Shiitake Mushroom and Nori ‘Noodle’ Soup

I had quite a few ingredients left over from my sushi making session including half a pack of Nori Seaweed, dried shiitake mushrooms, some wasabi paste, black sesame seeds and pickled ginger. Pretty much all of these things will keep until I fancy making sushi again but I wanted to experiment with other ways to use them up.

I’ve been making a lot of Asian soups recently because they are nice and light for the summer months but still filling enough to eat as a main meal. I decided to use the leftover dried shiitake mushrooms from the dumplings we made to make a deep mushroom flavoured broth with the nori seaweed cut into strips to act as noodles. This makes the soup carb free and low calorie but still with interesting flavour and texture.

Nori seaweed is really good for you, extremely low calorie (10 calories per sheet) and high on vitamins, antioxidants and surprisingly high in protein. Although it is better eaten raw, as with a lot of foods, using these sheets in a soup is a nice way to add it into your diet. I personally find the taste of raw nori a little over powering, especially when you don’t have the rice to balance it out, but matched with a strong mushroom broth in this soup is much more subtle.

You can add as much or as little as you fancy, I only broke up 1 sheet into thin noodles to feed 4 which I felt was enough goodness without adding too much seaweed flavour. As I get used to it I might add more!

Serves 4

Vegan, Low Carb, Low Calorie, Gluten Free option

2 Carrots
4 Spring Onions
100g (large handful) Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms or closed cup mushrooms will be fine.
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Red Chilli
1 Inch piece Ginger
Sunflower or vegetable oil
1.9 Litres Gluten Free Vegetable Stock
12 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
1/2 Small Savoy Cabbage
1 Bunch Coriander Leaves
1 tblspn Gluten Free Soya Sauce (Check its vegan)
1 Lemon
1 Sheet Nori Seaweed

Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 15 minutes (chop all the below veg whilst this is soaking)

Julienne your carrots, peel and chop the spring onions, slice your fresh mushrooms, finely chop your garlic, de seed and finely chop the red chilli, peel and thinly slice the ginger.

Slice your nori sheet into thin noodles, a pizza cutter is perfect for this. You can’t saw it with a knife so try pressing the sharp edge of the knife down on the sheet until you hear it snap. It’s extremely sturdy for such a delicate looking ingredient.

Add your chopped carrots, onions, fresh mushrooms, garlic, chilli and ginger to a large saucepan with some oil and cook for 2-3 minutes then add the vegetable stock. Drain the soaked mushrooms (reserving the liquid) and chop them up then add them to the pan.
Put a lid on and gently simmer for 5-6 minutes.

Shred your Savoy cabbage and add to the pan with the coriander, mushroom soaking liquid, soy sauce and juice of 1 lemon. Give it a good stir then continue to cook with the lid on for 5 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the nori noodles, these will only take 2-3 minutes to be ready.

Serve hot and garnished with more fresh coriander if desired.

Vegetarian Sausage, Rice and Lentil soup

We’re back from Brighton now and although we had a really great time, it is nice to be home I’m not back to work until Thursday as we are off to London today for an extra holiday (spoiling ourselves!) so I find myself in a weird stage of not quite being ready for the post holiday detox but also feeling like I have over indulged and need some vegetables in my life!

When you get back from a holiday you have to be really organised with meal planning and doing the food shop because its more than likely that you will have an empty fridge, and this can quickly lead to multiple takeaways. Before we left for Brighton I made sure nothing too perishable remained in the fridge but I left items such as celery, carrots, onions and apples because they do last a bit longer.

This meant that alongside store cupboard ingredients like canned tomatoes, rice and lentils, I had everything to make a post holiday soup! But like I said I didn’t quite feel ready to get straight back to a vegetable soup diet so I dug around in my freezer and found some veggie sausages, perfect, these are a great way to make a soup feel more substantial!
Unfortunately these sausages are not gluten free but they are vegan! You can leave the sausages out for an awesome rich, gluten free tomato and rice soup!

