Quick Curry Noodle Soup

Regular visitors here will know that I like to cook along with my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where each six months we choose a new chef and take an in-depth exploration of their recipes and cooking techniques.  What you won't know, because I'm shamefully guilty of not having posted for the last month, is that we have now moved onto our 14th IHCC chef - Curtis Stone.  Curtis is of Australian origin, pursued a cooking career in London (including working under Marco Pierre White, and, in addition to a number of popular television shows, he now has a well-known restaurant of his own in Beverley Hills, California.

This week at IHCC is actually Potluck Week, which means we actually get to choose any recipe we like from any one of the 14 chefs in the IHCC stable.  However, since I've yet to join in with cooking any of Curtis' dishes, it seemed only fair that I should dip into one of his many culinary tomes.

It was the Quick Curry Noodle Soup from Curtis' book Good Food, Good Life which provided my initial inspiration. Curtis' soup incorporates beautiful prawns and fresh fish in a rich coconut broth with lots of Thai flavours of lemongrass, ginger, coriander, and kaffir lime - delicious!!

However, as I've just spent the last month doing a Raw Food Chef's training course through the Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy (which I can honestly say has been truly amazing, and you can visit this post to find out about my experience and see what we made), I was inspired to see if I could make a raw version of this dish.  Further inspiration also came from a Bahian style soup which we made on the course.

I went about making my version of this soup by substituting the seafood for vegetable "noodles" - carrots, zucchini and beetroot - and whizzing up my coconut milk and loads of zingy flavourings in the blender instead of in a pot. Obviously, because this is a raw version, it's not a hot soup, but there's actually plenty of heat comes through from the chilli, so it was still plenty comforting even on an autumn evening.  The wild card I guess in my version was the beetroot - not something that you would generally expect to find with these bold Asian flavours, but the sweet yet earthy flavour of the beets actually worked surprisingly well, and there's no doubt that they certainly add some visual impact to the dish.  I would have no hesitation including them again.

You might not have thought about raw food before, but I urge you to try this dish - it just might surprise you.

Quick Curry Noodle Soup Recipe
Inspired by Curtis Stone & Matthew Kenney
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

coconut milk
1 cup dessicated coconut
2 cups water

vegetables
1/2 medium carrot
1x small zucchini
1/2 medium beetroot
sea salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice

soup
1-1/2 cups coconut milk
1/3 cup carrot juice
5cm (2 in) piece spring onion, white part only, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, leaves and stems, chopped
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1x small clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium red chilli, remove seeds if you prefer less heat
1x lime, grated zest and juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1x avocado
1x large tomato, seeds removed and diced

to serve
coriander leaves
kaffir lime leaf, finely shredded
lime cheek

Begin by making the coconut milk - pour the water over the dessicated coconut and leave to stand for at least 10 minutes.  (Go have a cup of coffee, put your feet up, have a snooze - nobody dies!!)  After a suitable rest period, add the coconut and water to a blender, blend thoroughly (really thoroughly), and strain.

Next prepare the vegetables.  You can run the vegetables through a spiraliser to create your noodles, or if you don't have a spiraliser, a vegetable peeler that creates fine juliennes or ribbons will do just fine.  Place the carrot and zucchini noodles in a bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and a teaspoon lemon juice, toss well and set aside to soften slightly while you prepare the broth.  Do the same thing with the beetroot noodles, keeping them in a separate bowl from the other vegetables so that the beetroot doesn't turn everything pink.

Now, onto the broth.  Put all of the soup ingredients, except the avocado and tomato into a tall jug or deep bowl. Using an immersion blender, blend everything until smooth.  Add the avocado and blend again, at which point the broth will thicken up.  Lastly, add the tomatoes and blend until smooth.

To serve, arrange a pile of the vegetable noodles in a bowl, and pour the broth around the noodles. Garnish with a few coriander leaves and finely shredded kaffir lime leaf.  Serving a lime cheek on the side would also be a nice addition.

If you would like to get to know Curtis Stone a little better, and to see all the wonderful Potluck dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links. 

