Tag: curry

Turkey Soup, Two Ways

Turkey Chickpea Curry Rice SoupSoup season has arrived! (Okay, to be fair, it is always soup season at our house). Each time we have a bag of parings, ends, and leftover veg bits, we make stock. And the same goes with something like the Thanksgiving turkey. We don’t eat much meat these days, but when we do, we are conscious of using every bit.

This starts with putting some sliced onion (skin and all) or other vegetable parings underneath the bird as it cooks. These will add flavour to the stock. We like to use a large roaster with a lid, and cook the stock right in the same pan, or otherwise put some parchment underneath so every bit can be transferred to the stock pot. We always keep stock on hand, and we love to make traditional soups, like Traditional Turkey, or new ones, like Turkey Chickpea Curry Rice soup.

What’s your favourite soup?

Sweet and Simple Fare

Delicious! Butternut Butternut Squash Currysquash curry. What I love about this dish is that it is super-simple, and very economical. It did require a little time, about an hour, but I was working from home. It could easily be prepared on a weekend and reheated…

It was a real use-it-up meal, taking advantage of odds and ends from other recipes.

First, I roasted the vegetables. In my case there was half a large butternut squash in the fridge – probably about a pound and a half, or 700g. I peeled it, seeded it, and cubed it into bite-sized cubes. I also cut up two carrots and two parsnips into similar-sized pieces. All of these went on a parchmented cookie-sheet in a 350C oven for about an hour.

At the 30-minute point, I started the rice and lentil mix. I had a mixed-rice blend from the bulk store, as well as some Puy lentils. I have to admit I didn’t measure – but probably about 1 cup or 250 ml in total. I wanted to use both up. I use a cooking method I learned years ago on television, from the great Indian and vegetarian expert, Madhur Jaffrey. Rinse rice, check for small stones, and then put in a pan with water that comes up as deep as the first knuckle of your thumb (about an inch). I put the lentils in just as if they were part of the rice. Bring to a boil, and when the water has reduced so it is just a small amount above the rice, cover, turn to low, and simmer another 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, start your curry. I have leftovers of both the rice-lentil mix and the roasted veg to cook something else today.

In a little olive oil, gently saute an onion and 3 or 4 sliced mushrooms. Add some of your roasted vegetables (1-2c or 250-500ml). Stir in 1/2c or 125ml of cooked white beans, and the same amount of vegetable broth. Season with 1T/15ml curry powder. You can make your own, but I didn’t on this occasion. Let this simmer until the rice is done, then top a serving of the rice mixture (3/4c or 190ml) and a ladle full of the curry. Top with a few green onions, some chopped cilantro, or even some chopped celery leaves.

 

Using it Up, with Flavour!

  
We had some roasted tofu in the fridge (for you vega phobics it almost tastes like chicken). The roasted root vegetable and red lentil soup was in the freezer from last week. (Abridged version: cook red lentils, add leftover cooked veg and a little water or broth, purée with a hand blender and a tablespoon of curry powder).

I diced the roasted tofu leftovers, in my fridge for a couple of days, and stirred into the soup. Excellent for a partner or roomie with a cold!

BONUS: 

Here’s how to roast the tofu: Press unwrapped firm tofu on a plate by weighting another plate on top with a can for 20 minutes, drain and cut into 1″/2.5cm cubes. Drizzle w soy sauce, sesame oil and grate over some fresh ginger. Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally until golden brown.

  

There's something fishy about this curry…But we're bananas for it!

   We’ve been in “use it up” mode at our house lately, finding creative ways to avoid the grocery store and use what’s on hand. This includes working down things we have in the freezer, in anticipation (hope?) of another season of garden bounty. Also, I was once again fooled into buying bananas. Here in Nova Scotia, even if the bananas look as green as grass, they won’t last more than a day or two. So here’s what we did – enough for last night’s dinner and lunch today…

Dice a large carrot, an onion, and two peeled white potatoes. Put on to boil in some vegetable broth, then simmer 10 minutes til tender.

Chop up half a pound or about 200g of fish, or use leftover cooked fish, and add to the veg along with a couple of large spoonfuls of dried unsweetened coconut and a tablespoon (15ml) of curry powder. Simmer until fish ish opaque and stir in a cup or so of milk. 

Heat through…and here’s the surprise: in each bowl, slice in half a banana. Top with the soup and some chopped herbs – we have basil and Vietnamese coriander growing in the window. 

It was delish, and we hope you enjoy it.

