Cauliflower Soup

Warming and simple, I whipped this soup up in less than 15 minutes. Don’t be fooled though, into thinking simple isn’t delicious. Blending the soup gives it a wonderfully thick and creamy consistency.

Ingredients – serves 4

1. 1 onion, diced
2. 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
3. 3-4 cups chicken stock

Method

1. Sweat onions in a little olive oil over medium heat in a heavy based saucepan
2. Add the cauliflower and enough stock to just cover the cauliflower
3. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the cauliflower is just tender
4. Blend thoroughly
5. Season to taste with salt
6. Serve hot with a good drizzle of good olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper

Garlic and brocolli pasta

In the middle of one of my twice annual detoxes, I was in the mood for a simple pasta dish. I’ve found some really good organic brown rice pastas and also buckwheat pastas, which are detox-friendly, as well as having the added bonus of being gluten-free.

This dish is so quick and simple – perfect weekday dinner or double the quantity and you can have the leftovers as a pasta salad for lunch the next day.

Ingredients for one serving – adjust accordingly for more

1. 3/4 cup dry spiral organic brown rice pasta
2. 1/2 cup broccoli florets – no stems
3. 2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I love garlic so feel free to use less)
4. good squeeze of lemon
5. salt and pepper

Method

1. Cook pasta according to packet directions in salted water
2. When pasta is almost cooked, add the broccoli for a 30 seconds and drain – save about half a cup of the pasta water
3. Sautée the garlic in a hot pan with some oil till soft
4. Add the drained pasta and broccoli and toss in the garlic and oil – add a few spoons of the pasta water to help loosen the pasta up. The starchy water will help to give the pasta a nice silky texture
5. Squeeze the lemon juice, and add salt and pepper to taste
6. Serve hot for dinner
7. If you want to keep the leftovers for lunch the next day, add a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and pop into the fridge for a yummy pasta salad

Chickpea and lentil curry

A really simple curry that you can get on the table in 20 minutes with the help of some pre-blended curry spices. You can get curry pastes in jars, or powders – I had Sharwood’s medium curry powder in my pantry which I used. Look for a spice mix with coriander, cumin, tumeric, paprika, cinnamon, fennel, cardamon – the usual Indian spices.

Ingredients makes 4-6 portions

1. 3 tbs neutral oil, I use macadamia
2. 1 onion, chopped
3. thumb sized piece of ginger, thinly sliced
4. 1-2 cloves garlic, sliced
5. 5 tbl curry powder
6. 400ml coconut cream
7. 1 tbs concentrated chicken stock (or 1 stock cube if you don’t have access to the concentrated stuff)
8. 6 kaffir lime leaves, sliced into thin strips
9. 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
10. 200g cooked lentils (I used 100g brown lentils that I cooked to make 200g but you could also used tinned lentils – just drain and rinse them too)
11. For garnish, big dollop of plain yoghurt, chopped fresh coriander and sliced red chilli

Method

1. Fry the onions in the oil till translucent
2. Add ginger and garlic and fry for 3 minutes
3. Add the curry powder (or paste if you’re using this) and fry on high heat for 3 minutes
4. Add the coconut cream, chicken stock and kaffir lime leaves, bring to boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes
5. This next step may seem odd but I actually think it’s necessary with this type of vegetarian curry where you want to eat everything in the bowl – strain the curry
6. Use the back of a spoon to push the ingredients through the sieve – you want to extract as much flavour from the cooked ingredients as possible
7. Pour the strained curry back into the pot, season with salt to taste
8. Add in the chickpeas and lentils and bring to a gentle simmer
9. Serve hot with the yoghurt, coriander and chilli and you can either eat it on it’s own or over some basmati rice

Pumpkin Soup

If you want a simple, warming and nutritious meal on a weeknight that’s easy peasy and quick to make, this is a terrific soup to make.

Ingredients (for four)

• 1 small pumpkin – any that you have access to in your supermarket but butternut makes for a creamier soup
• Chicken stock
• Cream and olive oil to serve

Method

• Cut the skin off the pumpkin and cut into small chunks
• IF you have time, drizzle with olive oil and roast in an oven at 200C for 40 minutes as this makes the soup extra sweet
• If not, simply pop the pumpkin into a soup pot and cover with just enough stock to cover 3/4 of the pumpkin.  If you want a thinner soup, add more to cover the pumpkin
• Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the pumpkin is tender
• Blend until smooth and creamy
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Serve with a good dollop of cream and a drizzle of olive oil and a nice crusty loaf of bread