LAST MINUTE MISO SOUP

crashing through the door after a delayed flight and feeling exhausted, the thought of having to figure out something for dinner was draining! solution = last minute miso soup! ok... so this looks a little less that fab... but dont judge a miso by its cover! this soup was super delish and made in a matter of minutes! 

how? 

1/2 cup of frozen spinach 'nuggets' defrosted

1 cup of iceberg lettuce, roughly torn into pieces 

100 g of frozen tofu, defrosted and cubed

2 tablespoons of miso paste

1 1/2 cup of water

boil the water in a small saucepan. bring to the boil. add the spinach, tofu, lettuce and bring back to the boil. remove from the heat. scoop out 14 cup of the hot broth and mix with the miso paste. stir in the miso paste mix and serve - easy, delicious and the perfect way to relax!

serves 1 

BROCCOLI SOUP

ok, it seems that spring is also a bit nippy in madrid... so bring on the soups to warm things up a bit! here is a super quick, super cheap and super healthy dinner idea

how? 

500 g of frozen broccoli

2 teaspoons of salt

1/2 cup of non dairy milk

1 teaspoon of sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder

bring the broccoli to the boil in enough water to cover. add the salt. cook for 3-5 mins until tender. drain, reserving the cooking liquid. blitz the broccoli with roughly 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and the non-dairy milk with a bamix/hand mixer. season further as required. serve with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and chilli powder - yum!

RAINY DAY SPICY TOMATO SOUP

after a super dry winter in madrid it is finally raining (as per tradition, i have been informed, that it always rains over the easter long weekend). to celebrate this cold and cosy day i decided that hot and spicy tomato soup was the perfect dinner idea! 

how?

1 can of diced tomatoes (400g)

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons of evoo

2 tablespoons of tomato puree

1/4 - 1/2 a teaspoon of chilli powder, depending on how spicy you like you food!

1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes

salt and pepper to season

1 bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

add the evoo to a saucepan and heat. add the garlic and saute for 2 mins. add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, chilli powder and nutritional yeast flakes and cook for 5 mins. add the chopped coriander, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. serve with a slice of toasted multigrain bread and a good book on the couch - cosy!

serves 2

VEGAN MISO SOUP

this is by far the most simple recipe you can come across and the result is an amazingly delicious and highly nutritious miso soup! 

how? 

2 cups of water

5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms

1 cup of mixed vegetables (spinach, broccoli, snow peas etc.) 

4 teaspoons of miso paste 

1 spring onion, finely shredded

boil the water. add the mushrooms and vegetables. bring back to boil and cook until the mushrooms have rehydrated and the vegetables are done. remove from heat. add the miso paste with a little of the cooking liquid in a separate bowl. add combine miso and water to the pot. serve garnished with the spring onion. done!  

CARROT, CHICKPEA + CHILLI SOUP

returning from berlin to a seriously depleted (if not almost completely empty) fridge meant there was little option for a quick and healthy dinner. luckily i had a cup and a half of pre-cooked chickpeas and two carrots begging to be used! 

this soup was super easy to make, and took a total of about 10 mins to prepare - not only that... it was tasty and healthy and what better way to end the weekend than with a bowl of hot creamy soup!

how? 

1 1/2 cups of chickpeas (pre-cooked)

2 carrots, diced (the smalled the better to speed up cooking time)

1/4 cup of non-dairy milk (or 2 heaped tablespoons of homemade hummus)

salt and pepper to season

1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder 

1/4 teaspoon of toasted sesame seed for garnishing 

2 cups of water (or enough to cover the diced carrot and chickpeas)

add the chickpeas and carrots into a small saucepan. cook until tender/soft. with about 1/2 cup of remaining cooking water blitz the softened carrot and chickpeas with a bamix/handblender until smooth. add the non-dairy milk (or hummus), salt and pepper. blitz to combine. serve topped with toasted sesame seeds and chilli powder - yum! 

VERY-VEGETABLE RISSONI MINESTRONE

clearly my internal gps is a little out of whack this week... as this is day two of hot soup for dinner, despite the warm weather that has finally rocked up in madrid!

not only is this vegan minestrone healthy, especially good looking, and easy to make... it is also really delicious! 

how?

2 cups of green cabbage

1 cup of red cabbage

1 tin of diced tomatoes

2 carrots, diced

1/2 cup of frozen peas

1/2 cup of chickpeas (i used some of the one's i cooked up last night after an overnight soak in the fridge)

1 litre of water

1 cup of rissoni

salt and pepper to season 

place the water in a large soup pot and bring to the boil. add the rissoni and the carrots, cook for 6 mins. add the green + red cabbage, frozen peas and chickpeas. cook for a further 5 mins. add the tinned tomatoes + seasoning, cook til heated through and serve with a drizzle of evvo over the top - yum!

serves 6-8

other add-ins or subs that would also taste great would be cannelli beans, french lentils, fresh green asparagus, potato (cubed), fresh spinach leaves, or even some finely chopped red chilli if you like a bit of a heat! 

POTATO + LENTIL SOUP

ok...ok! a strange choice considering the weather today (which was a fab 24°C) but i was in the mood for something creamy and hearty and comforting (as looming sense of homesickness started to creep over me today) - the obvious choice... a creamy potato + lentil soup!

simple to make and just a matter of judging when your lentils and potatoes are perfectly cooked before blitzing them with a bamix (or the like)

i didn't do such a good job of this and ended up with a few less-than-tender lentils but they added a bit of "wholegrain-y" goodness!

how?

5 medium sized potatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup of lentils
enough water to cover it all in a large 'soup-making' sized pot
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes

boil the potatoes, lentils and whole garlic cloves (peeled of course!) until the lentils and potatoes are tender - to make things easier i threw everything in at the same time, excluding the garlic which i tossed in about half way through the cooking time (around the 10-12 mins mark).

dont forget to season as you go! (potatoes tend to remove the saltiness from a dish so you may need to add a bit of salt to get a real flavour hit! best to do this once the lentils are tender so as not to toughen them by adding the salt whilst cooking).

when done, drain of some of your cooking liquid - leaving about 2 cups in the pot. add the nutritional yeast flakes, stick in the bar mixer, and blitz until smooth and creamy (or as desired!) i again was a bit distracted by good conversation and ended up draining all the cooking water out... so i added soy milk instead (which although added kilojoules/calories, also made my soup a little thicker and creamier). if you find the mix needs a little thinning you can alway add in some non-dairy milk of choice to thin it to the desired consistency.

this really hit the spot, and was delicious with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of good evoo on top! a nice bit of crusty bread would also be a great accompaniment