Serves 3-4
Vegan, gluten free option, dairy free

3 medium sized carrots
2 onions
2 sticks celery
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon italian herb seasoning
90g (1/2 cup) red lentils
90g (1/2 cup) white rice
1 can chopped tomatoes
1.5 litre gluten free Veg stock
6 vegan sausages (I used Linda McCartneys onion and rosemary vegan sausages)
Parsley

Chop your vegetables up small and put into a large saucepan with a little oil and Cook for 6 minute, stirring frequently. Add crushed garlic and the dried herbs and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the lentils and rice and give it a good stir. Add the canned tomatoes and vegetable stock, put a lid on and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile grill your sausages, cut into bite size slices and put to one side.

Once soup is ready, add the sausages and heat them through again then garnish with parsley.

Do you have a standard meal you make for when you return from holiday?

Carrot, Red lentil and Ginger Soup

Carrot, lentil and ginger soup

I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of blended soup and I can’t stand carrot and coriander soup…so why have I made a blended carrot soup? Because I have come up with a recipe I like and I thought I would share it for others out there who either already love blended carrot soup, or for those looking for a version which isn’t the classic carrot and coriander.

I always seem to have tonnes of carrots left over in the fridge, its so cheap to buy a big sack of them in the supermarket that is seems silly not to stock up and soups are a great way to use them. I usually slice them up really small and leave the soup unblended but obviously this time I dug out my hand held blender and whizzed it to a silky smooth consistency.

Silky smooth blended soup

Right, it’s 8pm on Friday night and I think this soup speaks for itself so I will simply leave you with this great, easy recipe. Perfect for easy lunches, light suppers and days when you need a warm comforting meal without the added calories.

Vegan, wheat and gluten free, dairy free
Serves 4- 6

8 large carrots (1kg)
2 large onions
2 sticks celery
150g (1cup) red lentils
2 garlic cloves
1 thumb size piece ginger
2 green chillies
1.5 litres gluten free vegetable stock
Large bunch parsley

Roughly slice the onion, carrots and celery and add to a large pan with a splash of olive oil. Heat until softened for around 6-8 minutes then add the crushed garlic, peeled and diced ginger, diced and deseeded chillies and lentils and give everything a really good stir.

Add the vegetable stock and stir again then put a lid on the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes until everything is softened.

Then stir in the chopped parsley and blend until smooth. Garnish with parsley and some black pepper and serve piping hot!

Quinoa, Mushroom and Tarragon Soup

This soup is really healthy and so delicious. I was feeling a little hung over on sunday after a brilliant night out with family in Nottingham and when I got home I just needed something nutritious that would cuddle me from the inside and halt the cold I could feel coming on. This soup did the trick and in fact it made me feel even better than I had done before!

The recipe is adapted from a Chicken, Pearl Barley, Mushroom and Tarragon soup from the Leon Ingredients and Recipes cookbook by Allegra McEvedy. I’ve made this soup a couple of times before without the chicken and it is amazing but I decided to make it vegan and gluten-free to tie in with my new dietary requirements and also I have simplified the method  because I like meals which are fast and easy to knock up when you’re in desperate need for a goodness quick fix.

I spent Saturday morning going through my cupboards and looking at what store cupboard basics I had which were gluten-free. I didn’t realise Pearl Barley is not GF friendly so I returned to my ultimate favourite grain – quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah). Quinoa is great in soups because it adds a protein element, bulking up what would otherwise be a very light meal.

Also it looks so pretty because as it cooks it expands and becomes little delicate swirls of fluffy grains. It contrasts nicely with the tarragon, a herb I actually haven’t really used much before, which has a stronger flavour and brings a real savoury earthiness to the soup. Then you have the soft mushrooms which add a different texture element again.

