food hits and misses

Lately I've been trying to mix things up a bit in the kitchen. Mostly because I want to make sure we have a diverse diet, but also because I'm sick of cooking the same meals over and over. So rather than making a standard red lentil and sweet potato soup, I had a flick through some cook books for inspiration, decided on a recipe, than changed it to suit the stuff in the fridge.

The end result was a combination of sweet and spicy flavours that complimented each other perfectly. It's not a heavy soup; more a starter, or the main course in a meal that includes an energy-dense dessert. If you wanted to make it a healthy main course, try adding lentils or cannellini beans for a bit of bulk.

I'm not a fan of super hot chilli, so used Goya Smoky Ancho Piquant sauce, which is a blend of ancho and habenero chillis, with a little bit of other stuff thrown in for extra flavour. Its yummy, but if you can't get any, then Tobasco red or chipotle would do the job.

Spicy red and orange vegetable soup

1 tbspn olive oil
4 leeks
4 cloves garlic
1 tbspn cumin
1/2 tspn cracked pepper
1 large sweet potato
5 carrots
6 cups vegetable stock
1 red capsicum
1 orange capsicum
1 tspn chilli sauce

Method

Heat half the oil in a large stock pot or French oven. Chop the leeks finely and saute until softened. Crush the garlic and add to the pan along with the cumin and pepper. Cook for around 1 minute, then reduce the heat. Roughly chop the sweet potato and carrot, then add to the pot with the stock. Allow to simmer over low heat for 30 - 45 minutes, until the carrot is soft. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and cook the capsicum until soft and fragrant. Add to the soup with the chilli. Simmer another 5 - 10 minutes, then allow to cool slightly before blending with a stick mixer. Serve with sour cream.

With winter making an encore performance, a hearty soup seemed like a good idea. Sweet potato and red lentil is a bit of a staple at our place. You can season it as much or as little as you like, and it's always filling. If you don't have any laksa seasoning, substitute with fresh, minced or dried chilli, cayenne pepper or galangal.

Sweet potato and lentil soup

1 tbspn olive oil
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 tspn cumin
1 tspn turmeric
1 tspn cracked black pepper
3 tspn laksa seasoning
1 cup red lentils
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbspn coriander, finely chopped

Method

Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan. Add the leek, and saute until tender. Add the sweet potato and spices. Stir to coat. Add the stock and lentils. Cover and simmer until the sweet potato is soft - around 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Stir through coconut milk. Serve with chopped coriander.