Asparagus Soup with toasted Ciabatta bread

I made Asparagus soup yesterday for the first time. Asparagus is so healthy for you, and soups make a great way to have your veggies, no chewing and you can have it with some delicious toasted cheesy garlicy ciabatta bread.

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus, roughly chopped

1 finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 cup of chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon oregano
3-4 cups of water

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter

Toasted Ciabatta bread:
Ciabatta bread
clove of garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
Shredded mozarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a stock pot on medium heat, add the olive oil and butter and after a minute, add in the onions and garlic. Saute it for about 5 minutes till onions are translucent. Then add in the asparagus, and the salt/pepper/oregano. Saute it for a couple of minutes and then add in the basil leaves. Add in the water and cover and let it cook for about 10 minutes till asparagus is soft.

Blend the mixture in a blender and then add it back to the stock pot. Add in the sour cream and let it cook for about 10 minutes. And the soup is ready!

For the Ciabatta toast, pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees. Slice the Ciabatta bread into half, drizzle olive oil over it. Put the bread on a baking tray and put it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove it and rub the garlic clove over the bread so that it gets a nice garlicy taste. You will be able to smell the garlic over the warm bread. Now add the shredded cheese on top, add salt and pepper and broil the toast for a couple of minutes till the cheese melts and is golden brown in color! Toast is ready to eat with the soup. Dip the toast in the soup, it is delicious!! :)

Fresh Tomato Soup

We have tomato soup and grilled cheese atleast once a week. The Fresh Tomato Soup is made of fresh tomatoes, carrots, and i add whole milk instead of cream so that its not heavy. It turns out delicious! Great for taking it to work for lunch the next day as well! :)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 small onions)
2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
3 cups water Or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup whole milk
Croutons, for garnish


Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, water or vegetable stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.


Add the milk to the soup and blend it in the blender until processed completely. Strain it through a sieve. Add the cilantro and reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with croutons. Enjoy with grilled cheese! :)

Minestrone Soup

This is MY version of the Minestrone Soup. I love the way it turns out, and its my favorite Sunday night wintry comfort food with a tomato, basil pesto, mozarella cheese panini! DELLLISH!! :) I have adapted my aunt's recipe, and I dont know anyone who does not like this soup!

Minestrone soup consists of some sorta pasta, like rigatoni or elbow pasta, but I dont put any. Also, it consists of cannellini beans, but I use black beans instead coz of preference.

Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 carrot, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 zucchini cut into bite size pieces
2 small potatoes cut into bite size pieces
2-3 celery stalks, cut into bite size pieces
3 cups spinach leaves
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 can of black beans
1/2 can of crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon of herb du provence
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 cup good olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

Garnish:
Parmesan cheese for garnish


Method:

In a medium pot, at medium heat, add the oil and butter, and let the butter melt. Add the onions and garlic and saute until golden brown. Add in the carrots, zucchini, potato, celery and saute for a couple minutes. Add the salt, pepper and herb du provence and saute it for another couple minutes. I add a lot of pepper coz I love the peppery taste in the soup.

Add about 3 cups of water, and add in the spinach at this point, since spinach wilts very quickly. Add in the black beans as well. Let the soup come to a boil. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then turn the heat to low.

The soup is ready to comfort you ! :) Garnish with the parmesan cheese before serving.
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Spinach Corn and Potato Soup

I was in a mood to have a light dinner on a Sunday night, I just wanted something warm to soothe my throat, and I thought of spinach, corn and potato soup. It turned out really good, and infact Raj does not like soup, but he had a whole bowlful of soup as well! :)This soup barely look about 15-20 minutes to make. I was happy with the outcome so hear is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 large bag of spinach
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/2 an onion finely chopped
1 can of corn
2 small potatoes peeled and diced small
1 container of vegetable broth(I use Trader Joes broth)
1-2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste


Method:

In a large pot, at medium heat, put olive oil and butter and let it melt. Add the onions, garlic and potatoes, and let the potatoes soften for about 7 - 10 minutes. Add the broth, and then the spinach and corn. Let the spinach leaves wilt, and boil for about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix the sour cream for a creamy consistency.

Blend this mixture in 2 parts, so that it does not splash on you when blending. Now use a sieve with large pores to get a smooth consistency for the soup. It is ready for you to slurppp on! :)

Potato Leek Soup

With my recent visits to UK on business trips, I got to try out potato leek soup, potato being a staple food in the UK! This was the first time I was trying out potato leek soup and I simply loved it! It is so hearty and filling, that when you are in a cold country, and you just want something warm and comforting, this is just perfect!!

I tried my hand at making the soup, and it was a success! Even Raj, who is not fond of soups, really liked it and wants me to make it again ;) I took the leftovers for lunch the following day, and it tasted even better!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 white onion roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 leeks roughly sliced
4 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream or 1 cup milk(if you want to make it light)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a large pot on medium heat, put in the olive oil and butter. Let the butter melt. Then add in the leeks, onions and garlic, with salt and pepper to taste, and stir it until the leeks are tender for about 7 minutes.

Add in the potatoes, and add more salt and pepper and saute it for a couple minutes. Add in the thyme, cream(or milk) and vegetable broth and stir. After adding the potatoes, boil it for about 10 minutes till the potatoes are tender.

Put this mixture into a blender. Do not fill the blender to the top! This mixture is hot and the blender should be half full. Once blended well, pour this mixture into another pot with a sieve. Repeat till all the mixture has been blended. Sieve the blended mixture. The soup will have a nice smooth consistency.

Now heat this mixture in the pot for a couple minutes and its ready to serve! The best way to have this soup is with crispy sourdough bread, that has been toasted in the oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper on the top! ENJOY!!