Serves 4-6 (I personally made this into 4 portions because I had nice big bowls of it)

2 Onions2 Carrots
2-3 Celery Sticks
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Red Chili
300g Closed Cup Mushrooms
Small Bunch Tarragon
Small Bunch Parsley
100g Quinoa
1.4 litres Gluten Free Vegetable Stock (preferably organic)
Olive Oil

To prepare your vegetables – Peel and dice the onions and carrots. Trim the ends off your celery and thinly slice. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Deseed the Red chilli and finely dice it. Roughly chop your herbs.

In a large saucepan heat a little olive oil, add the onions, celery and carrots and cook stirring frequently for 6-8 minutes then add the garlic, chilli and chopped herbs and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. It should start to smell really good by this point!

While that is cooking slice your mushrooms roughly and then add to the pan with the quinoa and cook for a further 2 minutes then add your vegetable stock. Put a lid on, turn the heat down slightly and leave to cook for 20 minutes.

You’ll know it is ready when the vegetables are soft and the quinoa has puffed up and is soft to bite.  Serve with some fresh parsley and some nice bread to dip in if you fancy it.

Garlic, Ginger and Lemon Lentil Soup with a Fresh Spinach and Tomato Topping

I’ve always preferred chunky soups to the smooth blended variety because I like a bit of texture to my soup. This soup is a beautiful way of getting in between a chunky soup and a smooth soup as the lentils break down to create a creamy texture but they also keep some bite to them.

I think the topping to a soup is just as important as the soup itself, being creative with the toppings can transform both taste and texture significantly. For example I used some walnuts as croutons in my recent mushroom and celeriac soup, or you can use fresher ingredients as I have here to create a light, healthy and vibrant finish to the soup.

Garlic, ginger and lemon work perfectly with red lentils and are great for this time of year when your fighting off a cold or feeling a bit blue from the colder weather. You should have no need for lemsips and cough sweets if you eat this soup regularly

I wasn’t sure Scott would enjoy this soup as he said it looked like lentil porridge however after eating a big bowl of it I was really happy because he said he thought it was delicious and actually tasted a bit like chicken soup! Another husband approved vegan dish for the repertoire

The best way to eat this is to stir the topping through the soup and then enjoy piping hot! It tastes even better the next day.

Serves 6 – 8 (freezable)

2 Onions
2 Garlic Cloves
1 thumb sized piece Ginger
1 Red Chilli
1 tblspn Cumin Seeds
300g Red Lentils
1.5 litres Vegetable Stock
1 Lemon (Juice)
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil

For the toppings-Large handful Spinach per person
1 Tomato per person
1 tspn Paprika
1 Lemon thinly sliced

To prepare your veg – Peel then finely dice the onions. Peel and crush or finely slice the garlic. Peel and roughly chop the ginger. Slice the chilli (I leave the seeds in but depends how hot it is).

In a large saucepan heat some oil/ butter/ Veg stock (whatever your sautéing weapon of choice is) and add the onions, garlic, chilli and ginger and cook over a medium heat for approx 6 mins. Add the cumin seeds and stir for another 1 minute to allow their flavour to come out from the heat.

Add the lentils to the pan, stir then add the vegetable stock. Put a lid on the pan, turn the heat down to low and leave for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile take a frying pan and heat a little dash of oil. Chop your tomatoes roughly and wash the spinach then add both to the pan with the paprika and a little salt if desired and stir untill the spinach is wilted and the tomatoes are soft and their juice has reduced slightly.

Check on your soup – once cooked the lentils will have expanded and will be soft but still with a little bit of bite to them.

Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon and give it a good stir then serve in large bowls topped with some spinach and tomato mix and a couple of slices of fresh lemon.
We woke up to snow this morning (in the UK that is always a big deal!). It took me an hour and a half to drive a 20 minute journey to work and there was probably 2cm of snow if that anyway the combination of snow and me seeing the coca cola truck advert last night means it is now officially christmas in my mind!!

Mushroom and Celeriac Soup with Porcini ‘Glitter’ and Walnut Croutons

Quick go see the recipe over at This is Rocksalt

I’ve done a guest post! The recipe for this soup can be found over at RockSalt blog! Blogger Carol Ann is taking part in the National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) challenge where she will be writing a novel in just 30 days.  From what I can tell on Facebook the progress seems to be going very well! Good luck for this last stretch!

