Category: Learn to Cook

Spiced Root Vegetable

Spiced Root Veg

We are definitely heading into root veg season and this recipe came about from having to utilise the veg from the veggie box we used to get delivered.  Sometimes it’s just the one ingredient that sends me off in one direction….this time a huge piece of ginger, huge by our standards anyway. We’ve only been known to buy a thumb sized piece….this one was at least 4 thumbs.  The box also contained a stonking turnip and a huge ugly parsnip….soup!

This requires a large stock pot with a lid and don’t get precious over the veg you use. Just pick a few good wholesome root veggies and the liquid ratio is yours to choose depending on how thick you like your soup

Ingredients

  • 250g split red lentils and 350ml water
  • 2 onions, peeled
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 mild fresh chilli’s, deseeded
  • a thumb sized piece of ginger peeled
  • 1 tbsp Curry Powder
  • a large sweet potato (or 2 medium)
  • a large swede or turnip
  • a large parsnip (or 2 medium)
  • 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • Glug of Olive Oil/Rapeseed Oil

Method

  1. Start with the lentils, give them a thorough wash in plenty of running cold water, then soak in the 350ml of water
  2. Dice the onions, ginger, garlic and chilli. (I use a mini food processor to make this quicker, or you could grate the ginger and finely slice the chilli)
  3. Glug of oil into the pan and gently soften the onion mix for 5 mins on low heat
  4. Add the curry powder and continue to cook for a minute or so
  5. Peel and chop the root veg into chunks, add to the pot and turn over, cook for a minute or so
  6. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir over
  7. Add the red lentils which should be looking a little plumper by now and stir over
  8. Top up with water from the kettle. I usually do this to just about cover the veg
  9. Simmer until the chunks are soft
  10. Pulse with a hand blender, or mash with a potato masher to the consistency you like

Learn to cook through making soup

Tins of Soup

The word Soup conjures up so many feelings and memories.  Just thinking about it, it probably was one of the first things I made for myself in relation to helping my mum out. ‘What would you like for lunch, why don’t you nip to the shop and buy a tin of soup?’ It was a treat, I got to pick the flavour and at the time I didn’t realise how I was helping my mum out. It was always a tin of Heinz Big soup, probably ham or chicken.

Then there was a year where Mushrooms seemed to be everywhere, and every meal seemed to consist of mushrooms, including a milky soup. I shudder at the mention of this, the taste is so unique it instantly takes me back in time. I can eat mushroom soup it just stirs something deep inside me, probably something I had no choice over.

As a student, I probably went back to my favourite tinned variety and then my best pal introduced me to Chicken and Sweet Corn soup from the local Chinese takeaway. At one point we tried to make it ourselves where whisked egg whites meets chicken stock became a complete disaster and we didn’t try it again!

30+ years on for me the humble tin of soup still lives on, both lunches over the weekend consisted of soup purely for convenience at the time. The boys can get it going and we all sit down with a loaf and some cheese. That said the boys can also reheat stuff we’ve made, pulled out the freezer.

I’ve bought many learn to cook books over the years. They usually start with eggs, or start with a cartouche or some other unworldly technique within a couple of pages.

I’m suggesting home made soup for the wannabe cook as a starting point. It’s an amazing place to start, a great way to learn about foods and simple techniques, it can be forgiving in so many ways. It really doesn’t matter how you chop your onion or your carrots if you’re going to blitz it. At the same time it can be healthy and tasty.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting various Soup recipe ideas, recipes to make your own, or just to fuel your ideas. I’ll add the links here, you can either bookmark this or click on follow so you get them in your in-box as they are added.

Would love to know your favourite soup, or whether this is a great place to start as a cook.