I'll also be sharing this post this week at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted by my lovely friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.

Rockmelon Gazpacho

I know a lot of people get pretty excited about the arrival of autumnal fruit such as apples, pears, quince and figs.  And whilst I can get pretty turned on about the brief appearance of quince and figs, apples and pears - not so much.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mind them, I just don't get excited about them.

No, by and large, I am a summer fruits kind of girl.  There isn't a single summer fruit that I don't adore, and what gets me properly excited is the arrival of melons just as late summer almost begins to give way to autumn.  Rockmelon (or cantaloupe as you may know it in your part of the world) is my all time favourite melon.  I love its juicy lusciousness and slightly "perfumed" flavour, and this time of year I just can't get get enough of it, though sadly the season is now almost at an end.

For that brief period from the end of February through to about now, when they seem to be at peak availability, I buy them up every opportunity I get.  I cut some of them up into chunks and store in the freezer to use in smoothies and gelato during the year;  I love big chunks of it in salads such as this Shaved Sprout Salad or tossed with some shaved fennel and pine nuts;  I love to eat big wedges of it just on its own (ideally leaning over the sink to catch all the juice that runs down to my elbows);  and I make it into these rockmelon & coconut yoghurt popsicles.

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs we are saying farewell to Ellie Kreiger who has been our guest chef for the last six months, and this seemed like the perfect time to try Ellie's Golden Gazpacho from Weeknight Wonders - a recipe which I have had bookmarked for ages.

Although weather here has definitely cooled and there is often an autumnal nip in the affair, we have still been blessed with some warm evenings, enabling us to cling to those last vestiges of summer before we begin to break out the winter woollies.  Just such an evening was the perfect time to enjoy this gorgeously fragrant, chilled soup.  To me there is always something about a chilled soup that seems very luxurious and elegant, and for some reason I can't explain seems to elevate soup from "comfort food" to something quite special.

In any event, if you can get your hands on some melon, I urge you to try this.  The colour is glorious, with a flavour to match - but I do urge you to make the soup at least a couple of hours before you want to eat it to allow the flavours to fully develop.  Actually even better if you can make it the day before.

I didn't really make any changes to Ellie's recipe in terms of ingredients used, but I did vary the quantities somewhat, particularly the vinegar and seasonings - I think this is an area where you totally need to add these according to your own taste, and what is required is going to vary enormously depending on the acidity of your tomatoes and the ripeness/sweetness of your rockmelon. You will also need, I found, to adjust again after the soup has been standing and just before you serve it, because the balance of flavours will change over that time, also the flavour will be slightly different when the soup is well chilled than when it is at room temperature.  So taste, taste, taste, and adjust as necessary.

Rockmelon Gazpacho Recipe
Adapted ever so slightly from recipe by Ellie Krieger
from Weeknight Wonders
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

1/2 medium rockmelon, skin and seeds removed
700g (1.5 lb) yellow and/or orange tomatoes
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled
1x large handful of ice cubes
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Cut rockmelon, tomatoes and cucumber into cubes.  Reserve a couple of tablespoons of each cut into tiny cubes for garnish, and transfer the remainder to a blender.  Add the ice cubes, and a generous slosh each of extra virgin olive oil and vinegar to the blender, along with a generous seasoning of flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Blitz until smooth, taste and adjust the vinegar and seasonings to your liking.

Decant soup into a bowl or jug, and chill in the fridge for at least a couple of hours and up to 24 hours for the flavours to develop.  Taste again and once again adjust flavourings to your liking.

Serve in individual bowls, garnished with the extra cubes of tomato, cucumber and rockmelon.  Finish with a drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil.

If you would like to get to know Ellie Krieger a little better, and to see all the wonderful "Goodbye Ellie" dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.  And come back next week, when we begin another six month culinary journey cooking with our new guest chef, Curtis Stone.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted by my lovely friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.

