I only started using pesto after marriage and used to buy ready made jars. It was a convenient thing to do, as at the time I was on an interior design course on Tuesday evenings, so that was a pasta day . It used to be a chore to find the vegetarian version of this classic Italian dish. Then about three or four years back I had bought a basil plant for the kitchen window sill and it had produces so many basil leaves, so I thought I should venture into making my own pesto. It was successful and so simple to make that I decided I would buy a basil plant each Spring and make my own pesto.

From looking at various TV chefs and other recipes, as well as a friend (who lives in Italy) telling me that I do not need to add cheese or pine nuts (as they are so expensive), just normal salted nuts are fine – I started making my own version as below. To make it more creamy I sometimes use almond, cashew, and pistachios nuts powder.

There are many uses for pesto, not only as a pasta sauce but also as a dressing for salads, for adding flavour to soups, a spread for sandwiches and roasted mushroom or eggplant. You can also create many different versions like I did by adding the sun-dried tomatoes. Other herbs and vegetables can also be added to give it an extra added flavour.

Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Pesto

I keep sun-dried tomatoes without the oil, if you have that then that is fine to use, you can even use the oil from it to give the pesto an extra tangy flavour. The pesto will store well in the fridge for 3 weeks and can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 10 mins       Cooking time: 10mins       Makes: about 1 cup

2 cups basil leaves roughly torn

1 cup sun-dried tomato (about 12) soaked in hot water for 10 mins

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

Method

1) Boil some water and place the sun-dried tomatoes in 1 cup water, set aside. Pick the basil leaves, wash and tear them roughly and place in a blender.

2) Drain the sundried tomatoes and put in the blender with the remaining ingredients. Blend to a smooth paste, taste for salt and lemon juice, add if required. Hey presto your pesto is ready to be served as needed

Leeks! Why did I not try these before now? It is the question I asked  myself when I bought them and made this soup the first time last month. They are visually amazing with wonderful layers and colours, so fresh and vibrant, just like the colours of new life coming up in Spring. Then there is the taste, subtle yet very distinct. Coming from the onion family it has a very delicate onion taste. I decided to use leeks to make a soup just to try the basic taste, not to mention many recipes I have read include putting leeks in soups and stews.

Leek & Potato Soup

Sometimes the most basic ingredients is all what is needed to make a flavourful meal. I just used two ingredients, seasoning and water to make this soup, however next time I am planning to add some sun dried tomatoes and or vegetable stock cube for added depth of flavour.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 10 mins   Cooking time: 20 mins   Serves: 2 as a main or 4 to 6 as a starter / side

3 tbsp olive oil (or sunflower oil)

500 g leeks (about 4 large) sliced into discs

1 large potato cut into small cubes

salt and pepper to taste

hot water

Method

1) Chop the vegetables and heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pan.

2) Sauté the leeks in the oil until golden brown on a medium heat, add the potatoes, season and add enough hot water to cover vegetables plus a little extra. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

3) Liquidise in a blender until smooth. Add more hot water to get the required consistency. Place in the pan once again and bring to the boil, check the taste and add any seasoning if necessary.

]]> http://radiancerecipes.com/leek-potato-soup/feed/ 0 http://radiancerecipes.com/sweetcorn-soup/ http://radiancerecipes.com/sweetcorn-soup/#comments Sun, 01 Feb 2009 11:57:02 +0000 Kiran http://radiancerecipes.com/?p=606

If you look at the complete menu for a Chinese meal in our house, then you see sweetcorn soup, spring rolls, and stir fry with either rice or noodles. This was also the standard order when ever we used to go out to eat in Malawi. That used to be the set menu we would get, probably because that was all the vegetarian option that was available.  I remember how we used to keep on adding more pepper to the soup because that is what  our father did, and then as we got older adding the garnish also just like he did. The chilli in the vinegar gives it an added flavour and depth to the taste especially if you like the slightly tangy and spicy flavours. Just simple tastes and natural flavours, this is what you get from this soup, not to mention the health benefits of the key ingredient itself. Sweet corn is rich in vitamin A & C and folate and magnesium. Cooked sweet corn is said to become rich in antioxidants and believed to help fight cancer and heart disease, however you loose the vitamin C.