This soup is creamy, rich in flavour and given a nice little spice hit by adding a dried porcini and dried chilli dust (it sparkles so I call it glitter). I added walnuts as a crunchy element instead of bread croutons as I’m trying to eat less carbs and more good things like nuts and seeds at the moment.

I hope you enjoy and thanks again to Carol Ann for letting me do a guest post for her

Ras El Hanout, Chickpea and Rice soup: 805 Foods Review

Last month I did a review of 805 Foods Chilli sauces (which you can see here) and I’m now focusing on a different product of theirs, seasonings! These seasonings are not actually for sale through their website yet but they are coming very soon (possibly this weekend!)! They sent me four different flavours and I started with the Ras El Hanout because it is one of my favourite spices to use and I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it – Soup!

All Four Seasonings from 805 Foods

I haven’t tasted all of these spices yet but I love the packaging, it’s really clean and simple and it made me excited to get started! I like the fact that there are four regions North, East, South and West so you feel like you’re getting a true taste of Africa. I don’t know much about Africa so I’d like to research a little bit before using the other spices but I have cooked Moroccan styled food quite a bit so I knew that ingredients such as chickpeas and rice would go perfectly with the Ras El Hanout in my soup.

Moroccan Styled Soup with 805 Foods Ras El Hanout Seasoning

When I first tried the soup I thought it wasn’t spicy enough although it tasted fragrant but then the heat slowly came through and it was actually just a perfect balance of spice. I do like things quite hot so I also added three red chillies with their seeds to the soup for that extra kick!

This is kind of another throw it all in soup, I had actually bought the ingredients to make a roasted chickpeas and pumpkin salad but I never got around to making it so I bunged it all in the pan and made it a soup instead! I’m always tempted to add a few cans of chopped tomatoes to my vegetable soups for the richness however I resisted here because I wanted a clear soup where the spices were the stars.

Serves 6 – I didn’t take exact measurements of what I added as I really did just “throw everything in” but I have done a rough guide below. Please make changes as you please!

2 Onions
2 Sticks Celery
3 Carrots
1 small Celeriac
1 Pumpkin/ Butternut Squash
2 Garlic Cloves
2 tblspn Ras El Hanout
2-3 Red Chillies (or less if you don’t like spice! Check the heat of them first by slicing off a thin piece to try)
1 Can Chickpeas
1/2 Cup Rice – I used a basmati and wild rice mix
4 Salad Tomatoes
1.5 litres Water
4-5 Savoy Cabbage leaves
Parsley
Salt and Pepper

To prepare the vegetables – dice the onions and carrots. Slice the celery finely. Peel the celeriac and pumpkin (remove the pumpkins seeds) and chop into small chunks. Peel the garlic cloves.

Heat a little oil in a saucepan (veg or olive oil will be fine) and add your onions, celery, carrots, celeriac, pumpkin and garlic. Cook on a medium heat for 6-8 minutes untill beginning to soften. Then add your spice and the chillies and stir on the heat for another 1-2 minutes untill the vegetables are all nicely coated in the spice.

Add the chickpeas and rice and then add the water and a little salt and pepper. You need enough water to coat the vegetable mix because some of it will get absorbed by the rice and veg. Put a lid on and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.

Chop your salad tomatoes and shred your savoy cabbage leaves. Once the 20 minutes is up add the cabbage and tomatoes to the pan, check the water levels of the soup aren’t too dry and also this is a perfect time to check your seasoning. Then put the lid back on and cook for a further 5 minutes. I don’t stir the cabbage into the soup I simply placed it all on top and let it steam, it sinks down into the soup and then when your finished you can give it a good stir.

Make one final check of seasoning and make sure everything is cooked then serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and an accompaniment of your choice (If you like a bread roll with your soup I’d suggest a mini plain naan to compliment the spices)

Do you have a favourite spice? Do you know much about African Cuisine and do you recognise the other spices pictured above? I’d love some suggestions!

