Winter Warmers: Goan Tomato and lentil Soup

Goan Tomato and Lentil Soup

This soup recipe is something I created based on one I saw in the supermarket. I liked the sound of it, but always one to make from scratch over buying in, the flavours inspired me to go home and create it myself. The mix of lentil and tomato makes it not only super healthy (A much needed boost of immunity in these winter months!) but also gives it a really lovely, thick texture. It looks like a standard winter soup, but the spices give it an more fragrant and unusual flavour than your standard winter vegetable soup.

10 or so cherry/plum tomatoes
1 tin chopped tomato

4 carrots
2 cups red lentils
2 medium onions

cumin seeds
1/2 fresh chopped chilli

Ground coriander

Ground cumin

Ground turmeric
Garlic bulb
A thumb sized piece of ginger

Black pepper
Goan potato curry spices (see recipe)

Start by soaking the lentils for ten minutes, in a few changes of water. Put in a pan and boil for twenty minutes of half an hour, until soft.
Heat a large pan and when it is warm add the cumin seeds. Gently heat until they begin to pop and jump about. Add a drizzle of oil and a small knob of butter (to prevent browning) and tip in the chopped onion. Once they are soft, add the garlic and all the spices, stirring so they create a sticky coating over the onions. Add a small amount of chopped fresh chilli and the ginger, grated- You can also use ginger powder.

At this point I should mention I also added some nameless spices in my cupboard, brought back from Goa, Ghana, etc. I believe the ones I used were for a potato curry- the scent was quite sweet. If you also have intrepid relatives, feel free to experiment at this point. If you don't, I would recommend heading to an Indian or African supermarket and seeing what spices you can find.

After five minutes, tip in the chopped carrot and pour in a cup of water, bringing to the boil. Place in the cherry tomatoes, whole. Reduce to a simmer, cover and leave for twenty minutes. At this point, add the tin of chopped tomatoes and the cooked lentils. Grind in the pepper. On the lowest heat, leave the soup to simmer for another fifteen minutes or so, then season with a little salt and a lot more cumin (according to taste!), puree, leaving thick chunks, and serve.

xxx

Dinner 27.06.11

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Griddled Courgette and Aubergine
With butterbeans, red onion and tomato
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Opening my fridge tonight, I was faced with a slightly sad looking aubergine, and, as usual, an abundance of tomatoes and courgette. Deciding they needed using, I spent a while flicking through the nearest cookbooks I had to hand before giving up and doing what I always do: winging it.

The result got the job done. A healthy pile of butter beans, tomato and griddled veg, the smoked paprika and garlic I through in gave it a smokey, rich flavour.
This took no time at all. Fry two small red onions with some crushed garlic and a little freshly chopped chilli. Once they are soft, tip in four or five chopped tomatoes and simmer, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Finally, tip a tin of butter beans into the pan and mix in.
Whilst this is reducing slightly, slice your aubergine and courgette and griddle till cooked through and nicely scored.
Spoon the tomato and bean base onto a plate and top with the grilled vegetables.

This is a nice summery recipe, not only rich in vitamins but won't leave you feeling heavy or sluggish. Perfect with a glass of white wine and a sun lounge!

xxx

Dinner- 08.09.2010

Healthy Vegetable Quesidillas

This is a very simple and light dinner. It's the kind of thing I like if I ate heavily during the day and just need something home-y and vegetable based. Essentially, it's a very basic take on Quesidillas.

Chop some courgette, red onion, red and yellow pepper and tomato into chunks. Grill or fry lightly so it remains slightly al dente, stirring in a bit of chopped and dried chilli, cumin seeds and cajun seasoning.. Or whatever works for you. You can keep it simple, stick to the Mexican spices, or even go a bit Indian. Rub a tortilla with extra spices then tip the veg onto the wrap, pile on a thin layer of spinach and then a small amount of grated cheddar- you don't need much of this or it gets a bit greasy and overpowers the vegetables. Layer with a second tortilla.

You can grill it in three ways-
1. Fry for a minute or so till it starts to brown, then flip. This is obviously the least healthy option... But it makes it very crispy.
2. Put under the grill for about a minute. This is my preferred option- it's quick, needs no oil and gets those lovable grill marks that you wouldn't with frying.
3. I have on occasion used my diddy single-girl sized George Forman. They just make me laugh really.

Et voila. The spinach wilts, the cheese melts, and dinner is served.

x

Dinner: Polenta Pizza

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The other day, I was alerted to Otto, a Notting Hill restaurant selling pizza made with polenta bases. This I am very curious about. Still feeling inspired from my trip to Italy, and full of enthusiasm for my recent discovery of polenta itself, I was moved to attempt to make a polenta pizza of my own.

Here it is, topped with grilled vegetables, plum tomatoes, spinach rosemary, basil and mushroom. I mixed some rosemary into the polenta mix whilst I was making the base, but I think next time I will put in a bit more, and some Parmesan too, to give it a bit more flavour.

