Tag: Vegan

Golden Goddess Soup


Golden Goddess Soup/ Dahl

This is my go-to January/February blues tonic. It warms, revitalizes and gives me the central heating I crave – so I glow like a “goddess”! If you are want to cleanse after the season of excess, if you are doing “Veganuary”,  if you are feeling the “SAD” then this is your liquor!

The method is simplicity itself and as it thickens it becomes  “dahl” to serve as a nourising and cheap meal.

Ingredients: for 6-8 generous portions

  • 500g red lentils
  • 1 large onion chopped lazily
  • 5 cloves of garlic chopped in half
  • 2 tbsp olive oil,
  • 50g-100g ginger, peeled with teaspoons – chopped roughly
  • 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
  • 3 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp cardamom pods (remove before blitzing)
  • 1.5 litres of organic vegetable stock
  • Optional: 300g boiled carrots, pumpkin, squash (use leftovers)
  • Salt to taste

How To

  1. Lightly fry the onions and spices and garlic until just translucent. Do not brown.  Add any veggies the stock and the lentils and the ginger.
  2. Bring to the boil
  3. Lower to a very gentle simmer and cook until the lentils and veggies are soft – approximately 30minutes
  4. Take out the cardamom pods
  5. Blitz until smooth. If it is thick – reserve a portion to eat as dahl with rice. Thin the remainder with water to serve as your soup.
  6. I like to serve the soup garnished with olive oil and fresh coriander but thick yogurt is nice too.  The dahl I serve with rice, a fresh chutney and slices of avocado.

Mostarda di Cremona (No refined sugar)

The “con brio” to your winter cheese board with its citrus, hot mustard, pear and dried fruit bright mix. And alongside Stilton on a digestive biscuit, it has shot to the top of my favourites list.

This Italian “sweet and sour sauce” take – traditionally is made in the region of Cremona from where comes Italian mustard (“mostarda”) and violins of course. The pears need to retain their “crunch” and not dissolve into a mush so hard varieties such as “Lucas” (as I used here with their rather fluorescent green colour) or “Conference” that grace the shelves in winter, work well.

I have adjusted the recipe to be made with fruit sugar and grape juice concentrate and for an extra taste “pop” added a mix of whole pink, green and black peppercorns and coriander seeds! Unlike jam it does not need any setting so once all the chopping is done it just needs a snooze overnight to macerate in the fridge and then a very gentle simmer before bottling.

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