The other day I made soup. No, sorry not soup. Brodo (fancy soup). Today I made soup again. All the grey skies and waking up in the dark to go to work will do that to you. Even though it is not technically winter yet, there’s nothing like soup on a dreary day, especially when you have made it in advance and frozen it, then you can continue on in a lazy mood with minimal effort. Although making these soups can be just as enjoyable. I have to agree with my dad when he says nothing beats the smell of onions cooking and both of these soups combine that greatest of cooking smells with oregano and thyme, and curry respectively. Both smells that are not to be sniffed at. Unless it is a good, long, savouring sniff.
Chicken and vegetable brodo
*cover 500g chicken with 2 litres stock and 1 litre water, bring to the boil then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes until cooked through
*shred chicken and retain liquid
*heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in the largest pot you have, add 2 chopped onions, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 4 sprigs oregano, 4 sprigs thyme and 1 bay leaf for 2 minutes
*add 1 bulb of chopped fennel, 2 chopped carrots and 1/2 bunch celery and cook for 10 minutes
*add chicken meat, reserved stock and 1/2 cup of arborio rice. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes
*add 1/2 cup frozen peas, 2 chopped zucchini and 1/2 bunch parsley and simmer for another 5 minutes or until rice is cooked
*add 1 Tbsp olive oil and serve
Mulligatawny soup
*chop 2 large brown onions and heat in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat for 5 minutes until soft
*add 1/4 cup of curry paste and cook for 1 minute
*add 500g chopped chicken, 2 finely chopped zucchini, 1 finely chopped carrot and 2 Tbsp of tomato paste and cook for 10 minutes until chicken is browned
*add 6 cups of cold water and 1 Tbsp chicken stock powder and bring to the boil
*add 1/3 cup of rice, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until chicken and rice is cooked through
*serve while hot with some crusty (in a good way) bread
I couldn’t find curry paste when I went out on my ingredients hunt so decided to make my own. I would definitely recommend it, not only is the recipe below easy but it makes exactly 1/4 cup, must be fate!
Curry paste
*combine 1/3 cup white vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil
*finely chop 2 red chillis and 4 cloves of garlic
*combine all of the above and add:
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp mustard powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
1 Tbsp ground coriander seeds
3 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp black pepper
*done! Unless it is too moist (uck), in which case put it through a sieve like I did
I will leave you now, no doubt with a craving to make soup. But also with this musing: even though the brodo recipe is from an expensive cookbook (Karen Martini’s ‘Cooking at Home’) and the Mulligatawny recipe is from a cheap food magazine (June 2011 ‘Super Food Ideas’), I preferred the Mulligatawny. The brodo was quite bland when following the recipe to the letter and next time I’ll try to make it taste a bit more interesting. Plus I just love the name Mulligatawny (Yay Colonialism! Right guys?! Guys?).
A Day In The Food 