Farewell Nigel, and a Round-up of My Favourites

If you've been following here for a while then you will most likely know that I am a regular participant and co-host at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where each six months our members elect a new chef with whom we will spend the ensuing six months cooking according to a variety of weekly themes.  You will also know that for the last six months we have been cooking with British cook, Nigel Slater, and this week is time to say our goodbyes.

This is always a bittersweet moment - a little hint of sadness as one journey comes to an end, tinged with the excitement and anticipation of welcoming in a new chef.  You'll find out more about that next week, but for now I wanted to share with you a round-up of my favourite Nigel Slater dishes of the last six months.

Warm Lentil, Leek & Lemon Salad with Prawns & Roasted Tomatoes

This dish was actually inspired by Nigel's "Lentil soup, with lemon, pancetta and mint".  It turned out to be one of those dishes which, in its entirety, was so much greater than the sum of its parts, and was not just every bit as good as I expected it to be, but in actual fact exceeded all my expectations.

Roasted Potato Salad with Black Olive & Roasted Garlic Gremolata

This was a dish which not only drew inspiration from Nigel, but also from my friend Toby at Plate Fodder.  Potatoes are par-boiled, then smashed and oven roasted with rosemary and garlic.  That in itself is a pretty good thing, but then the crispy roasted potatoes are drizzled straight from the oven with a mustardy vinaigrette, and then topped with a gremolata of black olives, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest.  A taste sensation, and the perfect accompaniment to the Sunday night roast chook.

Curried Carrot, Lentil & Roasted Tomato Soup

In many ways carrots are one of my least favourite vegetables, so I'd always been a bit dubious about carrot soup.  This stunning soup, loaded with red lentils, spicy curry powder, fragrant coconut milk and slow roasted tomatoes helped me overcome all my carrot soup fears!

Pumpkin, Date & Chocolate Scones

I turned Nigel's slightly savoury warm pumpkin scones into an ever so slightly sweeter treat with the addition of dates, date syrup and chocolate - just perfect for a leisurely Sunday brunch, or to accompany an afternoon cuppa.

Roasted Pumpkin Laksa

This laksa is perfect for a cold winter evening.  The sweet, soft, nutty pumpkin, silky rice noodles, crispy bok choy and bean sprouts, all bathed in a gorgeously fragrant, coconut-rich broth, makes for a symphony of flavours and textures.

Gnocchi with Chorizo, Gorgonzola & Spinach

This is the ultimate one-pan wonder.  A dish for those occasions when only a big helping of carbs, smothered in cream and cheese, and topped off with a bit of fried sausage, will satisfy, and just enough spinach to assuage the guilt - slightly!

Pumpkin Pangrattato with Merguez Sausage & Black Olives

This was easily my favourite Nigel Slater dish, and in fact one of my favourite dishes I've ever posted.  Chunks of steamed butternut pumpkin, spicy nuggets of merguez sausage, and black olives, are baked under a topping of cheesy, garlicky breadcrumbs.  Seriously, if you only ever try one dish from my blog, this would be a good place to start.

With that, it's time to say "Cheerio" to Nigel, and don't forget to come back next week to see who we'll be welcoming as our next IHCC chef.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...

... or check out Tender, Vol. 1 and Nigel's many other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, or Fishpond NZ.

Lettuce & Pea Soup

Spring has well and truly sprung in my part of the world and, after the dreariness of winter, the arrival of new growth and the abundance of all things green is definitely a welcome sight.  Tender lettuce leaves and the first of the season's asparagus send me rushing to the kitchen with new enthusiasm, ready to create dishes with the lightness and lushness that befits the season.

Like most other parts of the world, however, spring here in New Zealand can be a pretty changeable affair - weatherwise anyway.  Warm, sunny days one minute - cooler, drizzly days the next.  It was such a day today - cool and gloomy.  Just perfect for a nice bowl of soup for lunch, but a soup on the lighter side, a soup that positively screams spring.

