Tandoori Carrot, Lentil & Apple Soup
This cold has wrestled me to the ground and is sitting on my face. You’re likely as sick of it (pun intended) as I am, but it (my cold) has everything to do with the recipe du jour – it inspired me to make soup.
The most appealing foods have been hot and sippable, and the thought of something smooth and full of spices, vitamin C, garlic and ginger was irresistible. I saw it on Dan’s blog and loved the idea of using a tandoori spice blend in soup, much like I (habitually) use curry paste or powder. And I just so happened to have a bottle on the back of my shelf. How could a cold possibly survive a hot blast of tandoori spices, garlic, ginger and enough carrots to choke Bugs Bunny?
Because I was not feeling up to snuff, I didn’t pay full attention to the original recipe and wound up more or less doing my own thing – onions, celery, carrots, a handful of red lentils for good measure – I didn’t have the zucchini Dan called for, and meant to try the apple cider vinegar but forgot. I’m not a fan of fennel so intentionally forgot that.
And do you see that ravishingly golden chunk of dough sitting precariously on the edge of my mug? It’s one of Aviv‘s biscuits, which I bought at Friday night’s Hillhurst-Sunnyside Christmas Market (along with a few eggnog-poppyseed) and which i thought were plain old (as if) cheese, but when I broke my (freshly warmed) scone open, I found, as if opening a present, it was full of chunks of bacon. Bless you, Aviv. By the way, he’s one of the bakeries that will be joining me downtown in the lobby of the Suncor building between 12-1 on Tuesday for our third annual Upscale Bake Sale as part of the CBC Suncor Food Bank Drive. Other participants include Urban Baker, Brûlée Patisserie and Buttercream Bakeshoppe. Can’t wait. Scones, bread, cupcakes and cookies (and more!) for a great cause.
Tandoori Carrot, Lentil & Apple Soup
inspired by Dan’s Good Side
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large onion
2-3 celery stalks (with leaves)
4-5 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. tandoori powder
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
4-6 large carrots, peeled and chopped
small handful dry red lentils (optional)
1 apple, chopped
1 L chicken or veg stock
splash of half & half (optional)
sour cream or plain yogurt, for serving (optional)In a largish pot, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion, celery and garlic for a few minutes, until soft. Add the tandoori powder and ginger and cook for another minute, then add the carrots, lentils, apple and stock. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and cook for about 30 minutes, until everything is nice and soft.
Using a hand-held immersion blender, puree the soup right in the pot, adding a splash of cream, if you like. Season with salt and pepper if it needs it, and serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream on top to cool the spice, if you like. Serves 6.
December 05 2010 10:13 pm | soup
Cheryl on 05 Dec 2010 at 10:30 pm #
Feel better soon. Go to bed and blow off the deadlines. No one will hate you in the morning.
JulieVR on 05 Dec 2010 at 10:36 pm #
Sigh – my editors would likely not agree with you! When you write for newspapers, they don’t stop and wait for you to go to print! Not as much leeway as with magazines..
sam on 05 Dec 2010 at 11:19 pm #
My best wishes…is there anything worse than a head cold….no.
Good old ginger tea…just thin slices of ginger and water…boil the hell out of them and then drink…not as good as hot rye or hot rum..but healthier I am sure.
Get better soon.
sam on 05 Dec 2010 at 11:24 pm #
When you get around to bloging about Xmas…I have to do dessert for our family “potluck” Xmas dinner…my grandson is allegic to tree nuts, dairy and eggs…I was thinking of pumpkin tofutti cream cheese cake…any ideas.
Lindsey on 06 Dec 2010 at 7:36 am #
If that soup doesn’t make you feel better nothing will. Especially with all that garlic and ginger!
Lana in South Mountain (ON) on 06 Dec 2010 at 9:58 am #
REST. It’s all about the rest, sweetheart. Hot drinks soothe but nothing beats a bad cold as much as rest does. Your body is telling you it’s pooped.
Hope you feel better soon. Wish I could come over and bring soup!
Sharon on 06 Dec 2010 at 12:34 pm #
Dear Julie
What happened to the print button? It’s needed when using a public computer, or I have to print everything on the screen into forever.
JulieVR on 06 Dec 2010 at 12:52 pm #
Hmmm.. no idea! I’ll look into it!
rosie on 06 Dec 2010 at 1:02 pm #
I am so excited that you will be in the building again tomorrow. Any chance of another grazing book showing up (I had to buy Michelle’s today and it’s a gift for a friend whose name is not Michelle!)
Kathryn on 06 Dec 2010 at 1:47 pm #
That soup looks fantastic, especially as I feel the cold train heading down the tracks towards me… I am holding it back with massive doses of Cold FX, Zinc with Copper caplets, and gallons of water mixed with Ultima electrolyte stuff.
But what I really want to know is – Oil of Oregano. Yay or nay?
JulieVR on 06 Dec 2010 at 2:40 pm #
Oil of oregano – YAY!!!
Rosie – oh no, are they totally out of Grazing books? Yikes! This happened last year..