You Can Never Have too Much Curry

Really, you’re thinking? Didn’t we just have curry yesterday? Well yes, that’s true. But today’s curry is a far cry from yesterday’s cousin.

In this case, it’s a “use it up” curry. There were a few veg going begging in the fridge, that needed to be used up. Sometimes the amounts you can buy at the grocer do not equal what you need for your meal plan, and you just have to recalibrate.

In the beginning, we got some brown rice cooking. We like to make a big batch and then portion it out in the freezer where it can be reheated by steam or microwave, when we don’t have a lot of time on our hands.

The curry began with a pot, a little oil (olive, in our case) an onion and some garlic. Then 4 or 5 button mushrooms, quartered. They were about to go over the edge, but still edible. We broke up the stalks of asparagus that had been sitting around for a day or two longer than absolutely ideal, and pared and chunked in a carrot.

To this, a tablespoon of the same Patak’s curry paste we used for the lamb yesterday. A little bit of white wine (also something that doesn’t register as a leftover in some households) went in the pot next.

We had two cups of cooked kidney beans and a cup of cooked chickpeas (all from Better Bulk, see our blogroll) which we tossed in. You can also check our recipes page to see how to cook dried beans of all kinds. These tipped in, juice and all.

The whole thing was set to simmering until it looked stew-y or curry-ish. Served over rice, it was awesome, vegetarian, and tasty!

Leftover Lamb Curry

I know, some of you who still have teenagers (or who are young enough that you’re not weight-conscious) are thinking, “what is this leftover lamb of which you speak”?

But really, truly, I assure you, someday you two may have leftover delicious roast lamb in your futures. Sure, you can just eat it cold, in a tasty sandwich, with some Dijon and lettuce, and maybe some sliced pears and goat cheese. Another great way, is a tasty curry with whatever veg you have on hand.

In this case, I sauteed an onion, some bell pepper, and a bit of celery (the holy trinity), a couple of diced carrots, along with a clove or two of garlic and about a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger. When that was soft, I diced up the lamb and tossed it in.

Immediately I added a heaping tablespoon of curry paste (I used Patak’s but in a pinch you could use curry powder; I just don’t think it would be as flavourful). Then about a cup of vegetable broth, beef broth, lamb broth, or wine – really, any will give a great taste. Come to think of it, beer would work, too.

Chop up a couple of tomatoes and stir them in. Let the whole thing simmer til the carrots are nice and soft.

Delicious comfort food, the second time around.

Big? Small? Veggie Curry for All…

Next on the agenda? Veggie curry.

Life threw a wrench in the works this week – our microwave went on the blink. Now we don’t use the micro for much, mostly for starting baked potatoes for the grill, melting and thawing. Therein lies the problem. In our quest to avoid sodium, we like to make big batches of beans and keep them in the freezer. Same goes for brown rice. But we’re not always good about getting stuff out of the freezer early on. So we’ll start with directions:

If you didn’t get the beans out in time, and you don’t have a microwave: About 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour before you need them in a recipe, sit the container you froze them in, in a larger container of lukewarm water. This will help them thaw faster. Check from time to time. When they can be broken apart, they can be added to the recipe. This method also works for the rice; to reheat the rest of the way, add a tablespoon or so of water, and heat over low heat on the stovetop, in a non-stick pan. Or use a little oil and some diced celery, onion and mushrooms, and make it fried rice.

To make today’s veggie curry we started by baking a butternut squash. You cut the squash in half, and scoop out the seeds. Turn cut-side-down on a piece of parchment, on a cookie sheet. Bake half an hour (depending on the size, you may need ten more minutes) in a 400F oven. When you can pierce with a fork, it’s ready. Let it cool a bit so you can handle it.

Meanwhile, cook an onion, a stalk of celery, a chopped bell pepper, a couple of sliced carrots, and some mushrooms in a medium-sized pan. Add a couple of cups of cooked kidney beans (check out our bean recipe in the recipe pages). De-glaze with a splash of wine. Pour in a bit of broth (not too much, maybe half a cup). Scoop in half of the squash and save the rest for a delicious soup…within a couple of days, or freeze for later.

Two tablespoons of curry paste are great for our hardy lot…but do it to taste. Use curry powder if you prefer. Or some garam masala, turmeric, and chili powder. Throw in a few green beans or asparagus – whatever’s handy and in season.

Let it simmer until it thickens. Serve with the rice. Your tummy will thank you.