Tomato Soup Recipe

This soup is a bit more than just tomato soup - it's really more of a lovely vegetable soup that is simply dominated by the tomatoes in it.  Those other vegetables, however, provide a delicious flavour and a beautiful creamy texture.  This soup is incredibly healthy and incredibly addictive.

Tomato Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, halved

2 brown onions, roughly chopped

4 sticks celery, roughly chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

10 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped

black pepper

salt

fresh basil leaves

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 lugs olive oil over medium heat.    

Add the garlic and onions, stirring until glassy.  

Add the celery and carrots and stir until the carrots begin to soften slightly. 

Pour in the prepared stock and add the tomatoes.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the carrots have softened.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Let the soup cool significantly and pour into a blender.  Blend until the soup is smooth and creamy.  

Please remember that blending freshly boiled soup is a recipe for horrific third degree burns.  You've been warned.

Serve hot with a garnish of fresh basil leaves. Yum!

Carrot and Ginger Soup Recipe

I'm on a ketosis diet at the moment.  Don't judge.  It works for me and my doctor knows what's up, so I'm not doing anything that is going to hurt me.  Sometimes I just need a little help getting my hunger signals under control.

Anyway, what that means is that my diet consists entirely of protein shakes and non-starchy vegetables.  It's harder to find delicious things to eat when your diet is so limited.  Harder, but certainly not impossible.

Carrot & Ginger Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 lugs of olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
3 spring onions finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2kg (2.2 pounds) of carrots peeled and chopped
4 cups chicken stock (I use homemade chicken stock so sodium is at a minimum)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger (or 1.5tbsp freshly grated ginger)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp whole almonds

Instructions

In a medium saucepan over a low flame, heat your olive oil.  Add to the pan the garlic, spring onion and yellow onion and toss with a wooden spoon until glassy.

Add the carrots, giving them a good stir to coat them in the olive oil, garlic and onions and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle in the nutmeg, ginger and pepper - stir for another minute or until fragrant.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the carrot is tender.  Remove from heat.

When the soup has cooled significantly, place into a blender with the almonds to puree (or use a stick blender).  Do not attempt to blend the soup while it is hot unless you're a masochist and you really love getting horrific burns and boiling soup on your eyeballs.  It isn't pleasant.

Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, a garnish of chives and a sprinkling of pepper.  Goes nicely with a slice of lovely crusty bread.

For people trying to watch their waistline, this is also a really healthy dinner when served without sour cream or bread.

Per serving:

Calories		182.8
Total Fat		8.8 g
	Saturated Fat	1.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	5.9 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		499.1 mg
Potassium		740.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		23.5 g
	Dietary Fiber	6.9 g
	Sugars	9.5 g
Protein		4.5 g

Potato and Leek Soup

It's winter! While it's been unseasonably warm (thanks, Global Warming), it's starting to feel half-frigid now.  Time for some hearty dishes to fight the winter chill!

So today I thought I would make an Australian favourite - Potato and Leek soup.   It's so easy my three year old Xander could probably make it. If he could read and use knives (don't let your three year old use knives, yo).

Potato and Leek Soup

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oliveoil

2 large leeks, sliced (white part only)

4 garlic cloves, smashed with a hammer like the son of a bitch who cut you off in traffic today.  That's it, get it out (but only in your mind, don't assault people - it's not great for long-term survival)

1kg potatoes - wash, peel, chop

2 litres chicken stock

Salt, pepper, sour cream (to serve)

Instructifications

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the leeks and garlic - stirring for 3 minutes until softened.

Add the potatoes.  Cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potato is very soft.  Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.  No seriously.  If you try to blend freshly boiled soup you'll get burning death all over you.

If you have a stick blender, blend the entire pot of soup at once.  If not, blend in small batches until smooth.  Season to taste.  Serve with fresh ground pepper, a dollop of sour cream and a crusty bread.