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, we're ladling it up, making Nigel Slater soups, stews, curries and other bowlfuls of goodness.  Nigel's "Soup of lettuce and peas" from Tender, vol. I, made the perfect lunch for today.  I reduced the original recipe a bit, since I had no need to feed six people.  This amount was just right to give me two good sized bowls today, and enough left over to take to work for my lunch tomorrow.  In other changes, I swapped in some leek instead of shallot, used parsley instead of mint, and finished things off with a swirl of coconut cream since I have some left over from last night's Shrimp & Curried Coconut Risotto (one of my favourite old recipes that I come back to time and time again).  In hindsight, I think a little grated lemon zest and a spritz of fresh lemon juice would work well here too.

This recipe is ridiculously quick and easy to make, deliciously fresh, and light enough that you could actually serve this as part of a multi-course meal.  I seldom have soup other than as a meal in it's own right, but this one could definitely fit into a bigger meal without filling you up too much.  It's pretty and elegant, and I wouldn't hesitate to serve this to company.  I hope you'll give it a try.

Pea & Lettuce Soup Recipe
Adapted from recipe by Nigel Slater
from Tender, Vol. I
Serves 2
Click here for the free recipe card

1/2 an iceberg lettuce (or other lettuce of your choice)
generous knob of butter
1/2 a small leek, thinly sliced
1-1/2 cups frozen peas
2 cups vegetable stock
large handful of flat-leaf parsley
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
coconut cream to finish

Separate lettuce leaves, wash thoroughly, and set aside.

Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan.  Add leek to the pan and saute until they have begun to soften, but not brown.

Roughly chop or tear the lettuce and add to the pan, stirring occasionally.  As soon as the lettuce begins to wilt, add the peas, stock and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the peas are cooked through and the lettuce is thoroughly wilted.

Remove from heat, and blitz until smooth either in a blender or using a stick blender.  Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

Serve immediately, and finish with a drizzle of coconut cream.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...

... or check out Tender, Vol. 1 and Nigel's many other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, or Fishpond NZ.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted by my lovely friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum.

           

Curried Carrot, Lentil & Roasted Tomato Soup

I have a kind of love/hate relationship with carrots.  When I was a kid, the only way that carrots ever showed up in our house was boiled (most nights), or worse still mashed up with either parsnip or swede.  I hated it, and many a "you're not leaving this table until you've eaten those carrots" war was waged in our house.  Stews too were the cause of great angst for me, as I would pick all the bits of carrot out, and then the battle would begin again.

When the '80s came around and glazed carrots became highly fashionable, I found them slightly more palatable, but they were still not a "first choice" vegetable for me.  It wasn't until I discovered roasted carrots that I found a way in which I could not just "like" carrots but really love them.  I was a little ambivalent about raw carrots too until the fabulous Marcella Hazan introduced me to a wonderful salad of shredded carrot, lemon zest & juice, flaky sea salt, and extra virgin olive oil - incredibly simple but positively sublime.

For all that I've found a few ways to love carrots, I've never been brave enough to try carrot soup.  I've always been pretty sure that I wouldn't really like it - I couldn't believe that it was going to taste any different to just blitzed up boiled carrots, and I would hate that.  But for weeks now I've been finding myself constantly drawn to Nigel Slater's recipe in Tender, Vol. 1 for "A soup the colour of marigolds".  Yes, it's just carrot soup, but it looks stunning in the photo and the title sounds so magical I keep coming back to it.  Talk about being seduced by a good line!  After my friend and IHCC co-host Deb at Kahakai Kitchen made this soup a couple of weeks ago, I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to try it.

When our I Heart Cooking Club theme of Budget Friendly Dishes came up this week, I knew the moment had arrived to put this soup to the test.  Budget friendly cooking to me is all about using ingredients which are fresh and seasonal, and with a big bag of carrots I'd picked up for $2 sitting in my veggie crisper I didn't think things could get much lighter on the pocket than that.  The original recipe also calls for yellow tomatoes.  These are definitely not in season here right now, and even if you could find them they certainly wouldn't be budget friendly.  I did, however, happen to have some tomatoes in the freezer which I had slow-roasted when they were in season.  Even though I expected these to detract somewhat from the beautiful marigold colour of Nigel's soup, it seemed like they would make a very good and thrifty alternative to the yellow tomatoes.  I subbed in some celery in place of onions, and  I also decided to add some red lentils to make this a little more "wintery" and comforting, some curry powder for a little spiciness instead of the more mellow bay leaves suggested by Nigel, and some coconut milk for a touch of luxury in such a parsimonious meal.