Red Lentil and Root Vegetable Soup

This is such a simple soup and it just tastes delicious and so homely. This week I decided that I really wanted to spend the bare minimum on our weekly food shop because I had spent quite a lot at the beginning of the month, so I planned two meals which use the same ingredients but in slightly different ways. The first is this red lentil and root vegetable soup and the second is a red lentil and root vegetable curry. These are the ingredients I bought, I also had onions, garlic and herbs at home:

As well as this I also had onions already in the cupboard at home!

Red lentils are pretty cheap and because root veg is seasonal at the moment you can often find a good mix for quite cheap or on deals. Because we are going to be putting the veg in a soup and a curry then it doesn’t matter if it’s slightly past it’s best so definitely look in the reduced aisle in your supermarket for a good selection!

For the soup I have added some dried Marjoram and some fresh basil as well as the vegetable stock as the base, the curry uses all the same vegetables and lentils however I have added curry paste, fresh coriander and some ginger. These very slight differences create two different meals which are both great for a cheap week of food!

Another difference is how big you chop up your vegetables, for the soup I kept them very small however for the curry I chopped them up really large and chunky to make it more substantial. Here are the vegetables chopped up for the soup. You want to try to get all the root veg approx the same size so it all cooks evenly.

Serves 6

1 Onion
1 Stick Celery
2 Carrots
1 Turnip
1/2 Sweet potato
1/2 Celeriac (or potato or parsnip)
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Cup/ 160g Red Lentils
1 Can Chopped Tomatoes
1.3 litres Vegetable Stock (click here to see a recipe)
1 tblspn Dried Marjoram (or dried basil)
Fresh basil to garnish

To prepare the veg you need to dice the onion and finely slice the celery. Chop the carrots, turnips, sweet potato all with their skin on to roughly the same size. Peel the celeriac and also chop to the same size. Peel and crush your garlic.

In a large saucepan, heat some olive oil and then add all of the chopped veg except the garlic into the pan and saute for 10 minutes stirring frequently until softened. This gets the flavour starting to release from the veg.

Then add the garlic, dried marjoram, lentils and canned tomatoes and stir so everything is combined well.

Add the vegetable stock then turn the heat down to a low/ medium simmer, put a lid on the soup and cook for 20 minutes.

Once cooked then check the seasoning and add more salt or pepper to your taste.

Serve garnished with fresh basil to add some nice freshness.

Whats your “go to” cheap week recipe? Do you use a lot of lentils to bulk up meals when on a budget?

I Officially Declare Soup Season OPEN!

Brrr it’s cold isn’t it! Oh no I’m being very British again and starting a post with a comment on the weather, it’s not even properly winter yet but the temperatures have dropped very suddenly around London and the nights are getting dark from 5pm and my woolly jumpers have found their way out of the cupboard. So I officially declare soup season OPEN!

I love soup because it is filling and versatile. You can jazz your soup up with a variety of toppings and add depth with added yoghurt or spice or asian flavours such as soya and mirin. For a good home made soup you need a good homemade vegetable stock. I think it makes a real difference using your own stock and it is easily freezable so whenever you fancy making some soup you can just pull a tub of stock out of the freezer. This stock is my mums recipe which I originally posted in June and it has since become a staple in my kitchen.

The vegetable stock slowly simmering away

Generally people are so busy these days (I know that I am at the moment) that using a stock cube speeds up the process of making a meal but often the meal then has a salty and synthetic flavour. A homemade stock, however, takes 5 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to quietly simmer while you are doing something else. Then it can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

Makes approx 1 litre

1 Onion – quartered
2 Carrots – chunks
1 Leek – thick sliced
2 Celery – thick sliced
2-3 Garlic – depending on size, sliced
2-3 Bay leaves -
1 tspn Dried thyme
Lots of parsley and parsley stalks (You can freeze parsley/ coriander stalks for when you want to make stock)
1 ½ litres of water with teaspoon of salt added
100ml of white wine (or 1 small glass)
8 black peppercorns

To make the stock simply put all the ingredients in a pan, except the wine, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and put on a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes add the white wine, check the seasoning and adjust but do not add too much salt because this can be adjusted with your final soup dish.

