Base Soup Meal 2 - Creamy Curry Soup in a Snap!

My little sister Nikki called while I was making this, so I am not really sure how long it took to make. But if memory serves me right, it was pretty quick- or Snappy if you will. And, since she called I wasn't able to take as many photos as I usually like to share with my recipe posts, so you'll have to use your imagination.

This is the second dinner I made using the Garden Tomato Base Soup or Sauce. I am really getting into the idea of the "base soup" concept. I have some great ideas for the next few dinners, but will keep you waiting in expense to find out what I was able to do.

I found myself dreaming of curry the other day (I know-shocker since I <3 Curry SO much!). I think I was remembering a conversation I had with my Indian friend, Anette, and how she uses curry almost everyday. We discussed the Tomatillo as we worked in the college community garden together. Anette had never heard of a tomatillo, so I explained its unique tomato-like texture with hints of chili flavor. I ventured to guess that a tomatillo would make a delicious green curry... if my freaking tomatillos ever come in in my own garden, I'll venture to prove my guess correct. But don't hold your breath since they are still not in and it's nearly October!

I digress...this post is not about tomatillos or green curry. It's about a curry dish I made with my Garden Tomato Base Soup or Sauce. And it's about how damn tasty and super quick it was to make (since the base was already started).

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C base tomato soup or sauce 

3/4 - 1 C water 

1 Jalapeno pepper

3 T dry red lentils

1/4 C Almond Milk, Unsweetened
1 T Curry powder
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp white pepper

1/2 loaf of Na'an

Make it: 

1. Heat the base tomato soup and the water to a boil, stir in red lentils and simmer covered. 
2. While that mixture is cooking, roast the pepper on the flame of the stove burner. 
3. Once the skin is scorched, toss it in a paper bag for 5 minutes to cool. 
4. Stir the tomato mixture. Peel the pepper, seed and dice it. Toss it in the tomato mix, recover and simmer. 
5. When the lentils have softened, the new soup mix should be relatively thick. 
6. Start toasting or heating the Na'an anyway you prefer- careful not to burn it. 
7. Stir or whip the soup using a handle held blender to make the mix smooth. Stir in the almond milk and remove from heat. 
8. Pour into a serving bowl and serve with Na'an. This got a little spicy, so it was nice to temper it with the Na'an. Though if calories and carbs of real concern, then you can skip the tasty bread and just fill up on this oh so satisfying soup. 

And there you have it...yet another yummy dinner for 1, with just the right amount of protein and calories and filling goodness to last the whole night. And all for under 400 calories (again, take out the Na'an and we're under 300) with 16 grams of protein and many other nutrients!

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 356.1

Total Fat: 7.8 g

Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Sodium: 428.2 mg

Total Carbs: 60.2 g

Dietary Fiber: 12.7 g

Protein: 16.0 g

I Love Curry!

Really, anything curried is fine by me. Well I mean given it's not animal. But give me any vegetable, bean, rice, bread, etc. with curry and I'm all over that! A few weeks ago, August 4th to be exact, I found myself wandering the streets of the Devon neighborhood on the far north side of Chicago. Devon is known for its diverse restaurants and shops.

"Here, one traveling eastward will encounter, in succession, an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, a Russian American neighborhood, an Indian American neighborhood, aPakistani American neighborhood, and a Bangladeshi American neighborhood." 

"Devon's Desi corridor is one of the best-known and largest communities of its kind in North America. It exists mainly on Devon between Ravenswood Ave. and California Ave. South Asian shops, restaurants and grocery stores abound along this strip, and it has become a popular tourist destination." 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon_Avenue_(Chicago)  

When you're in that stretch of Desi, you can smell curry and cardamon for what seems like miles! It's a wonderfully delicious place to wander about. I had no particular place to be or go. I took a 1/2 sick day and was playing hooky (for a damn good reason, so don't judge me) from work. I aimlessly popped in and out of a few stores. I love little neighborhood shops where I know my hard earned dollars will go towards supporting the folks that are also working hard to earn their own dollars. (Stop me here- but I think it's possible that supporting local economy actually might help the larger economy grow *gasp*).
With each pop in and out, I ended up loading my backpack with tons of spices, including Hot Curry Powder, a bunch of lentils and- Bonus!- I found a birthday present for my little sister, Nikki. I can't tell you what it is, since her birthday isn't until October, but it will involve her making food. Should I ever get to sample said food or at least get a picture of it, I'll post it. Fingers crossed I get a sample, since now I know the suspense is painful!

Fast forward 3 weeks: I am searching my cabinets for inspiration and put my fingers on the giant bag of red lentils and the Hot Curry- immediately, I could taste that day I wandered Devon.
Self to Self: "Man, I haven't had lentils in a while... I think that'll do it! Ooo, do I still have Na'an? Freezer, freezer in my kitchen, please tell me I have Na'an...I do- bitchin! (I know, cheese-y, but if you know me then you know that's what I am.) That's it then, Hot Red Lentil Stew with Warm, buttery Na'an. Mmm..."

