Got Turnips? Ethiopian Stew

The Ethiopian Stew smells AMAZING!! I also love the vibrant coloring the spices give it. Oh - and it tastes good. Instead of doing the puree step at the end, you could also simmer off some of the liquid a bit more and then serve it over brown rice.

Here's the original recipe that I adapted.

I did not have leeks, several of the seasonings listed in the berbere mix, soymilk or vegetable stock (which I usually do I have - I make my own using this technique-love it!), so I adjusted accordingly.




My berbere mix included:

3/4 TBS of cinnamon
1 TBS paprika
a few dashes of cayenne
1 heaping TBS of turmeric
3/4 TBS of curry (all I had left)
several dashes of black pepper a few dashes of cumin

I had planned to include rutabaga, but the 3 turnips I chopped looked like enough. So, here's what I did (with ingredients in bold).

Sauteed 1/2 onion (diced) in peanut oil (in a large pot)
Added the berbere mix. I added all of the berbere mix that I made and didn't think it was too much.
Added 3 chopped turnips and 2 diced carrots.
Covered with free range, organic chicken stock. (Probably 4-5 cups)
Added 1 can of garbanzo beans (drained well).
Simmered for about 20 minutes.
Then I took about 1 1/2 cups of the soup out to puree in a blender (I added a little bit of chicken stock to what I was pureeing as the stock and boiled down a lot).
Poured the puree back in with the soup and added 1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used a Greek yogurt. This was my soymilk substitute). (When grabbing the yogurt, I also saw some Trader Joe's Masala Simmering Sauce that had been hiding in the fridge, so I added 1 TBS of that just for kicks).

Feel free to add a dollop of yogurt or sour cream on top just before you eat.














Special note: DON'T BE AFRAID OF TURNIPS!! I used to be, but got over it and now enjoy all the root vegetables that winter brings.

Soup Week - Soup #3 - TPP Soup (Turnips, Potatoes and Pears)

I'm a few days past the official "week" of soup week, but I had to share today's soup inspiration. TPP soup may sound a bit odd to some, and I was a little worried about trying to make a soup with these key ingredients, but I also thought it just might work -- and it did. This soup is smooth and tasty. It is definitely one of my most creative and unusual recipes/soups, but was inspired by the items in my Farmshare box. I had lots of pears and some turnips, so I decided to try it all together in a soup.

Ingredients:

1 white onion (diced)
2 russet potatoes (diced, I didn't peel them, but you could)
3 pears (diced and peeled-make sure pears are ripe and soft)
4 turnips (diced, I didn't peel them, but you could)
1-2 pats of butter (or so)
About 4 cups of chicken stock (I used homemade, but you could use store bought or use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian).
1 tsp cinnamon
2-3 tsp thyme
2 tsp curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large, heavy, thick-bottomed pot, melt the butter. then add the onions and cook until translucent about 5 minutes. Next, add the diced turnips and potatoes and stir to coat with the butter (add more butter, if necessary. I did).

2. Pour in enough chicken stock to just cover potatoes, turnips and onions. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low - adding salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the turnips and potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Add pears and the rest of chicken stock and spices and stir. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 more minutes, until all vegetables are tender. (This is the part where the soup starts to smell amazing because of the spices).

4. Puree in food processor or blender.

5. Enjoy!!

Roasted Carrot Soup

Another vegetarian gem -- and this one I created purely on my own, no other recipes consulted or adjusted or used as inspiration. Instead, the inspiration was the veggies!

Ingredients

• Carrots, three sliced for roasting
• 1 Potato, cubed
• 2 small turnips, cubed (if you don't have turnips or don't want to use them, you could probably add another potato and an additional carrot or two)
• 2 shallots, diced
  
• Vegetable stock or broth (1/2-1 quart, depending on how thick you want it)
• Cumin
• Olive Oil
• Curry powder
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Slice carrots for roasting - once sliced, place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle salt, pepper and cumin (toss to coat evenly)
2. Roast at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes (start checking it at 15)
3. While the carrots are roasting, chop the other ingredients
4. Sautee shallots in olive oil (for about 5 minutes)
5. Add potatoes and turnips and cover with vegetable stock/broth - I only had 1/2 quart of stock, so it ended up being a thick puree, but I found I really liked it that way.
6. Cook until tender (typically about 15)
7. Combine ingredients in a food processor or blender (I use a blender, since I don't have a food processor) and puree. (You may need to stop and stir it around a bit to get everything to puree evenly). I recommend adding a bit more cumin as well as some curry powder during the puree process (I just add a little at a time and taste, instead of measuring).
8. Enjoy!

As you can see from my blog, I'm really getting into soups. They are easy and a great way to use a variety of vegetables (I had never used turnips before) and you can get several meals out of one batch or freeze some for later. This makes soups great for a new mom like me.

Coming soon -- my first attempt at making curry/Indian food and a blog about stock - making your own and store bought.

Winter Vegetable Soup with "Chorizo"

It's Vegan! Really!! I used Soy Chorizo (from Trader Joe's) and Veggie Stock. For people who eat meat, you could, of course, use pork chorizo or sausage and chicken or beef stock.

Ingredients

• 2 medium-sized carrots, diced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 1 turnip, cubed/diced
• 1 potato, cubed
• Chorizo or Sausage (soy variety or meat, depending on your preference)
• Approx. 1 quart of vegetable stock or broth (or chicken or beef stock, if you prefer)
• 1 can kidney beans
• Thyme
  
• Salt, pepper
• Olive Oil

Preparation:
1. I chopped all the vegetables first and set them aside and then cooked up the chorizo over medium heat with olive oil in the pan. Then I set the chorizo aside.
2. In the same pan (as the chorizo was cooked), I cooked the turnip, carrots, onion and shallot in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Next, put the cooked vegetables in a crock pot with vegetable stock and turn on low.
4. Again in the same pan (you could use different pans, but I have a 3 1/2 month-old and no dishwasher, so I simplify), cover the potatoes in water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender.
5. Once the potatoes are tender drain them and add to the crock pot along with a can of kidney beans.
6. Add chorizo to the crock pot as well.
7. Add thyme, salt and pepper (this is all to taste)
8. Turn crock pot on high (I probably had the pot on high for an hour or so)
9. Switch to low (I did this when I left the house and left on low until I came home at the end of the day, at which point I just switched it to warm).

You don't have to make this in a crock pot. You could cook the soup on the stove for 40 minutes to an hour and be ready to serve it. The crock pot is just so easy that I used it instead. I also added some quinoa to the soup, which I had in the fridge. I think rice would also work well in this soup.

I love coming home to a warm pot of soup at the end of the day, especially when it is cool out. I hope you enjoy it as well!.