Strain the stock and discard the flavourings.

Then you can make some of these fabulous soups!!

Kale, Lentil and Ginger Soup

Great for getting rid of those colds!

Nettle Soup

Beautiful rich and healthy Nettle Soup!

Pea, Leek and Fennel Soup

A comforting blended soup with mild fennel flavour

Cauliflower, Lentil and Spinach Soup

I love lentils in soup! Plus Cauliflower is a nice seasonal ingredient

Have you started eating soups yet? Do you have a favourite soup ingredient? I think at the moment mine is celeriac!

Tofu, Lemon and Tomato Soup (Or Mock Seafood Soup): Meatfree Monday!

Mock Seafood Soup with lemony Tofu, rich tomato soup and griddled lemon slices

For all you Seafood lovers out there, please forgive me, for I have made a delicious but very vegan mock seafood soup! Seafood soup is my all time favourite dish but I decided I needed to try a version without the seafood. I haven’t cut fish 100% out of my diet yet but I always enjoy making veggie versions of the classics I used to eat all the time.  Should this even be called “Seafood Soup” since it is entirely devoid of seafood? I’m not sure but it has the fundamentals of my favourite recipe, ie rich tomatoes, hints of lemon and fennel and soft white tofu instead of white fish.

If anything it is just a really beautiful lemony tofu soup!

The seafood soup would usually contain some form of white fish like cod, maybe some salmon, small prawns, large prawns and mussels! I couldn’t think of a prawn and mussel replacement so I kept it simple and just focused on replacing the fish.

Silky Smooth Tofu is a perfect match for the soup base

The base of this soup is very similar to my Tomato Soup with Basil Gnocchi   but I made some subtle changes to keep it in line with the seafood soup we have on holiday.

Serves 2 – Soup is freezable but I’d recommend frying fresh tofu each time.

1 Onion
2 Sticks Celery
1/2 Red Pepper
1 Large Garlic Clove
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
1/2 teaspoon Chilli Powder
8 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Can Tomatoes
300ml Vegetable Stock
2 Lemons – one for juice and one for the garnish slices
200g Firm Tofu
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

To prepare the vegetables finely dice the onion and red pepper and finely slice the celery and garlic clove. Halve the cherry tomatoes

In a large pan heat some olive oil and then soften the onion and celery for 5 minutes untill it starts to brown (don’t let it get too brown) then add the red pepper and garlic. Add a splash of water if it is browning too fast.

Once the vegetables are all softened add the spices/ fennel seeds and stir, cooking for a further 1 minute, untill everything is completely combined.

Add the canned chopped tomatoes, halved cherry tomatoes and the vegetable stock. Simmer gently for around 20-30 minutes. Taste and season to taste (season after adding the stock as stock cubes can be quite salty.

Drain the tofu and slice it into pieces roughly 2 inches long (it really doesn’t matter but I’ve made mine rectangle). Place the slices in between some kitchen paper and press firmly to remove extra moisture. I use Cauldron’s Original Tofu which is quite firm so for the purpose of this recipe I don’t feel the need to press it too much.

In a frying pan heat some olive oil and add the tofu pieces so that they are quite spaced out in the pan. Squeeze half the lemon over the tofu and cook on one side for 2-3 minutes untill it has began to brown slightly. The lemon won’t let it brown completely. Turn the pieces over gently and squeeze a little more lemon juice over.

Add a few slices of lemon to the pan whilst cooking the tofu and allow them to brown on each side.

Serve up the soup into bowls and top each portion with the cooked tofu and some browned lemon slices and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with some good crusty white bread and definitely a glass of dry white wine!

Mock Seafood Soup