There are been days when you are unwell, down with a bad cold or fever or its a rainy day outside and the weather is damp, cold and grey or on the contrary its a hot and humid sunday afternoon, the mercury promising to burst out or a fight has brought you down or the stock market has crashed leaving you poorer by a few lakhs. It happens to all of us. How do you get out of this. Turn to food, comfort food ....... especially soups.
The versatility of soups is awesome. On a cold day or a rainy wet day it warms you up, on a hot summery day it chills you down, when you are feeling down and out it perks you up, when you are feeling fat and frumpy it fills you up without adding calories. The soup such a versatile dish and yet such an underdog it is. Most feel, lets skip the soup it will fill you up. But if its a good soup, it will satisfy your senses as well ! Think about it.
Just the other day, I was back from a tiring day at work, nothing had gone my way - right from the driver not coming to work, the police catching me, to meetings getting cancelled and the works! I came home, hungry as a horse and conjured up a corn tomato cheese soup. Thick, hot and really delicious! Easy to make, take a cup of sweet corn boiled and churn it with one diced tomato, till it becomes a thick consistency. Put this on a slow flame and add to this a cup of boiled corn, a cup of blanched tomatoes de-seeded and chopped, half a red pepper finely diced, two jalapenos chopped, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to taste till it becomes nice and warm, garnish with grated cheese. Ladle it into bowls and devour, the corn and tomatoes will fill you up instantly and the cheese will make you feel nice and rich.
The summers in Mumbai can be a killer, hot, humid, muggy and unbearable. How does one consume a hot soup on a hot day, just not happening. Well the spaniards in the Andalusia region invented the Gazpacho to beat off the hot Mediterranean summers! Every region, every household in spain has its own secret Gazpacho recipe and is highly guarded. But the speciality of this soup is that it is served CHILLED. Yes a cold soup!!!
There are plenty versions of the humble Gazpacho - the watermelon gazpacho, the strawberry Gazpacho, The Cucumber Gazpacho , Radish Gazpacho , Avocado Gazpacho and so on. Its easy to make the Tomato Gazpacho - chopped ripe tomatoes, chopped cucumber, chopped onion, chopped red pepper, wine vinegar, olive oil & Worcestershire Sauce, all blended to form a puree, if you like it chunky leave the pulp if you dont then drain the liquid from the pulp a few times. Chill for about 3 hours and serve garnished with mint sprigs, diced tomatoes, crutons. Trust me this will get the soaring temperatures down.
If the Tomato is a bit boring and you are the gastronomically adventurous type try the Avocado Gazpacho - take the flesh of about 3 ripe avocados, 2 cups buttermilk, 1/2 onion, 3 tsp wine vinegar, olive oil , salt and pepper to taste , blend in a mixer to get a nice creamy think soup. If you like it thinner add more buttermilk. Also poplar is the Vichyssoise a creamy cold soup of potatoes or Asparagus Cold Soup. Some adventurous types may also like the Sparkling Pineapple or the Pureed Carrot & Orange. Lovely on a hot summer Sunday Brunch.
Another favorite soup is the Spring Vegetable & Pesto soup. Made with Leeks, Courgette, French beans, white beans in a vegetarian stock garnished with a dollop of fresh basil pesto. Super for a diet and great to fill the stomach up! Fry the chopped leeks in olive oil till they become translucent, add the stock and let it simmer for 5 mins and once the leeks are soft add the courgette, french beans and once again let it simmer for about 5 mins till all the vegetables are tender and soft. Lastly add the cooked white beans , season with salt, pepper and some red wine vinegar for a bit of flavour. Just before serving garnish with a big dollop of fresh basil pesto. Super delicious!
So lets give the humble soup its much deserved due, share with me your other innovative soup recipies & photos!!!
The versatility of soups is awesome. On a cold day or a rainy wet day it warms you up, on a hot summery day it chills you down, when you are feeling down and out it perks you up, when you are feeling fat and frumpy it fills you up without adding calories. The soup such a versatile dish and yet such an underdog it is. Most feel, lets skip the soup it will fill you up. But if its a good soup, it will satisfy your senses as well ! Think about it.
The summers in Mumbai can be a killer, hot, humid, muggy and unbearable. How does one consume a hot soup on a hot day, just not happening. Well the spaniards in the Andalusia region invented the Gazpacho to beat off the hot Mediterranean summers! Every region, every household in spain has its own secret Gazpacho recipe and is highly guarded. But the speciality of this soup is that it is served CHILLED. Yes a cold soup!!! There are plenty versions of the humble Gazpacho - the watermelon gazpacho, the strawberry Gazpacho, The Cucumber Gazpacho , Radish Gazpacho , Avocado Gazpacho and so on. Its easy to make the Tomato Gazpacho - chopped ripe tomatoes, chopped cucumber, chopped onion, chopped red pepper, wine vinegar, olive oil & Worcestershire Sauce, all blended to form a puree, if you like it chunky leave the pulp if you dont then drain the liquid from the pulp a few times. Chill for about 3 hours and serve garnished with mint sprigs, diced tomatoes, crutons. Trust me this will get the soaring temperatures down.
If the Tomato is a bit boring and you are the gastronomically adventurous type try the Avocado Gazpacho - take the flesh of about 3 ripe avocados, 2 cups buttermilk, 1/2 onion, 3 tsp wine vinegar, olive oil , salt and pepper to taste , blend in a mixer to get a nice creamy think soup. If you like it thinner add more buttermilk. Also poplar is the Vichyssoise a creamy cold soup of potatoes or Asparagus Cold Soup. Some adventurous types may also like the Sparkling Pineapple or the Pureed Carrot & Orange. Lovely on a hot summer Sunday Brunch.
Another favorite soup is the Spring Vegetable & Pesto soup. Made with Leeks, Courgette, French beans, white beans in a vegetarian stock garnished with a dollop of fresh basil pesto. Super for a diet and great to fill the stomach up! Fry the chopped leeks in olive oil till they become translucent, add the stock and let it simmer for 5 mins and once the leeks are soft add the courgette, french beans and once again let it simmer for about 5 mins till all the vegetables are tender and soft. Lastly add the cooked white beans , season with salt, pepper and some red wine vinegar for a bit of flavour. Just before serving garnish with a big dollop of fresh basil pesto. Super delicious!
Thanks for sharing the recipes Harsh... am definitely gonna try some of these :-)
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