I don’t know why I don’t make it with out having the other Chinese dishes, as it is such a quick simple recipe and can be eaten with bread or rice crackers. Oh well will have to try and remember next time I am looking for a healthy filling snack

Sweetcorn Soup

I use frozen sweetcorn, however you can use canned or fresh, if using fresh you may need to add extra cooking time.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 5 mins            Cooking time: 20 mins          Serves: 2

2 cups frozen sweetcorn

2 litres hot water

2 tbsp corn flour

1/2 tsp soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

For garnishing

1 green chilli finely sliced

1 1/2 tbsp vinegar

Method

1) Boil the water in a kettle, measure the sweet corn and place both in a large heavy bottom pan on a medium heat.

2) Chop the chillies for the garnish and place in a small bowl with the vinegar to absorb the flavours.

2) Place all the remaining ingredients in the pan and let it boil for 15 mins or until the sweetcorn is tender. In a liquidiser or hand held blender blitz a 1/3 of the soup. Return to the stove and cook for a further few minutes, and you are ready to serve.

I had a version of this soup at a friends house, when I was pregnant, it was so tasty and different to what I normally make, i.e. plain tomato or with pasta & vegetables (carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash etc.) In the past I have tried cauliflower soup and found it to be very bland, however the way that this has other vegetables and multi grains gives it a good depth of textures and added flavours. So you guessed it, as always I recreated it at home. My friend used the shop bought multi grain mix, however I made my own mix at home from the individual grains. You can put what ever vegetables you have – it does not have to be what I have used.

Vegetable & Multi grain Soup

Preparation time: 15 mins plus overnight soaking time

Cooking time: 20 mins              Serves: 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup multi grain mix (rice, red lentlis(split masoor dal), yellow lentils (split mung dal), wheat (ghuv), sorghum (juwar) & millet (bajra))

1/2 cup each, chopped cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, savoy cabbage

1/2 cup peas & sweetcorn

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp each of butter & olive oil

1 tbsp dried mixed herbs

salt and pepper to taste

1 litre water

Method

1) Wash the multigrain mix a few times in warm water and soak in cold water overnight

2) Chop all the vegetables, the onion and the garlic. Drain the water from the multi grain mix and keep aside.

3) Heat the pressure cooker on a medium heat and add the oil and butter, place the onion and let it cook until it becomes translucent and then add the chopped garlic. A few seconds later add the multi grain mix and saute it together for a few minutes. Later add all the vegetables and the water (this should be enough to cover all the ingredients plus a bit more), roughly a litre of water. Pressure cook for about 20 minutes. Check that the grain are cooked and once done you are ready to serve with fresh bread rolls of your choice.

Until recently I did not like sweet potatoes very much, I guess it was due to the variety that I used to have but now we regularly eat the orange fleshed variety. This is quite quick and easy to cook, and despite its naturally sweet taste works well with strong savoury flavours. This particular variety is said to be rich in antioxidants vitamin C and beta carotene, which can help to enhance memory, so it is a good food to give to growing children. When my son started weaning I had got a few books from the library which helped give me ideas of what kind of food to give him. Certain foods are very common to give to children when they are at this stage. Foods rich in carbohydrates are very common but rather than the normal basic potatoes, I increasingly started using sweet potatoes because, as mentioned above, they are good for us. I used to just boil and mash them and then slowly I started adding salt, pepper, lemon juice, ghee (clarified butter), olive oil, rosemary and lightly sautéing them giving a very good added nutty and slightly caramelised flavour.

