Miso Soup

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups water
Small handful dried bonito flakes (mine came in sugar-style serving sizes)
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
A 4-inch piece of dried wakame (mine were in flakes) 
6 tablespoons miso paste
2 cups watercress, washed.

METHOD:
1. Heat the water. When bubbles start to form around the edge, add the bonito. Turn down the heat and simmer for two minutes. Turn off heat and simmer for five mins.
2. Strain the broth into a clean pot, discarding the bonito. Add the shiitake and wakame and simmer for 20mins. Discard any thick stems of the shiitake and wakame.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the miso paste with a bit of the broth and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the miso mixture into the broth pot and let simmer. At the last minute add the watercress (in my case noodles) then serve.

The process of making this soup was so much fun. I was working off the miso soup recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook "It's All Good". I wanted authentic ingredients so diligently looked up where I could buy Japanese goods nearby (this was a great resource: www.taste.com.au/kitchen/articles/shopping+for+japanese+ingredients+in+sydney,451).

I was absolutely delighted when I walked into "Anegawa" on Wilkes Ave in Artarmon. I was greeted by a "Konichiwa" so knew I was in the right place. The aisles were lined with Japanese goods and there were also fresh fruit and veg. The shop assistant took me under her wing and translated instructions on the packaging. She also gave me tips on how to store tofu and explained the difference between red and white miso paste (red is saltier). She topped it off by giving me two beautiful imported-from-Japan mandarins - yum!

So I was on a bit of a high after my shopping expedition but had to wait a few days to be able to get to the kitchen. Sydney-siders reading this will know today's weather is absolutely appalling - bucketing rain and strong winds. Now is the perfect chance!

I altered the recipe a little - admittedly I forgot to buy shiitake mushrooms, and following advice from the shop assistant added udon noodles at the end instead of the watercress to make the soup a little more filling. My bonito flakes were more like pellets that just dissolved in the boiling water so I could skip the first part of step 2 of the recipe too.

I did get a surprise half-way through though! I thought I was trotting along like a professional Japanese cook when I noticed my broth was looking very green - from tiny black flakes, the wakame becomes full seaweed leaves! I spoke out loud "Oh my God" after  looking into the pot. Lucky I like seaweed!

The soup took a lot longer than I would have expected for miso and I think there are much faster ways to do it - the instructions on the miso paste packet were basically boil paste with water and add tofu. It was tasty though - the flavour was very intense. My cat was sniffing at the air like crazy trying to work out where the fishy smell was coming from. If you don't like fish, skip putting the bonito flakes in. But, overall, very yum and very healthy!

CHICKEN AND SWEET CORN SOUP

I didn’t make this one but treated myself to a yummy, and cheap soup from Noodle Pot. It's a little take away joint inside Westfield shopping centre at Chatswood (near the entrance to Target). Mum and I were rushed for time before I had to go to work so grabbed some soup – Mum drank hers in the car (yay for speedy liquid lunch!) while I waited til I got to the office and took some sneaky photos in the shared kitchen.

This soup was extremely good value. We picked the smaller size (2 and a bit cups' worth) and it was a whopping….3 DOLLARS! 

As Mum said: “How could they possibly make any money?” The soup was packed with chunky pieces of (real) chicken and of course corn. For a quick take-away dish, we were surprised by its quality. The only thing is it was just not warm enough, but a quick zap in the microwave fixed that!

 To give you an idea of size, here's the container next to a large take-away coffee. See, it was a decent amount - I certainly wasn't hungry afterwards!

SPRING ONION SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 lb spring onions, bulbs, greens and roots, chopped (I just used one bunch)
1garlic  clove
Salt and white pepper
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups water

 METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add all the onions and garlic, cook stirring occasionally until translucent, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper.
3. Add the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4.Remove the soup from heat, and let for a few minutes. Use an immersion belnder to puree until smooth.

This recipe was based on one by http://www.sippitysup.com/. It's certainly one of the simplest out there - basically, get a bunch of spring onions & boil them with some water and stock.

The flavour is almost smokey, and is quite layered – but personally, I wasn’t a big fan of the taste. Also a couple of tips:
1. make sure you have enough at the start and/or keep stirring the spring onions as they're heating. The leafy sections tended to get stuck to the bottom of the pot, but the aroma was beautiful!

2. My stick blender really struggled with pureeing the spring onion pieces. I would recommend chucking it into a food processor instead, so it doesn't turn out as ugly as this guy!

SWEET POTATO, CHILI & CORIANDER SOUP

INGREDIENTS:
2 - 2.5 cups chicken or vegetable stock (depending on how thick you like your soup)
1 fresh chili
3/4 cup fresh coriander (& a little for garnishing)
2 garlic cloves
Half an onion
1 sweet potato
200mls coconut milk (optional)

METHOD:
1. In oil, heat through garlic and onion. As it begins to turn transparent, add the chili, sweet potato and coriander.
2. Cook for about 5 minutes until potatoes start to give a little, and natural juices are forming in the pot.
3. Add stock and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
5. Using stick blender or frood processor, purée the soup. Pour into bowls & garnish with a few coriander leaves (in my pic I used parsley) and paprika if it's not too spicy already.
6. For a sweet, creamier verison you can also add about 200mls coconut milk/cream.

