Showing posts with label simple and healthy soup.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simple and healthy soup.. Show all posts

Friday, 29 March 2013

Butternut Squash Soup


As I mentioned yesterday, my son's friends were having dinner with us today and the menu for today was chosen by my son. 

We had butternut squash soup with French bread and Potato cakes as a starter.  The soup was very quick and easy to make and didn't need many spices to make it tasty as butternut squash has a lovely sweet nutty taste.  

Ingredients for 10 servings of soup:

1 large butternut squash.  I weighed mine and it was 1500 grams.
1 medium potato
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp salt
1 heaped tbs bouillon

Method:

A lot of people are put off from cooking butternut squash as everyone seems to think that chopping it is a chore.  The best way to chop a butternut squash is to keep an old newspaper under the vegetable.


1.  First cut the squash in the middle.


2.  Next cut it into quarters,  Now remove the outside tough skin with a sharp knife.  


3.  Remove the seeds and cut it into small manageable cubes.  Once all the butternut squash is cut into cubes, you just need to wrap all the rubbish in the newspaper and throw it in the kitchen and garden waste bag.


4. Transfer the butternut squash to a saucepan. Peel and cut the potato into cubes and add it to the squash.

5.  Add the ginger and garlic.

6.  Add the bouillon and then add 3-4 cups of water so that most of the butternut squash are covered with water.

7.  Cover the saucepan and cook on a high heat for 15 minutes,  stir and allow to cook for a further 15 minutes on a medium heat or until the potatoes soften. 



 8.  Once the vegetables are soft, blend them using a food mixer.  The butternut squash was such a lovely orange colour that it looked more like mango juice than butternut squash.


9.  Allow the soup to simmer until the soup looks the right consistency.  Serve it hot with French bread. Any left over soup can be frozen.  


10.  The main course today was cannelloni served with roast potatoes and green beans.



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Monday, 1 October 2012

Tomato and coriander soup - Simple & Healthy with no fat added


This soup recipe is so simple and easy that you can make it with your eyes closed...Well not really or else you could burn yourself - but you know what I mean?   I usually make this for my lunch when I am working from home and have no time to cook.  It's one of those recipes, you just mix the ingredients and allow it to simmer away while you are working.

Ingredients for 2 servings:

8-10 medium ripe tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon blended fresh green chillies
half a cup of tinned tomatoes or 2-3 tablespoons of tomato puri
Sugar or sugar substitute (only if the tomatoes are sharp)
small bunch of coriander

Method:

1.  Lightly prick or pierce the tomatoes and put them in boiling water.  Leave them in the hot water until the outer skin starts cracking.  You can either leave the tomatoes to cool or remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in cold water.  Once they have cooled down, remove the outer skin of the tomatoes.


2.  Using a blender, blend the tomatoes until they look like a smooth juice.  Allow this mixture to simmer.  Add in the salt, ginger, garlic, chillies and finely chopped coriander to the mixture.  Also add in the canned tomatoes or tomato puri.  Allow this to simmer for 15-20 minutes or until you get the right thickness of the soup.  Taste it and if it's sharp, add in sugar or sugar substitute.

Note: The coriander makes the soup taste extra nice but if you do not have coriander, you can add basil.

Check out my recipe for making frozen ginger, garlic and green chillies cubes .  These are handy to use when you are working against a deadline.


3.  Serve the soup hot with some toasted bread.



4.The soup is really healthy as it has no oil, butter or cream added to it.  Try it and let me know whether you liked it.

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