Hot Red Lentil Stew
(I call it 'stew' because of the tomatoes. I don't know if that's really correct, but it works for me.)

Ingredients

• 1/4 C Red lentils (dry) 
• 1 C Water 
• 1/4 C Onions, chopped
• 2 Italian Red Ripe Tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp Ginger Root minced
• 2 tsp Garlic minced
• 3 tsp Hot Curry Powder  
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Grapeseed Oil 
• 1/2 C Swiss Chard chopped

Make It

Prepare the ingredients. Chop the onions, tomatoes and chard. Mince the garlic and ginger. Mix the dry spices in a separate dish and pour the water into a measuring cup. This will all come together very quickly.

Saute onions in oil for 2 minutes. Add garlic, stir 2 minutes (over med-hi heat) add spices, stir, add tomatoes + 1 T water, cover 3 minutes to cook down the tomatoes. 

Then add the rest of the water, bring to a boil, add the lentils. Return to a boil, reduce to rolling simmer and cook until lentils are soft. About 15-20 minutes. You may need to add water to get the lentils soft enough for you. When the lentils are soft to liking remove from the heat and stir in the chopped, fresh Swiss Chard. It will wilt in the stew but not cook down to mush. 

Serve with warm Na'an bread and a little butter. According to the package of Na'an I bought from Trader Joe's, 1 piece is 190 calories. It's really large, so I split it in half. The nutritional info below includes the Na'an. So the lentil stew itself is about 270-280 calories*.

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 365.4*

Total Fat: 7.1 g

Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Sodium: 446.0 mg

Total Carbs: 61.1 g

Dietary Fiber: 12.5 g

Protein: 19.9 g

Curried Chickpea Hash

The other day I rehydrated chickpeas thinking I would make a larger batch of something curry related- it is Ramadan after all (no, I am not Muslim nor do I practice Islam- I just like an excuse to make different culturally unique foods, and holidays). Alas, I did not get around to it. Today, while I sat at my regular, real-job desk and thought of things to help me procrastinate from doing real work, I thought about what to make for dinner. I remembered the chickpeas, sitting in water in my fridge. I remembered a big hunk of ginger root and my (I know it's cheating) incredibly convenient jar of crushed garlic. I thought of these really cute onions I picked up from a local farmer (through a great store-front, Green Grocer Chicago) and the sweet pepper that was ripening (on one of my very own garden peppers plant!) as I continued to think. What else can I add? What can I do with all this?

Hash.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking...well, either two things where one involves hog, which given I don't eat that this does not relate, and the other- well, lets just say it's unfortunate that's not legal in this country. What I am talking about is the general idea of foods called hash- a bunch of stuff, usually chopped or shredded, fried in a light oil to browning.

That's exactly what I did. And the recipe follows. Also, I was feeling a little like a cold might be coming on, so I used a lot of ginger and garlic- probably more than I normally would in a dish like this. I also choose to use the Hot Curry Powder vs normal curry, since spicy foods help cleanse as well as ginger and garlic.

With all of that heat and flavor, I wanted something to go along with it to temper it. I made a goat cheese sandwich with fresh from the garden chives, dill and cucumber slices (about 130 calories). It really was a lovely pairing. Thought next time and if calories that day are not an issue for me, I think I'll try it on Na'an or Tandoori bread to go with the rich ginger and curry flavors of the hash.

This hash turned out pretty ok. Something else I might try different is a way to make it stick together more for the browning to work well. See below for complete nutritional info, again brought to us by the resourceful SparkPeople Recipe Calculator. With the sandwich and hash, I had yet another completely filling, satisfying less than 300 calorie dinner! (Sorry the pictures aren't the best. When I make this again, I'll update with prettier images)

Curried Ginger Chickpea Hash Ingredients
Broccoli, fresh, 1 C chopped
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 1/3 C pre-soaked
Onions, raw, .25 cup, sliced (1 really small, like a shallot)
Carrots, raw, 0.25 cup, grated in strips (1 small carrot)
Celery, 1/4 C chopped (1 stalk of celery)
Curry (hot or not, up to you) powder, 1 tsp
Garlic, 2 tsp
Ginger Root, 3 tsp

Get Cookin'

1. Boil beans with water, 1/2 ginger, 1/2 garlic and frozen broccoli for about 10-15 minutes, until beans are softer and broccoli is soft as well. 
2. Reserve some of the stock in a small skillet. Drain the rest. Coarsely process the chickpea/broccoli mixture and set aside.
3. While the beans are cooking, prepare the onions and carrots to be slices or shredded and the celery chopped small. Add the vegetables to the water in the skillet, heat and stir to soften the veggies and add the remaining ginger and garlic at this time as well.
4. Drain and remove from pan. Wipe the pan clean, spray with olive oil and heat. Mix both mixtures together and put in the pan making one flat layer covering the whole pan. Fry for a few minutes to brown that side. Then stir and fry more to brown more. 
5. Serve with a tasty sandwich or eggs for a complete meal. 

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 170.7
Total Fat: 1.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 311.8 mg
Total Carbs: 34.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 9.1 g
Protein: 8.2 g