#6 Valentine's Day Soup

With the St Valentine's Day upcoming, stay away of the clichéed sweet desserts and show your affection to the loved ones with this decorative cold soup instead :)
The beetroot is a top choice for this occasion not only for its colour but for its sweet taste.

For 3-4 servings

Beetroot soup

250 gr sliced cooked beetroot
4 celery sticks - chopped
1 large potato - chopped
1 vegetable stock
a pinch of sea salt


100 ml single cream

beetroot for decoration


Boil the vegetable stock, add the chopped potato and the celery sticks. Reduce the heat and simmer. When the vegetables have softened add the beetroot. Simmer for more 5 minutes and leave aside to cool.
Blend the mixture, then return to the heat, add the single cream, heat trough. Leave to cool, decorate and serve.

#5 Bulgarian Fisherman’s Soup

This is a soup that my husband likes to cook. The secret of it is in the good stock which is made by using fish on the bone. If for some reason you can’t envisage yourself boning a fish, throw the head and tail when the stock is ready and add 150 g of chopped fish fillets 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

For 2 servings you will need:

Head and tail of one red snapper or any other fish
50 ml white vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
Salt
1 onion, sliced
1 potato, finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 chilli, finely sliced
1/4 cup fresh lovage, finely chopped, (or 2 tbsp dried)
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Technique:

Put the fish in a pan with water. Add the salt, vinegar and olive oil and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Take the fish out. Put the water back to the boil and put the vegetables and the herbs in. Cook until the potatoes are soft.
Separate the fish meat from the bones and return to the pan. Keep on low heat for another 5 minutes.
Serve hot.

#4 Asian-Style Hot and Sour Soup

With the Chinese New Year approaching it is an appropriate moment to go East for some inspiration.

What I like most about Asian soups is that they:
1. get ready Fast
You don't really have to spend hours and hours in the kitchen to have something nice for dinner. Just chop the vegetables, put in the boiling water and after a couple of minutes, serve.
2. the reduced time for cooking ensures most of the good stuff in the ingredients is still there when you start eating, which gives more nutritional value
3. don't need too much and too many ingredients, just the right ones.
4. are low-fat
5. offer feast for the eyes as well as for the stomach, as you can get creative with various shape cutters.

All this makes them a perfect choice when trying to eat healthy and put a couples of pounds off your waistline.

So, today's soup is inspired by the Japanese cuisine, but I added more flavours like in Chinese, so it's something in-between, I guess.

1 l vegetable stock
handfull of washed and trimmed French beans
1 medium sized carrot, chopped

5-6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cup gr spinach
1 small pak choi - sliced lengthwise

1 tsp ginger puree

1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbs mirin
1 tbsp rice vinegar


1 red chilli - sliced
3 garlic cloves - sliced
green onion for decoration

Bring the vegetable stock to the boil, add the ginger puree, and the soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar. Add the French beans and boil for 3-4 minutes, after that add the carrots, sliced mushrooms, and the pak choi, simmer for 2-3 minues. At the end add the spinach leaves, chilli and garlic. Simmer for one more minute and remove from heat.
Decorate with fresh green onion.

#3 Simple Miso Ramen

A warm and filling soup that will help you go through the day.

For one serving you will need:

50 gr noodles

1 tbsp white miso paste

½ tsp mirin

a few drops of roasted sesame oil

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 spring onion, sliced

½ red chilli, sliced

green coriander leaves to garnish

Technique:

Cook the noodles according to packet instructions. When ready take them out of the water and put in the serving bowl.

Reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking water and put it back to the boil.

Add the miso paste and stir until it dissolves. Add the mirin and sesame oil.

Add the beaten egg and leave for a minute to set.

Pour the soup over the noodles. Garnish with the sliced spring onions, chilli and a few coriander leaves.

Serve immediately.

#2 Fennel and Blue Cheese Soup

Velvety and aromatic, this soup is a treat for the senses and since today, a winter favourite.

For 4-6 servings
You need:
20 gr butter
1 large onion chopped
1 bulb of fennel sliced
1 medium-sized potato chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
250 ml single cream
60 gr crumbled blue cheese and more 10-15 gr for decoration
salt, pepper, thyme

Cook the sliced onion in the a pan with the butter. When soft add the chopped fennel bulb and the potato. Add salt, stir for 1-2 minutes and then add the boiling vegetable stock. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Set aside to cool and process in a blender.
Return to the heat adding the single cream, pepper and thyme and blue cheese crumbs. Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and leave to cool.
Laddle into bowls and decorate with the remaining blue cheese crumbs.

*The recipe is slightly modified after the 500 Soups book by Susannah Blake.

#1 Spicy carrot and mandarin soup

OK, let’s start with something fusiony.

Here is a soup that is warm and spicy and very comforting. This recipe brings together the Western technique of cooking carrots with citrus fruits and the Eastern tradition of eating sweet, spiced up soups. Perfect for a formal dinner party or just for a night in with a cheesy Indian movie ;)

To make 2 servings you will need:

2 tbsp sunflower oil

250 g carrots, peeled and finely chopped

2 cm cube fresh ginger, finely chopped

a pinch of fennel seeds

a pinch of ground cinnamon

a pinch of ground cumin

a pinch of ground all spice

a pinch of ground black pepper

salt

juice of one mandarin

Technique:

In a medium size pan, heat the oil and put in the carrots, ginger and fennel seeds. Stir for a few minutes.

Add the ground spices and stir for another 30 seconds.

Season with salt. Add 2-3 cups of hot water and cook until the carrots have softened.

Pour the carrot mixture along with the mandarin juice into a blender and liquidize.

Add some more water if necessary.

Reheat when ready to serve.

The 90 Soups for the Soul Project

Today we are starting a project called 90 Soups for the Soul. In the next 90 days, we will publish one hand-picked, cooked, tested and taste-guaranteed soup recipe every day on this blog.
The soups will be chosen among the best ethnic and fusion recipes.
That's all for now, stay tuned!

Moroccan-Style Salad

1 cup barley couscous
2 small tomatoes
1 green onion
150 gr feta
1/3 large cucumber
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
salt, pepper
olive oil
juice of 1 lime


Cook the couscous according to instructions, and mix all the ingredients.
Alternatively add some back olives and lime wedges.