spicy carrot potage

in case you’re wondering, a potage is basically made by tossing a bunch of stuff into a pot with water and boiling it until it becomes some kind of (hopefully) tasty glop. straight-up medieval peasant food, yo. it’s perfect pantry-bustin’ fare.

at the weekend I found some carrots and celery that were on their way out, so it gave me the perfect excuse to make a nice potage that highlights the earthy sweetness of the carrots with a nice bump of warmth from a toasted cumin-and-chili-infused oil that gets tossed in at the end.

I like to add milk to mine for a little creaminess, but you could replace that with water or almond milk to make it vegan.

makes about 12 app OR 6 meal-sized servings

what you need:

• 2 medium-sized red potatoes, washed and quartered (no need to peel these puppies, unless you really want to)
• 5 large carrots, washed and quartered
• 2 stalks of celery, washed and quartered
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and quartered
• water to cover
• 2 cups of broth
• 1 cup of milk (this is totally optional and can be substituted for water or almond milk)
• a pinch each of salt & pepper
• additional hot water, as necessary
• 3 tbsp vegetable or mustard oil
• 1 tbsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• another medium-sized yellow onion, minced

what you do:

1. to a large pot (I use a spaghetti pot or dutch oven) add the first onion, potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, ginger, salt, pepper and enough water to cover it all.
2. bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
3. reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for about 45 minutes or until all of the vegetables are fork tender. the carrots will take the longest.
4. add the stock and milk.
5. use an immersion blender or food processor to purée the lot of it until smooth, adding hot water as necessary to get the desired consistency. I like my carrot soup to be…well…loose…soupy. some believe it should be chunkier and thicker. “desired consistency” is really up to you.
6. if necessary, return to the pot and heat over medium-high.
7. lightly crush the cumin and chili flakes using a mortar and pestle or the back of a spoon and a bowl.
8. in a small saucepan, toast the spices over medium-low heat until fragrant.
9. add 1 tbsp of the oil and the minced onion.
10. stir these until the onion is a deep brown colour.
11. add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and heat for another minute.
12. stir the spice/onion/oil mixture into the soup.
13. serve hot with a some freshly ground pepper and croutons or breadsticks.

 

bread sticks

to say I’m a soup fiend is a bit of an understatement. those around me know that, if I haven’t made a soup, or at least a stock, each week, they have good reason to doubt my mental health.

bread things go hand-in-hand with soup things, but oddly enough, I’m not much of a bread person and soup-making days are typically those when I really can’t be arsed to go out and hunt down a good loaf of bread. nevermind the fact that said loaf of bread would just go bad before we ate it all. that’s where this recipe comes in; it goes together quickly enough and is a small batch (though easily doubled for snacking purposes – people WILL snack on these) so I’m not fretting about lost foods, plus one can dress these guys up or down as desired.

below this basic recipe, I’ve provided instructions for making the cheesy-herby-garlicky bread sticks shown above along with some other notes on variations you might try.

makes 12-16 sticks

what you need:

• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 cup warm (warmer than luke, but not hot) water
• 1 tbsp dry, active yeast
• 2.5 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

what you do:

1. stir the honey and water together in a large bowl.
2. sprinkle the yeast on top.
3. let sit for 10 minutes.
4. add the flour, salt, and olive oil
5. mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
6. coat hands in flour, then knead for one minute.
7. form into a ball.
8. let rise until doubled (approximately half an hour).
9. preheat oven to 425.
10. punch the dough down and knead for one minute.
11. split the dough into two balls.
12. roll each ball out into a (approximately) 8″x 8″ rectangle.
13. NOTE: If you want to dress your bread sticks up, now is the time to do it. see notes below for detail.
14. using a pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut the dough into one inch strips.
15. give each strip 4 twists and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet with a good half inch between each stick. you’ll need two baking sheets for this.
16. don’t worry about uniformity.
17. reduce oven temp to 375 and place baking sheets in the oven.
18. bake for 12 minutes.
19. NOTE: If there is a cheese-adding step to fancying up your breadsticks, this is when you’ll do it.
20. brush each stick with oil.
21. bake for another 3-5 minutes.
22. remove from oven and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
23. MANGEZ!

Italian-esque cheese and herb (great with black bean and tomato or meatball soup)

what you need:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp oregano or Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp garlic powder or 3 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed
• pepper to taste
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese (or provolone or marble or some other melty cheese), grated

what you do:

1. in a bowl, mix together all but the cheese.
2. once you’ve rolled the dough balls out into (kinda) rectangles (step 12), spread this mixture on top of each before cutting.
3. twist and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake for 12 minutes.
4. push the bread sticks close together, all snug-like, and sprinkle with the grated cheese.
5. bake for another 3-5 minutes until cheese is bubbling and browning.

other variations:

• for bread sticks that goes better with a milder soup, like a cream of- or potage (or just for munching), skip the garlic, use tarragon, thyme, or basil and switch up the mozzarella for a Gruyère or Swiss cheese.
• make a sweet version using 1/4 cup of melted, unsalted butter, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and a pinch of ground clove. still top it with mozzarella or provolone, or mix the lot of the seasoning with 1/4 cup of cream cheese and spread that on, if you’re daring.
• make it tex-mex style using 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tbsp thyme, 2 minced jalepenos and monterey jack cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

black bean & tomato soup

This is probably the easiest meal we put together in our kitchen on a fairly regular basis.  Its roots are found in the CPHA‘s publication, The Basic Shelf Cookbook, which is something I feel every household should have a copy of.  I don’t actually own the book right now (and before you call me a hypocrite you should know that I’ve owned the book and given it away at least 7 times.)  The contents are brilliant on a fundamental level: simple meals comprised largely of ingredients with long shelf lives which focus on maintaining nutritional integrity.  It can be ordered here for CDN $7.50.

My recipe differs from the original by a couple of steps and ingredients but still maintains the inherent simplicity while stepping up the flavour quotient a couple of notches.  Oh, and it’s entirely vegan if you omit the cheese or replace it with a soy based cheese.

What you need:

1tbsp olive oil

1 tsp. coriander, ground

1 tsp. cumin, ground

1 medium sized cooking onion, finely chopped (vidalias and reds are my favourites for this soup)

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 cans of diced tomatoes (or jars if you do your own)

1 can of black beans (or soak the dried kind if you want to)

1 can of sweet or baby corn (or use leftovers if you’ve got ’em)

2 cups of vegetable broth (or dissolve 2 cubes/packets of bouillon-esque stuff in your 2 cups of boiling water)

1 tbsp dried or 1/4 cup fresh oregano

1 tbsp dried or 1/4 cup fresh basil

A pretty, fresh herb and some cheese for garnish (I’ve got cilantro and cheddar in the pic above but parsley &/or basil are great alternatives to the cilantro if you don’t have any on hand.

Toast the spices in a large pot over medium-high heat until fragrant.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the oil is hot, sweat the onions and garlic in it for 3-4 minutes or until translucent.  Add the tomatoes, corn, beans & stock.  Up the heat again to medium-high and keep it there, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a low boil.  Stir in the herbs.  Move to large bowls and garnish.