The verdict:  This could not taste less like "just a bunch of boiled up carrots".  My carrot soup phobia is over.  This soup is heavenly ... plenty of sweetness from the carrots, balanced out by the roasted tomatoes, some earthiness and "comfort" from the lentils, sweetness and fragrance from the coconut milk, and a little heat from the curry powder.  I will definitely be making this soup again, and next time I'm going to try replacing the curry powder with a little harissa - I think the flavours would be great with the carrots and tomatoes, and the kick of heat won't go astray either.  Hey, and guess what ...  I also discovered that my roasted red tomatoes didn't detract from the gorgeous colour one little bit, it's still the colour of marigolds.  What do you think?

Curried Carrot, Lentil & Roasted Tomato Soup Recipe
Inspired by recipe by Nigel Slater
from Tender, Vol. I
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

1 tablespoon olive oil
450g carrots
2x sticks celery
flaky sea salt
450g slow-roasted tomatoes
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup red lentils
1 tin coconut milk
4 cups water

Finely chop the carrots & celery - I blitzed them up in the food processor until very finely chopped.  

Heat olive oil in a heavy based pan over medium heat.  Add carrots and celery, sprinkle with a generous pinch of flaky sea salt, and cook (stirring from time to time) until the vegetables have softened and started to release some of their liquid.

Add the tomatoes and curry powder, and continue stirring for a couple of minutes.

Add the lentils, coconut milk, and water.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes, until the vegetables and lentils are completely soft.   It thickens up a lot as it cooks, so feel free to add more water as necessary.

Use a stick blender to blitz to a puree (or pour into a conventional blender).  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Serve.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see all the other budget friendly dishes that are on the menu this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...

... or check out Tender, Vol. 1 and Nigel's many other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, or Fishpond NZ.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted by my lovely friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum, and at Cook Your Books hosted by the lovely Joyce at Kitchen Flavours.

               

Roasted Pumpkin Laksa

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs we're all about fresh, seasonal vegetables.  Our theme of "Veg Out!" means we get to choose any one of Nigel Slater's veggie laden recipes for the task.  Sounds easy enough, right, until you have a look at just how many such recipes Nigel has in his arsenal and try to narrow down the choice.

Today is the first day of winter here in New Zealand, so I was definitely on the lookout for something warming, and quite possibly "soupy".  When I stumbled across "A new pumpkin laksa for a cold night" in Tender, Vol. I, I knew I'd struck gold.  I'm not personally a huge fan of your run-of-the-mill pumpkin soup - it's ok, I guess, but it just doesn't excite me.  I do, however, love a good laksa, and the idea of combining the aromatic, coconut-rich broth and noodles with the sweet nuttiness of pumpkin really appealed.

Nigel says that, since first making this dish, he has constantly tweaked the recipe, taking things out and putting things in, according to mood and availability of ingredients.  He does caution, however, that this needs "to be done with care;  you don't want too many flavours going on.  Vietnamese soups such as this" (actually to the best of my knowledge a laksa is a Malaysian dish, not Vietnamese, but that's what Nigel calls it and I'm just quoting here) "are traditionally ingredient rich but should never taste confused.  By the same token to simplify it too much would be to lose the soup's generosity and complexity and therefore its point."

He goes on to say "The laksa appears complicated at first but in practice it is far from it.  Once you understand the basics, the recipe falls into place and becomes something you can fiddle with to suit your own taste.  The basic spice paste needs heat (ginger, garlic, tiny bird's eye chillies);  the liquid needs body and sweetness (coconut milk, rich stock);  the finish needs sourness and freshness (lime juice, mint, coriander).  The necessary saltiness comes from nam pla" (fish sauce) "and tamari rather than salt iteself.  These notes in place, you can feel free to include noodles, tomatoes, greens, sweet vegetables or meat as you wish.  What matters is balance."