The nice thing about using a polenta base is it's a lot lighter than a traditional dough base, and goes all crispy round the edges. You don't need the tomato sauce either, which I could never get to taste right, and can make them a bit rich.

I'm definately going to do this again soon. Next time, I think I'll do Gorgonzola, spinach and toasted walnuts. Any suggestions for something else I could try..? Can I bring myself to move away from the polenta/girolles mushroom combination..?

x

Cheap Eats: Benito's Hat, Covent Garden

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There's been a few new places opening up in the Covent Garden area recently that I've wanted to try out, so when a friend and I decided to go for dinner, I busied myself in research. One of these places was Benito's Hat Mexican Kitchen.

I had seen it a week prior whilst hunched over an espresso after work in the cafe opposite. There was a couple sat in the window with big foil wrapped food packages and little plastic take away cups of what appeared to be milk. I had heard a thing or two about its arrival on New Row at work, but that had sold it to me.

So, we headed down to check it out. Benito's Hat is an unassuming little place with a table arrangement not dissimilar to Wagamama's take on Japanese canteens. The menu is instructions painted boldly on bright green walls and the service counter sits at the back, with the ingredients laid out in front of you in metallic containers.

The staff are bubbling over with children's entertainer levels are perkiness, which makes a socially inept and quintessentially English lady like me die a little inside. But even I was amused by some of their banter with the customers and it added to the lively Friday night atmosphere of the place.

Looking at the wall-menu, there are options of burritos or tacos, beef, chicken or veg, black beans or refried beans and a selection of fillers including guacamole, sour cream and cheese. We both opted for the vegetable burritos, with anything extra going that was free. Guacamole is 50p for meat burritos but if you're going meat free, then you get guacamole free, too. So to speak.

I almost said no to the sour cream due to it being waved in my face in a America Diner ketchup-esque squeeze-y bottle. Sour cream in a squeeze-y bottle? I don't care how low-fi the joint is; this does not seem right to me.

After having our tortillas stuffed with veg and fillings and (free!) guacamole and then wrapped up and mashed within an inch of their life (which looked kind of fun) we were scooted down to the till. The burritos were enormous. As in, actually the size of my stomach, possibly larger. Loaded up with filling and wrapped up like a little tin foil parcel, they came to £5 each, which I think considering the size, was pretty good.

We sat down and unwrapped our food. The canteen was filled with people and had a lively buzzing atmosphere. Sat next to a table of Spaniards drinking Sol with wedges of lime in the neck, there was a real continental vibe.

I have to admit that I was quite convinced that the vegetables would be cooked to oblivion until they were a flavour and nutrition-less mush, but this was not the case. Amongst the sloppy mix of cheese and guacamole there were large chunks of courgette that verged on al dente (a source of consternation for my friend, who harbours an uneasy relationship with them) and crisp slices of a vegetable I identified as green heirloom tomatoes and was subsequently excited by.

Whilst playing with my food and watching the staff serve up tacos, I did notice the Soup of the Day board, featuring 'Chilli Con Carne'. Now is it just me, or is Chilli Con Carne not a soup, but in actual fact... Chilli Con Carne..? Yeah- that did not tempt me much.

The offering on the Cocktail of the Week board also made me laugh. Margherita. Hardly unsurprising really. I can only assume that next week will be Pina Colada- but after that..? Back to the Margherita? Seriously, I want to go back just to see where they go with that.

In conclusion? Benito's Hat was fun. Sure, its not somewhere you go for fine dining, 0r if you're going to take eating too seriously- and I have a real hunch its not even somewhere you would go for authentic Mexican food- but for a casual drop-by dinner with friends, its cheap, fresh and has a lively atmosphere. I love the little tray service, simple three option menu, and the portions are huge. For a quick and fun feed in an expensive part of town, its worth dropping in.

Benito's Hat, 19 New Row, London WC2N 4L, www.benitos-hat.com

Dinner 28.04.10

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Plaice, mushroom and Bacon Parcels

Last night my housemates boyfriend cooked us dinner, and I took the role of assistant. (Yeah, I know!)
We also made a veggie version which was in no way inferior- butternut squash, Danish blue cheese (I would recommend Gorgonzola but crappy Asda never seems to stock it. For shame, Asda.) spinach and mushrooms.
It was really lovely- thankyou Jonny!!











I would also recommend~

Cod and pesto wrapped in filo pastry
Curried sweet potato pasties

x

Dinner 15.03.2010

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Tonight's uber health dinner: Green Soup.
That's not a real name, I'm just a bit lazy...

Brocolli, Spinach and Courgette soup, with celery, onion, kael, red pak choi and jagallo nero

with a whole lot of garlic and roasted seeds...

... Nom?

x

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