Now that there is a bit of a chill in the air, I have started to think about hot, nourishing soups.
We often have soup for lunch once the colder weather starts, but main- dish soups for dinner make a welcome change too.
Sturdy, heart-warming soups stand on their own as one-dish meals. Serve with a crusty bread and a salad. Substantial, totally satisfying and perfect comfort food for a winter's day.
Soup is easy to make. Long slow simmering is required for some soups so that all the ingredients are cooked and flavours have time to meld and mingle but the preparation time is usually brief.
Well-made soup simmering away on the back burner fills the kitchen with inviting smells and makes home a warm and wonderful place to be.
Kumara, coconut and spinach soup
Although the vegetables I have used here are available year round, I tend to think of this soup as a warming winter brew.
Chilli and coconut cream, as always, make for a winning combination and I think a warm one. The colour, a deep orange, heavily shot through with the intense green of the spinach is both dramatic and cheerful.
This soup can be prepared ahead of time and frozen once puréed.
Add the coconut milk and spinach just before serving.
Serves 5-6.
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp finely-chopped root ginger
3/4 -1 tsp fresh chopped chilli or commercially prepared chilli
600g orange kumara, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup low-fat coconut milk or cream
200g fresh spinach leaves, finely sliced (stalks discarded)
salt and pepper to taste
Extra coconut milk to garnish
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and sauté, stirring frequently for 4-5 minutes.
Add the kumara and vegetable stock.
Cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes or until the kumara is soft.
Purée in a food processor or use a stick blender to mix until smooth.
Gently reheat the soup without boiling.
Add the coconut milk and spinach and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the spinach has just wilted and the soup has heated through.
Season to taste.
Pour soup into heated bowls, swirl an extra teaspoonful of coconut milk into each bowl and serve.