I did make quite a few changes to this recipe.  Whilst I am normally one to be stripping recipes back and simplifying them as much as I can, in this case I did up the ante a bit on a number of fronts, which did make the dish a little more complicated (not much), but it was truly worth it.  Firstly, the pumpkin.  Nigel suggests steaming the pumpkin, but I was imagining the pumpkin replacing the fried cubes of tofu you might ordinarily find in a laksa, and decided that tossing it with a little sesame oil and roasting it was the way to go.  I also added a shallot, some whole toasted coriander and cumin seeds, a few macadamia nuts, a couple of kaffir lime leaves, and some ground turmeric, coriander and cumin to the curry paste.  I wanted an extra punch of heat, so added in some red curry paste.  I served this with rice vermicelli, and some blanched bok choy and bean sprouts.  Chunks of cucumber, shredded Chinese cabbage, halved hard-boiled eggs, shredded leftover chicken, cubes of fried tofu, or prawns would all be great options for a few alternative add-ins.

This laksa was perfect for a cold winter evening.  The sweet, soft, nutty pumpkin, silky rice noodles, crispy bok choy and bean sprouts, all bathed in a gorgeously fragrant, coconut-rich broth, was a symphony of flavours and textures, and even though I did a little bit extra for this dish it was hardly arduous work.  I will definitely make this again.

Roasted Pumpkin Laksa
Adapted from recipe by Nigel Slater
from Tender, Vol. I
Makes 4 generous servings
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

350-400g (12-14 oz) pumpkin
olive oil
sesame oil
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

for laksa paste:
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3-4 small, hot, red chillies (remove seeds if you want to moderate heat)
1 shallot, peeled & roughly chopped
3x cloves garlic, peeled & roughly chopped
thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled & roughly chopped
2x stalks of lemongrass, outer leaves discarded & inner stalk roughly chopped
generous bunch of fresh coriander, stems & leaves, roughly chopped
2x kaffir lime leaves, central stem discarded & leaves roughly chopped
small handful of macadamia nuts
1 tablespoon sesame oil

sunflower oil
2 tablespoons red curry paste (I used Asian Home Gourmet brand)

for broth:
sunflower oil
sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2-1/2 cups chicken stock
1x can coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce
juice of 1x lime

to finish:
noodles of your choice
shredded bok choy
bean sprouts
fresh coriander, roughly chopped
fresh mint leaves

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (390 degrees F).

Peel and de-seed pumpkin, and cut into bite-sized chunks.  Put pumpkin pieces into a small bowl.  Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, and cautious drizzle of sesame oil, along with a generous pinch of flaky sea salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.  Toss everything together until pumpkin is well coated with oil and seasonings.  Tip pumpkin out onto an oven tray lined with baking paper, and bake in the preheated oven until golden and just tender - this will probably take around 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and keep warm.

To make the laksa paste, begin by toasting the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry pan until fragrant and slightly coloured.  Remove from pan and add to blender or food processor, along with chillies, shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, fresh coriander, lime leaves, macadamia nuts, and sesame oil.  Blitz until you have a rough paste.

Heat a generous slosh of sunflower oil (about a tablespoon) in a large, deep pan set over medium heat.  Add red curry paste to the pan, and cook, stirring constantly, for a few minutes until the paste is fragrant and "burnished" (but not burnt!!).  Remove paste from pan and set aside.

Return pan to the heat with another generous slosh of sunflower oil, and a slightly more restrained slosh of sesame oil.  Add ground coriander, turmeric and cumin to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the laksa paste to the pan, and cook for several more minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste is very fragrant and almost a little "jammy".  Stir in the red curry paste, chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce and lime juice.  Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for several minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare noodles according to package instructions, and blanch the bok choy and bean sprouts.

To serve, add noodles to deep bowls.  Top with bok choy, bean sprouts and roasted pumpkin.  Pour over the hot broth, and finish with some fresh coriander and mint leaves.

Serve immediately.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see all the other veggie strong dishes that are on the menu this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...

