Soup....again

I hate this weather. Cold, windy, rainy....it's impossible not to catch a cold.
In fact here I am again, with a box of kleenex on one hand and a box of paracetamol on the other trying to survive the day :-(
Since I am sick I need warm, comforting food and not the usual broodje gezond.
So it's going to be soup day.


EASY BROCCOLI SOUP

1 broccoli (300gr) washed and chopped
1/2 onion roughly chopped
good quality extra virgin olive oil
bread and gorgonzola to serve

Cook the onion with butter or olive oil in a large pan until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the broccoli and cover with stock or hot water and simmer until tender (about 15 minutes). When the broccoli is cooked whizz to a smooth soup in a blender. Season then sprinkle some olive oil on top and serve with gorgonzola over toasted bread. Delicious!

Soup time

To start this blog I will post a very easy, healthy, low-sodium recipe.

When I came back home after a three course lunch with friends, I really didn't want to eat something to heavy or cook something to fussy for dinner, so I decided to empty my fridge and use some spices I had at home. The result is a spicy vegetables soup...and what's better than a soup during these rainy cold days to warm you up?
I am quite pleased with the result of this quick meal: the soup came up creamy without using a food processor to smooth it, and very tasty considering that no salt have been added.
Here is the recipe:

Spicy vegetable soup
Serve 2

1/2 liter low sodium stock or hot water
1/2 onion
1/2 leek
2 potatoes
2 carrots with their leaves
1/2 courgette
1 handful of fresh (or frozen) peas
1 handful of fresh (or frozen) spinach
4 leaves savoy cabbage
olive oil
1/3 tsp kerry
1/3 tsp kurkuma
1/3 tsp chilli
1/3 tsp ground coriander
1/3 tsp ground cumin
1/3 tsp ground cardamom
fresh grated ginger
handful fresh coriander leaves, boiled prawns or cashews to decorate (optional)

Start by chopping the vegetables and warm the oil in a pan, then fry the onion, stirring until they start to turn golden.
Add all the spices, except the ginger, and fry for 1 min, or until they start to release their aromas.
Tip in the leeks, potatoes, carrots, courgette and the cabbage stir well, then cover and turn down the heat. Cook gently for 5 mins, shaking the pan every now and then to make sure that the mixture doesn't catch.
Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Add the peas and the spinach. Cover and simmer for 20 mins until the vegetables are soft.
Add the grated ginger and the chopped leaves of the carrots.
Serve with chopped coriander leaves (I didn’t used it), cashews or boiled prawns according to taste and a warm crusty bread on the side.

PS. the soup was quite spicy so if you prefer less spicy just reduce the amount of spices.