As I write this blog I'm sat munching on the most delicious black grapes...the weather is blowing a gale and our poor apple tree is taking a severe battering..and the sock stealer is once again trying to get a ball out from under the bucket chair in my workroom. lol. He never learns. Apparently..neither do I! This last week I have prepped probably 20 chillies..or even more. And today I was making this soup and once again forgot to wear my gloves! Yep, my grapes have a slight burn of chilli hotness to them! (I have washed my hands about eight times now! Urgh!) My lips are definitely tingling. But the biggest rookie error I made today was to just slam my knife down on the largest chilli on the chopping board and get chilli juice in my eye! The Simpsons fans amongst you would definitely being saying "DOH!" to me about now...and I would deserve it. lol. Anyway.....lol
I have been exploring Thai cuisine for the last few days and I found this recipe and knew it was going to be made very soon. The recipe comes from Linda Majzlik's wonderful cook book A Vegan Taste of Thailand
. The recipe calls for Chinese Leaves but they cannot be found in the small town I live in. So I substituted green cabbage for this. I took off the tougher outer leaves and put them to one side for steaming later. I used the paler and softer inner leaves. I sliced them very thinly and they worked wonderfully. I used regular beansprouts although I do love all the varieties of sprouts available. The soup smelt beautiful as it cooked and this soups only take 10-15 minutes tops to make. And it was really, really good.
So on this blustery day, spoil yourself and transport yourself to the beautiful country that is Thailand whilst you enjoy one of their aromatic and tasty soups...
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| Thai Beansprout & Lettuce Soup |
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of Thailand/Majzlik)
6oz/175g beansprouts, rinsed and drained
6oz/175g Chinese leaves or green cabbage, shredded
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp groundnut oil
1 dsp lemon grass puree
26fl oz/775ml veggie stock
4 kaffir lime leaves
black pepper
Fry the shallots, garlic, ginger and chilli in the oil until soft. Add the Chinese leaves and stir around for 1 minute, then put in the beansprouts, lemon grass. stock and lime leaves and season with black pepper. Stir well and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes, then ladle the soup into bowls.
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| Close up shot of Beansprout & Lettuce Soup |
~R~
