Last year, one of the varieties of winter squash that we grew was Jaspee de vende.

I like Jaspee because the rind is fairly easy to cut through, and can be trimmed quite close… there isn’t a thick layer of hard flesh next to the rind like there is with some varieties. (Then again, maybe it was just because the squash was fully ripe.)

The thing with winter squash is that when you’re cooking for two people, one squash seems to last ages. Though uncut squash lasts months, once cut it needs to be used fairly quickly.

I roasted some of the squash with other veggies, roasted some on its own, and also made a delicious soup. And there is still a chunk left over!

The soup was inspired by one found here. Besides squash, it has potato, red lentils and spices. It’s a smooth and creamy soup, and light in texture… it doesn’t remind one of baby food, like some pureed vegetable soups. It’s easy to make and really tasty, a great winter warmer!

Winter squash & red lentil soup

1. In a medium pot, heat vegetable oil over low heat and saute onion for five minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for two more minutes.

2. Add cumin, coriander, curry powder & cayenne, and saute an additional minute.

3. Add squash, potato, lentils & stock or bouillion. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook over gentle heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables and lentils are soft.

4. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Ladle into bowls and top with freshly chopped coriander (cilantro).

Makes 2 servings.

Happy New Year!

On Sunday, Mr Thrifty and I went for a 10.5-mile (17km) hike. When we got back, we were in the mood for something belly-warming and tasty.

I decided to make a red lentil soup which turned out to be most delicious. I slightly modified this recipe from the New York Times.

I doubled the amount of tomato puree (tomato paste). I didn’t add lemon juice because I didn’t have a lemon in the house, and the soup was really tasty without it. But in case you want to add it, I’ve left it in as an optional ingredient.

We ate the soup with toasted sourdough French bread. Then we each had a big plate of roasted veg: brussels sprouts, oca and potatoes. Yummtastic!

Red lentil soup with carrots

1. In a medium pot, heat olive oil over low heat and saute onion for two minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for two more minutes.

2. Add cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne, and saute an additional two minutes.

3. Add stock or bouillion, water, lentils, carrots and tomato puree (tomato paste). Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook over gentle heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

4. Using an immersion blender, puree about half of the soup.

5. Stir in lemon juice (if using). Ladle into bowls and top with freshly chopped coriander (cilantro).

Makes 2 servings.

So maybe it is a bit of a cheek calling lowly ramen soup — that staple of skint students worldwide — deluxe. But this is a really quick and easy meal to make.

So easy it doesn’t even need much of a recipe.

Thinly slice a few small mushrooms. Peel a small carrot and cut thinly on the diagonal. Shred a few cabbage leaves. Locate some kind of protein: tofu, seitan, vegan sausage, etc. I used veggie mutton from the freezer, about 80g (3 ounces).

Then bring 650ml (2-2/3 cups) of water to the boil. Add half the packet of seasoning mix from a package of ramen noodles*, plus two teaspoons of veggie bouillon powder. Add half the block of noodles, and the cabbage, mushrooms and carrots. Simmer for three to four minutes, until noodles are tender and vegetables are crisp-tender. While it’s cooking, thinly slice a spring onion (green onion/scallion) or some chives, and pick a few coriander (cilantro) leaves from the pot on the windowsill.

Pour soup into big bowls and garnish with spring onions & coriander leaves. This makes one ginormous serving, or two servings if you are having something else (like a salad) with it.

* Be sure the ramen noodles you buy are vegetarian… we use Jade brand (curry flavoured) from Aldi, which are marked “Suitable for Vegetarians”.

Today’s culinary journey takes us to France, and I’m featuring a delicious bean and vegetable soup, Soupe au pistou à la niçoise.

And, because soup and bread are such a great duo, I served this soup with garlic bread.

The soup is made with haricot beans (small white beans), plus an assortment of vegetables. It’s seasoned with garlic and basil. I googled around for a recipe, and decided to follow this one, because I liked the idea of pureeing the tomatoes, garlic and basil together before adding them to the rest of the soup.

I followed the recipe closely, though I made the following small changes: I substituted passata (tomato sauce) for the tomatoes, because they get pureed anyway; subbed peas for green beans; and increased the basil. Next time I make it, I’ll be tweaking it again, so I’m not going to post my version just yet.

For the garlic bread, I used this recipe, substituting vegan margarine for butter, and omitting the cheese.

Bon appétit!

Whilst flipping through a cookbook in the bath t’other day (yes, I read cookbooks like other people read fiction), I came across what sounded like a simple yet interesting soup recipe. Plus, I had all the ingredients on hand.

Chickpeas. Potatoes. Spinach. Cumin, coriander, cayenne. Also tahini and [vegan] cream. I wasn’t sure how the flavours were going to come together in the end, but I’m happy to report that the soup was very, very delicious. The original recipe calls for cornflour (cornstarch) to thicken the soup, but instead I used a couple of tablespoons of red lentils for extra nutrition.

