soup with a hand mixed or in a food processor and serve :)

Spiced South African Butternut Soup

This soup is so delicious and filling, I usually have it as a main meal.

Photo by Alvaro Chocano De Rossi

• 1 large butternut squash
• 5 large potatoes
• A knob of butter
• 3/4 of a litre of boiling water
• 1 & 1/2 cubes of vegetable stock (or chicken if you are more carnivorous) 
• 1 apple
• Cinnamon
• Curry powder (I use mild, but it's up to you)
• Mild paprika
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup of milk or cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Finely chopped the onions and place them in a large pot with some butter. Cook on a low heat until onions become more translucent. 
2. Peel the potatoes, chop into cubes and toss them in the pot
3. Add the boiling water and stock cubes
4. Peel the butternut and seed it. Cut it into cubes and add it to the pot.
5. Peel and core the apple aaaaand cut it into little bitsies and put it in the pot. 
6. I haven't put exact measurements for all of the seasonings because I really taste as I go. So do lots of tasting and add as much or as little as you want of everything.
7. Cook until all of your ingredients are very soft
8. Blend the soup, add the milk/cream