For quite some time now I have seen many recipes for sweet potato soups, but never actually got around to trying any of them however yesterday I thought I would give one of them a go. I had to change the recipe that I choose as I did not have all of the ingredients but it turned out to be a sweet and subtly spicy flavourful soup, not to mention satisfyingly filling. It is very quick and easy to make and I think it is a good meal to have if you are trying to be healthy or wish to eat a light meal. I would say in the current cold weather it certainly warms you up. As I was making it I came up with a few ideas of how to make it different, for example by simply adding red Thai curry paste and soy sauce, it could be turned into an oriental soup.

Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

Preparation time: 10 mins           Cooking time: 20 mins              Serves: 4

700g (about 3 large) sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks

1 carrot peeled and cut into chunks

1 inch piece of ginger, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

3 green chillies, minced

1 tsp cumin (jeera)

1 tbsp oil (sunflower or olive oil)

1 vegetarian stock cube

6 cups water

2 (200 g) tomatoes chopped

1 cup chopped coriander

2 tbsp peanut butter

juice of 1/2 a lemon

salt & pepper to taste

Method

1) In a large heavy bottom pan heat the oil and place all the vegetables, ginger, chilli and garlic and saute for a few minutes. The edges of the vegetables should turn slightly brown, in the mean time boil some water in a kettle.

2) Dissolve the stock cube in half of the hot water, and one teaspoon of the peanut butter. Pour into the pan and let it come to the boil, cover and cook for a while. In the mean time chop the tomatoes and then place them into the pan.

3) While that is simmering, chop the coriander and place into the pan, simmer for a while and check for seasoning and add if required. By now your vegetables are cooked and very tender, blend in a liquidiser or hand blender.

4) Return to medium heat and add the remaining water to get the required consistency. Add the remaining peanut butter and lemon juice, you are ready to serve with bread rolls of your choice, enjoy

I came across this recipe from a supermarket magazine. It looked great and I always wanted to try and make dumplings. I adapted the recipe and changed the vegetables to what I would normally keep or vegetables I use for roasting during autumn/winter. If you do not want everything to be the same colour then just remove the beetroot. You can also add a can of beans (of your choice) or a lentil & grain mix, this makes it more wholesome.

I am glad I tried the recipe as it has been a hit with everyone who has tried it. This recipe is a very good warm and comforting food, especially when the weather starts to get colder. Serve it with some bread rolls or garlic bread. I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Give it a go, it is the correct season for it

Root vegetable & mushroom stew with cheese dumplings

If you do not have a casserole dish then you can use a baking tray, cover with foil when required.  If you do not wish to use stock cubes then you can season when you add the water.  However if you are using a stock cube then you will not need to add any salt.

Serves 4     Prep:30mins      Cooking time: 1hr 15mins

Ingredients

2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Onion (or 2 or 3 small ones) cut into wedges
3 Carrots
3 Parsnips
2 Sweet Potatoes or one large one
2 Potatoes
1 Medium Beetroot
1 Medium Butternut squash
6 cloves of Garlic peel & dice
200g Button Mushrooms
1 Vegetable stock cube make 400ml (3/4 pint)
1 tbsp flour

* Peel & cut the above vegetables into big cubes *

For the dumplings

175g (6oz) Plain flour
85g (3 oz) Cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp salt
1 rounded tsp baking powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp mixed herbs
100ml (4 fl oz) milk

Method

1) Heat the oven to 200′C or 400′F / Gas 6.  Place all vegetables (except the mushrooms) & garlic on a  baking tray, drizzle with 1 tbsp of oil.  Roast for about 30 mins, until soft & golden.  Pour the stock and cover, reduce the temperature to 180′C/350′F/Gas 4 & bake for 30mins.

2) Fry the mushrooms on a high heat in the rest of the oil.  Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and 1 tbsp of fresh ground black pepper & gradually pour 100ml of the cooking liquor from the vegetables, stir until thickened, add to the vegetables & return to the oven.

3) To make the dumplings, whizz all the ingredients in a food processor (I do it by hand) until combined.  Using floured hands, shape into 8 balls.  Add to the dumplings to the vegetables and continue cooking in the oven for a further 15mins or until the dumplings turn golden brown.