I used Stanley to cook the chickpeas, but a half a 400g/14oz tin (drained & rinsed) could be substituted. (Use the other half to make houmous, mmm.)

Be sure to wash the spinach well, as it is often quite muddy.

Sesame breadsticks are nice with this soup.

1. Heat olive oil over low heat and saute onion until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add garlic and saute an additional minute or two.

3. Add cumin, coriander and cayenne, and cook another minute.

4. Add vegetable stock and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft.

5. Add potatoes and chickpeas and continue to simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until potatoes are cooked.

6. Add vegan cream and tahini, stirring until combined. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne.

7. Add spinach and simmer for two minutes, until spinach is wilted.

Makes 2 servings.

One of the few things we are still harvesting down on our allotment is parsnips (well, okay, the only thing at the moment). They are nice and sweet… no surprise, since parsnips get sweeter after a frost and we’ve had plenty of those. Ours are rather mutant-sized compared to the ones at the supermarket, but even those that are 7.5cm (3 inches) at the crown don’t have woody cores.

Day before yesterday I made a mildly spicy parsnip soup that was the best parsnip soup I’ve had. It’s from one of my xmas pressie books, 400 Best-Ever Soups by Anne Sheasby. If all the soups in the book are as yummy as this one, I shall be a happy bunny.

The cream is optional… the soup was delicious without it.

The toasted garlic & mustard seed topping is really nice, but be aware that browned garlic does have a rather distinct, slightly bitter taste. We both loved it, but Mr Thrifty opined that the topping might not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you want a more subtle flavour, I think garlic croutons would be a good choice.

You will notice that although I don’t like pureed bean soups, I love pureed vegetable soups. Go figure.

1. Peel parsnips and cut into small dice.

2. Heat a saucepan on low heat and melt margarine. Gently fry the onion and parsnip for about 3 minutes.

3. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder and cook for another minute.

4. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes, or until parsnips are tender.

5. Cool slightly, then puree in a blender. Be very careful with hot liquids in the blender… fill no more than 1/3 full and hold the lid on firmly using a folded kitchen towel before switching on. The steam will try to push the lid off the blender. Hot soup being flung around the kitchen is not a good thing!

6. Return soup to the pan and stir in cream if using. Add a little water if it’s too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat gently until just simmering.

7. Whilst soup is reheating, make topping. Heat vegetable oil over medium-low heat and saute garlic and mustard seeds until garlic is lightly browned and mustard seeds start to pop.

8. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with garlic/mustard topping.

Makes 2 servings.

In a bid to eat a tad more sensibly in the new year after the excesses of the holiday season, I have decided that soup should play a starring role in our evening meals, a couple of times a week.

I wanted to start off with black bean soup, but most such recipes call for pureeing the soup, and pureed black bean soup does not look particularly appetising, at least to me. I also find the texture of pureed bean soups kinda… meh.

I love Mexican mixed bean and lentil soup, so I used that recipe as a base for creating another Mexican-inspired soup, this time with black beans and sweetcorn.

It was excellent, and I would make it exactly the same way next time. The small amount of red lentils add body to the soup without having to thicken the broth with cornflour (cornstarch) or arrowroot, which doesn’t seem right with bean soups.

I started with 110g of dried black beans, and let Stanley cook them, though a 400g/14oz tin of black beans, drained and rinsed, could be substituted.

We served this with bread and a green salad.

1. First toast the cumin seeds in a heavy, dry skillet (I use cast iron) over medium-low heat until fragrant, a minute or two. Remove to a mortar and pestle and grind to a powder. Set aside.

2. Heat olive oil over low heat, and saute onion and chilli until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Add garlic and saute an additional minute or two.

4. Add toasted cumin powder, oregano and paprika, and cook another minute.

5. Add tomatoes and their liquid, vegetable stock and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft.

6. Add black beans and sweetcorn continue to simmer for 15 minutes to blend flavours. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with coriander (cilantro).

Makes 2 servings.

One thing I love about autumn is that colder weather makes soup taste so much better, especially when one has not yet turned on the heating in the house and it’s flippin’ freezing even when one is equipped with a kibble-heater on one’s lap.

Mr Thrifty and I both love this soup. In fact, it is so good that it has earned a spot in my Soup Hall of Fame. The small amount of red lentils dissolve into the soup, making it thicker and more substantial. This makes two large bowls of soup. Nice with a salad and garlic bread for a light meal or, of course, as part of a bigger meal.

I used a tin of organic mixed beans, but a more thrifty way would be to let Stanley cook the beans.

This recipe is modified a bit from one in Canadian Living magazine.

1. Over low heat, saute onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes (covering the pan will expedite this process).

2. Add garlic and saute an additional minute or two.

3. Add chili powder and cook another minute.

4. Add tomatoes and their liquid, vegetable stock and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft.

5. Add beans and continue to simmer for 15 minutes to blend flavours. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with coriander (cilantro).

Makes 2 servings.