Suck it up Soup

Well, that's what I tell the kids.....

This is a lovely little recipe - fantastic when there is NOTHING in the pantry.... from a cookbook called Monday Morning Cooking Club, a group of Jewish Australian women who wanted to preserve their family recipes and inspire and share, and encourage community. What a lovely idea! I can't wait to try a few more from this book!

Karen Gutman's Israeli Couscous Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
2 x 400g tin tomatoes, chopped or crushed
1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
250g Israeli couscous
1 bunch parsley, chopped

Method

Heat oil in a saucepan, add onion and fry for 10 mins, or until light brown. Add cumin and stir through onion for a few minutes.
Add the tomatoes and stock, season generously with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer gently for 20 minutes, uncovered.
Add the couscous and cook for a further 8 - 12 minutes, or until the couscous is cooked through. Taste to check the seasoning. You may need to add up to 1 cup of extra stock if the soup is too thick or has been left to stand before serving. Stir in parsley and serve.

Note: I left it a bit before serving, and if definitely thickened up! More like a stew than a soup, but that opens up other ideas...

I served with home-made crouton batons - (easier to dip!), but I would love to try this with labneh - which I want to try making when my book arrives at the library (I love ordering library books online, a luxury when one doesn't usually get the time to browse the shelves because the librarian has asked you to take your four year old out side please). I know it is technically a more Turkish/Lebanese - depending who you talk to, let's just say middle eastern, as opposed to Jewish, per se, though that is arguable too, and really, I don't care who created it. I just like to eat it. Ok? But I imagine it would complement this soup well enough. Heck, I think I just love yoghurt and cheese and could eat them with anything... Hello? Have you all left??

Lookin' for Some Hot Stuff Baby This Evening...

Are you singing yet? Is it stuck in your head? Should I write the rest of the lyrics out? No? :D

We eat alot of curries in our house, and the far and AWAY favourite is Butter Chicken. I am told it can be very fattening, but that depends on what goes in, right? As it happens, I have just put a butter chicken in the croc-pot for dinner. I LOVE my croc-pot. I know it isn't a summer recipe, but I like to make things that have left overs for the MOTH's lunch, so if I have a few lunches in the fridge for him to take to work, then I can cheat on another night and make something simple... but then, there's not much that is simpler than chucking a few things in your croc-pot....

 The recipe I am going to share here though, is not your average butter chicken. It is a fab recipe from Sophie Gray, and if you haven't heard of Sohpie Gray.... (http://www.destitutegourmet.com/) then you are probably a far better cook/budgeter than I am! She has helped me an awful lot! It is from her 'Everyday Smart Food for the Family' book.

 I like this recipe because it is a ONE-POT-WONDER and can feed 6 people, with only ONE chicken breast (or thigh, if it's on special!). So if you're trying to up your protein intake, this is probably not the recipe for you! Add some green beans and naan on the side and it'll go further- Yay! It is also really quick to make (NOT like a croc-pot!), but it helps to remember to MARINATE the chicken well before you start. If I am really sorted and have it defrosted in by the morning, I'll mix it up then and leave it for the day. My forgetting this step has made dinner late on more than one occasion.... But! It has always been eaten without complaint!

Butter Chicken Soup

Marinade for Chicken 
1 tbspn lemon juice
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
1 tsp grated ginger
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed

 Soup
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (or equivalent weight boneless, skinless thigh meat, marinated
1 tbspn butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp grated ginger
1 can tomatoes (chopped or crushed best) with juice
3 cups chicken stock (powder or fresh)
1/4 basmati rice
2 tbspn tomato paste
1 tbspn plain flour
2 tbspn brown sugar
1/4 cup cream or yoghurt

 Yoghurt and fresh corander to garnish, naan etc to serve.

 Method 

 Combine the marinade ingredients in a glass bowl or zip lock bag. Cut the meat into small pieces, or slice thinly and mix into marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

 To make the soup, melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the marinated chicken and onion. Stir constantly until chicken is sealed and onion is soft. Add the dried spices and ginger, then stir in the tomatoes and chicken stock.

When simmering pour in the basmati rice, stir, and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix together the tomato paste and flour and whisk this, a little at a time, into the soup. Add the brown sugar and cream/yoghurt, and season to taste. Serve in soup bowls with extra yoghurt and fresh coriander with some torn naan for dipping.