A new veggie box arrived and to my delight there were two sweet potatoes in it - winning!! I had some coriander left over from the pomegranate & chickpea recipe so I thought why not make a combination? It's a bit of a twist on the average sweet potato soup soup recipe and I think is a perfect filler for a winter's day! For a lighter/sweeter twist add coconut milk to the mix! The combination of coriander with coconut milk lends a Thai-cuisine taste.

POMEGRANATE & CHICKPEA SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

1 x 400g can of chickpeas, drained

Half a brown onion, finely sliced

1 cup fresh coriander leaves

1 cup continental/flat leaf parsley

500ml vegetable stock

1 tablespoon Pomegranate Molasses

1 Pomegranate

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

1.      Heat the onion in butter or oil until they become transparent.

2.      Add the chickpeas and stir for a couple of minutes until heated through. Also add the coriander, parsley, salt and pepper, stirring until fragrant.

3.      Stir through stock, and add Pomegranate molasses.

4.      Serve into bowls and sprinkle the seeds of the Pomegranate on top – about a quarter of a Pomegranate for each bowl.

This soup was inspired by a salad recipe my good friend Bessy generously donated to me. I didn’t want to have to wait til summer to taste the freshness again, so decided to try to make a soup-version for the colder months. The fresh herbs mixed with the tangy sweetness of the Pomegranate makes for a super tasty dish. This soup is zingy, and as you bite into the pomegranate seeds the burst of flavor means each mouthful has an experience of flavours. It’s different, and it’s yummy! I went back for seconds straight away :)

I'll admit when I first made this dish, I had to go on a bit of a hunt for ingredients. I found the Pomegranate at Harris Farm supermarkets - but this time the were conveniently at Coles.

The molasses came from an amazing store called Continental Foods in Artarmon, Sydney, that stocks a whole range of specialty foods. 

ALMOND SOUP

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups almond meal
3 hard-boiled egg yolks
500ml warm chicken or vegetable stock (I used veggie)
1 cup cream (I actually used milk coz I forgot to pick up cream!)

METHOD:
1. Put the almond meal in a dry, medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan and stir constantly until the nuts release their toasted fragrance. Do not allow to burn.
2. Turn down the heat to low-medium. Finally grate the egg yolks (I attacked them with a stick blender) until there are no lumps. Add them to the roasted almonds. Gradually add the stock half a cup at a time and stir constantly. Finally, add the cream and serve.

This Almond Soup recipe is courtesy of NotQuiteNigella (http://www.notquitenigella.com). I’ll admit, my first reaction when I saw a soup made of almonds was “What?!” then almost immediately “I wannna try it!”.

The boiled egg yolks actually pop out in perfect little yellow/orange balls - this is them zapped with a stick blender. . I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet so just popped some salt and pepper on the egg whites and wolfed them down with brefast juice. NQN suggests putting them on a sandwich.

Now, I was expecting a sweet, nutty flavor but as a I took my first spoonful was surprised at the saltiness of the liquid – of course, I later thought, that’s a result of the stock. I’m going to endeavor to make a sweet, almost dessert like version, with coconut milk.

This soup is also extremely filling. And I’d recommend having a glass of water nearby coz those little nutty pieces are pretty gritty. It’s a surprising recipe and I’m glad I tried it.

TURNING SOUP INTO MUFFINS!

The next day I awoke with an epiphany! While I enjoyed the soup I honestly couldn't see myself eating my way through a whole pot full. Soooo, I added about 3/4s cup to one cup of self-raising flour to the soup, until it became cake-mix consistency. I then scooped the mix into a 6-piece muffin tray and put them in the oven on 150 degrees Celsius for 30-35 mins - just check the moisture with a skewer. They turned out as tasty, moist, savoury muffins! I drizzled mine with golden syrup for a sweet, nutty dessert - yum!

SILVERBEET & POTATO SOUP

Admission. This soup I made before I started to think about the blog so there are no ‘process’ photos. But I think the colour is awesome. This soup came about as a bit of a mystery. I’ve started ordering “Couples boxes” of mixed seasonal fruit and veg from Aussie Farmers Direct. (http://www.aussiefarmers.com.au). Each week the box’s content varies, depending on the best crops/harvests/whatever, and I find it’s a great way to push out of my comfort zone and discover new veggies and recipes (enforced learning curve).

In the box comes a list of ingredients...

And it was through process of elimination I discovered a leafy, spinachy thing was in fact Silverbeet. Good old Google led me to a host of Silverbeet recipes, but based on what was in the cupboard, I decided on a creamy Silverbeet and Potato one, similar to this http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/22642/creamy+silverbeet+soup. It’s quite thin despite being predominantly potato and is slightly salty. Make sure you check your smile in the mirror after eating it – those little green bits have a tendency to take hold and stay there.