White Sweet Potato, Lentil & Rainbow Chard Soup (vegan & gluten-free)

Rocket & Roses Kitchen Play List:

Santana ~ (Da Le) Yaleo
The Zutons ~ Little Red Door
The Union ~ The Remedy
Nickelback ~ Because Of You
Brandi Carlile ~ Things I Regret
Nerina Pallot ~ When Did I Become Such A Bitch
Def Leppard ~ Turn To Dust
Colour Of Noise ~ Medicine Man
Shakira ~ La Tortura 
Mr Buble ~ All Of Me
Muse ~Psycho
Beth Hart ~ Missing You
The Dead Daisies ~ Sleep
KT Tunstall ~ Suddenly I See           


Wow, has it really been seven months since I last posted a blog? I'm really sorry about that but in all honesty I wouldn't be posting this one today unless I had found this recipe draft and attached photo in my archives. Its enough to say that my ailments have been winning quite a few battles of late but not the war! Which for me is the most important part. Anyway....

This recipe is one I made when on my bliss filled holiday in Kent last November. Goodness me, how I wish I was headed that way again in a couple of weeks. Good memories...even the bittersweet ones. As you can imagine two weeks living by the raging sea of Birchington was at times quite chilly. (Especially if you had all doors and windows open to listen to the waves! 24/7 Ahem! Righto...) So I was enjoying warm salads like my previous post and hot glorious soups for my lunches.

This one is an adapted version of a soup from the fantastic vegan cook Linda Majzlik and her inspiring A Vegan Taste Of Series. In particular A Vegan Taste Of Mexico. Its a deeply satisfying soup with a kick of heat from the chillies and paprika but the stars of this beautiful soup are the wholesome sweet potatoes and the red lentils. In the original recipe its the splendid orange jewels of sweet potato but my friend had found some white fleshed sweet potatoes and they worked equally as well. I also had a stash of beautifully coloured rainbow chard which I'd picked up from a Kent grocers that had an abundance of magnificent fruits and veggies for sale. 

This recipe is not hard work and greatly enjoyable as the aromas take over your home. The white sweet potatoes have a slightly reduced amount of natural sugars which really worked for me and the addition of the ribbons of chard made it a complete meal in a bowl. Spoil yourself and give this one a try...I haven't served it up to anyone who hasn't devoured it yet!

White Sweet Potato, Lentil & Rainbow Chard Soup (vegan & gluten-free)

White Sweet Potato, Lentil & Rainbow Chard Soup
(Adapted recipe from A Vegan Taste of Mexico/Majzilk) 

12oz/350g white sweet potato, peeled and diced
4oz/100g split red lentils
4oz/100g tomato, skinned and chopped
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, micro-grated
1 dsp rapeseed oil
30 fl oz/900 ml veggie stock
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
6 rainbow chard leaves, heavy stalks removed and chopped, leaves cut into ribbons, set separately to one side
freshly ground black pepper 
fresh coriander leaves

In a soup pan gently heat the oil and add the onion, chilli and garlic. Saute until soft. Add the tomato and cook until pulpy. Stir in the paprika and evenly distribute before adding the lentils and stock. Season with black pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes then add the potato and chard stalks. Continue simmering for another 20 minutes or so until the potato is cooked. Then stir in the chard leaves and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve with a generous amount of chopped fresh coriander over the top. Serves 4

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is being kind...

~Red~

NB: This is not my recipe, I simply adapted Linda Majzilks fabulous recipe from her fantastic cookbook A Vegan Taste of Mexico. I send out thanks to her for sharing such great recipes. If using this recipe please give credit where it is due and thank the lady. Many thanks...~R~  

Rocket & Roses Thai Scented Veggies (vegan & gluten-free)

Rocket & Roses Kitchen Play List:

Mr Bowie ~ What In The World
Styx ~ Babe
KT Tunstall ~ Hopeless
Gregory Porter ~ I Fall In Love Too Easily
Bizet ~ Marche: Carmen
Kay Starr ~ If I Could Be With You 
Blackberry Smoke ~ Crimson Moon
Neal Schon & Beth Hart ~ I Wanna Know You
Willie Nelson ~ Georgia On my Mind
Truth Hurts ~ Addictive
Blur ~ Country House
The Beautiful South ~ Dream A Little Dream
KORN ~ Got The Life
Beethoven: Piano Sonata#14 in C Sharp "Moonlight"

Shortcuts! A necessary evil in my kitchen right now. I will happily harvest fresh herbs and spend time chopping them up and filling bags and stashing them in my freezer. When I am well enough...so buying the vastly overpriced frozen packets of the same thing from the supermarkets always causes me to twitch with horror. But I do cruise those frozen aisles and check out if they have anything new. And a recent visit to a supermarket near us I found something new indeed. Waitrose have started selling a frozen Thai Mix which has blend of chopped lemongrass, garlic, chilli, coriander and ginger. How could that be wrong in the world of cooking shortcuts? 

I often crave the scents and intense Thai flavours but setting about with the often lengthy list of ingredients is beyond my capabilities right now. So a bag of ready chopped Thai basics seemed like heaven to me. I had a stash of fresh veggies that I wanted to use to cook in a coconut milk sauce. When buying this shortcut I also picked up some beautiful little baby potatoes and a box of rainbow carrots. I decided to forego the usual noodles or rice to accompany this type of dish and go for the root veggies and enjoy them without guilt. Its all about balance, eh? 

Rocket & Roses Thai Scented Veggies (vegan & gluten-free)

Rocket & Roses Thai Scented Veggies    Serves 4
(Original recipe from the Rocket & Roses Vegan Kitchen)

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 large onion, sliced  
4 tbsp Waitrose Thai Mix 
2 cups baby potatoes, left whole

3 long thin orange carrots, trimmed and sliced
1 long thin yellow carrot, trimmed and sliced
1 long thin red carrot, trimmed and sliced
OR 5 long orange carrots
1 cup fine green beans, cut into 1" pieces
6 thick asparagus stalks, tips removed & set aside, stalks cut into 1.5" pieces
1 heaped cup of frozen edamame beans
1 cup hot veggie stock
2 cups Brussels sprout tops, finely sliced or other dark green
1 14oz tin of coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp hot chilli paste
large handful chopped fresh coriander
8 fresh Thai basil leaves, finely sliced
freshly ground black pepper - to season

Heat the coconut oil gently in a wok or skillet. Add the onion and saute until softened. Add the Waitrose Thai Mix to the onions and evenly distribute. Add in the potatoes and stir well to coat. Cover and cook stirring frequently for 5 minutes. 

Add in the carrots, green beans, asparagus stalks, edamame beans and the stock. Stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 3 minutes. 

Stir in the coconut milk and chilli paste, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until bubbling. Sprinkle the sliced greens and asparagus tips over the top and cover again. Leave to cook for 5 minutes. 

Stir in the fresh coriander and Thai basil leaves and season with freshly cracked black pepper. Spoon into serving bowls with extra coriander scattered over the top. 

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your week is a good one.  

~Red~

NB: This is my creation. I have no problems with you using it or sharing it. I simply ask that you give credit where its due and provide links back to this posting. Namaste...~R~