... or check out Tender, Vol. 1 and Nigel's many other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, or Fishpond NZ.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted by my lovely friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum, and at Cook Your Books hosted by the lovely Joyce at Kitchen Flavours.

               

And for just a little more sharing "love", I'm sharing this post at Cooking with Herbs, created by the lovely Karen at Lavender & Lovage, and hosted this month by Lancashire Food.

Tahini Soup

This week is Pot Luck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, and just as I was sitting at the table this morning pondering which one of our wonderful chefs I would choose to cook with, my copy of Food From Many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros leapt out at me from the bookshelf - figuratively, you understand ... thus far, my cookbooks have not taken to actually jumping around the kitchen, which, although potentially interesting, is probably a good thing.

Anyhow, this is a book which I acquired towards the end of our time spent cooking with Tessa, and given how much I like this book I'm a little surprised that I haven't dipped into it more often.  Maybe it's because I always think of Greek food as being quintessentially summer food.  Still, with summer now just around the corner, there's a good chance this book will spend a little less time on the bookshelf and a bit more time out on the kitchen bench over the next few months.

Thumbing through the book, I came across this recipe for Tahini Soup.  I almost passed it by.  It seemed too simple, too unimpressive, and I wasn't even sure that I would like it.  Don't get me wrong, I love tahini, but I do find that in large doses it can be a little overwhelming.  I was certainly prepared not to be wowed by this dish, but it seemed quick and easy and just what I needed for a quick, late-lunch fix today.

This soup truly is the work of moments - in the time it takes to boil pasta it's done - seriously.  Despite the pasta, it is not a heavy or stodgy soup - instead it has lightness, and warmth, and is deliciously comforting.  My first impression when I tasted for seasoning before serving it was "pleasant enough, nice nutty flavour, but somewhat ordinary".  But, don't be fooled ... add the topping of toasted sesame seeds, smoky paprika, warming cayenne, and zesty lemon, along with a drizzle of the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can lay your hands on, and all of a sudden you have wow factor in spades.

In her introduction to the recipe, Tessa says, "This is a very simple soup that can be made in minutes.  Traditionally it's from the Cycladic Islands and is eaten in the week leading up to Easter, or on Good Friday when simple meat-free foods are eaten."  I say, eat this delicious soup any time you want maximum flavour for minimum effort.  I will definitely be making this again, in fact I think this just became my "go-to" soup.

Tahini Soup

Adapted from recipe by Tessa Kiros from

Food From Many Greek Kitchens

Makes 2 generous servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

4 cups boiling water

1 cup pasta shapes (I used casareccia)

salt

juice of 1-1/2 lemons

1/2 cup tahini

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika

pinch cayenne pepper

grated zest of 1 lemon

extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Bring water to the boil in a medium sized saucepan.  Salt the water, but not quite as generously as you normally might for boiling pasta, as this water will form the basis of your soup - about 1 heaped teaspoon should do it. Add pasta to the boiling salted water  Cook according to packet instructions until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan over moderate heat, and toast the sesame seeds in the dry pan until golden.  Add the paprika, cayenne pepper, and lemon zest.  Stir until everything is combined, and remove immediately from the heat.  Remove to a small bowl so that the seeds don't continue cooking.

In another small bowl combine the lemon juice and tahini, add a ladleful of the boiling pasta water, and whisk until the mixture is smooth.

As soon as the pasta is cooked, add the lemon-tahini mixture to the pan and continue to stir over heat for a couple of minutes, until the tahini mixture has been fully combined.  Taste and add a little more salt if necessary.

Ladle into serving bowls, sprinkle over some of the sesame and paprika mixture, add a little freshly ground black pepper, and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

If you would like to get to know Tessa a little better, check out Food From Many Greek Kitchens and many of Tessa's other great titles available from Amazon or Fishpond NZ.

         

Do go and see what else my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs have cooked up for this week's Pot Luck ...

I'm also sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted by my good friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen, at Cook Your Books, hosted by the lovely Joyce at Kitchen Flavours, and at Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.