Tag: Soup

Minestrone soup with pumpkin and mushrooms

Minestrone soup with pumpkin and mushrooms

This minestrone is a more wintery version of the popular soup with pumpkin and mushrooms However, I suspect minestrone soup can have as many variations as the combinations of vegetables and meats that can be found in a refrigerator. It’s a soup that reminds me 

Pea soup

Pea soup

This pea soup is fast, delicious, nutritious and is made with minimal effort and prep. We all have days when we just don’t feel like cooking, but still want something healthy, tasty and good value with household staples. I’ve used frozen fine peas here. If 

How to always have nutritious pulses handy

How to always have nutritious pulses handy

When preparing beans I usually soak and sprout twice the amount needed for my recipe. Leftover pulses are stored in the freezer for immediate use in another recipe.

Sprouted chickpeas: 24 hours soaking, 2 days sprouting

What does “sprouting” mean?

First, I wash the pulses well. Then, I soak them in plenty of water, preferably with a little yogurt or kefir serum for 12-24 hours, depending on their type.

The next day, I spread them out in a colander, where I rinse them thoroughly and let them drain. To keep the sink area clear, I rest the colander on a shallow baking tray of the same size. The pan should be shallow enough for the air to circulate freely.

I leave them to sprout for 1-3 days, just covered with a muslin. I make sure to “water” them by rinsing them every 6 hours. I also mix them well, to redistribute them in the colander, as there is more moisture towards the bottom compared to the top.

Once they’ve sprouted, I rinse them well before cooking or storing them in the freezer. On really hot days, I soak & sprout in the fridge.

Sprouted cannellini beans: 24 hours soaking, 24 hours sprouting

Why do I put myself (and my beans) through this process?

Mainly because legumes contain nutritional inhibitors that hinder the absorption of nutrients. By soaking, sprouting and cooking or serving with small amounts of meat or fish, you can enrich the meals of young children. They usually eat very small amounts, so every spoonful should be packed with nutrients.

According to the Ministry of Development:

“Sprouting reduces anti-nutrients such as vegetable salts, tannins and polyphenols. Proteins, carbohydrates and lipids begin to degrade from enzymes so that the germ becomes more digestible …. The absorption of iron is reduced by the presence of anti-nutrients when the meal consists only of legumes. But it is improved by cooking and by combining with meat, fish or poultry, or in the presence of ascorbic acid in the meal. ”

Georgios Argyrakos Gepaini, M. Phil. (Bioengineering), “THE LEGUMES IN IATROFI AND Health”

You can find more information in this brochure of the World Food and Agriculture Organization:

The soaking of pulses saves cooking time, makes the beans more digestible and their nutrients more readily available… Sprouting also increases the contents of vitamins and the availability of metals and trace elements.

FAO 2016

Let’s rewarded ourselves for our patience with “Fasolatha” a traditional white bean soup with “apaki” Cretan cured pork.

“Fasolatha” Soup

  • 0,5 kg white small beans
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 leeks, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 red pepper in 3-4 large pieces
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1.5 liters broth
  • 200 gr. Apaki or pancetta sliced
  • Juice from half a lemon

Soak the beans in plenty of water for 24 hours. Rinse and sprout as described above. It will take 24-48 hours to see the first sprouts.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently fry all the vegetables for 5 ‘ to soften along with the bay leaf. Add the cold broth and beans, then bring to the boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 30 ‘ to 40 ‘. Check often because with soaking beans cook and soften much faster.

When the beans are done, take out the pepper and some of the bean soup with a ladle. Pour it into the blender and liquidize. Strain back into the bean soup, stir well and bring back to the boil for 5′. Meanwhile, quickly fry the Apaki in a frying pan for 5′ and add the lemon juice at the end. Serve the “fasolatha” soup with a little apaki on every plate.

Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup

This is probably considered the simplest, most everyday family meal in Greek families. Even then, a simple dish can have its secrets. Equally loved and loved by children, this starchy soup brings back childhood memories as a comforting and filling dish. Although soaking lentils is 

“Youvarlakia” soup with meat dumplings & yogurt

“Youvarlakia” soup with meat dumplings & yogurt

Youvarlakia is a traditional Greek soup featuring meat dumplings with rice and an “avgolemono” (egg and lemon) sauce. I had never tasted them growing up in Greece, since my expat Irish mom didn’t even know them. As I have no childhood memories, I felt quite 

Pumpkin soup with Ginger

Pumpkin soup with Ginger

While chicken soup is the consolation prize during the winter’s viruses, this pumpkin soup is for cold blustery days, that feeling you might be coming down with something, even to cheer you up with its vivid color and its sweet and spicy taste, guaranteed to brighten the dark winter months.

In our house there is always homemad bone broth hanging around the kitchen, sometimes simmering for hours on the hob, others counting days down in the fridge, always waiting patiently in the freezer. Our magic kitchen genie always ready to to impart flavour and enrich all our dishes. This soup does not ask for much, a few roughly chopped vegetables and some broth, prepped in 5-10 minutes and then gently simmering away. It’s very simple, but so very rewarding.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil or olive oil
  • 800 gr pumpkin or butternut squash, roughly chopped
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 leek, roughly chopped
  • 4 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger grated or 1 tbsp dried
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 pinch of cumin
  • 1.5 liters of homemade broth
  • Salt, pepper
  • For serving: crème fraîche or yogurt

In a large pot, sauté the of onion, leek and carrots in oil over a high heat for 5′. Add the pumpkin and spices and stir well. Sauté for another 2′ and then add the broth. Cover and simmer for 40 ‘ until the carrots are well softened. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper and let it simmer for 3 minutes.

Serve with rustic bread and a spoonful of crème fraîche or yogurt.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

If it’s a tad too sophisticated for your little one’s palate, try using a pasta shape they know and like, for a fresh look…

Maria’s Chicken Soup

Maria’s Chicken Soup

Our daughter did not seem interested in any type of food as a toddler, until she tried this soup at my friend Maria’s home, who graciously shared her recipe. It’s been part of our family menu ever since.