Courgette Soup with Lentils and Cheese

c. 8 litres of soup

Serves 6

450g courgettes - chopped
350g potatoes - peeled and chopped (I leave the skins on as I prefer them that way)
3 garlic cloves - chopped
1.2 litres veg stock
Small bunch oregano
Summer: add ½ cup lentils (c. 120g)
Winter: add ¾ -1 cup lentils (c. 150g to 230g)

225g Brie - rind removed, or 200g grated cheddar or feta

1. Briefly fry garlic and oregano.

2. Put all the veg in a large pot, add the stock.

3. Bring to the boil, and add the lentils. Then simmer for 15 minutes or until the veg are tender.

4. Cool slightly, then process the soup using a blender until smooth.

5. If batch cooking, separate out into containers to freeze. When eating straight away or once a batch has been defrosted, see 6 and 7.

6. Add the cheese, bring back to near boiling point, stirring constantly so the cheese is combined with the liquid (you can also do this step using a microwave).

7. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

The lentils make it a heavier but protein rich soup, so I've given rough summer/winter estimates, given you don't always want a heavy soup in summer.

This soup easily scales up too. I often make x4 of the recipe, c. 10 litres.


Note: this is based on an Allotment Soup recipe, by Michelle at Veg Plotting, but adapted to my taste.

Broad Bean and Feta Salad

Serves 2

200g shelled Broad Beans
1 crushed garlic clove, several garlic scapes, or Chives
10 or so leaves of Mint, chopped up
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Black pepper
100g Feta
Salad leaves

1. Put garlic (or chopped alternatives) into a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper and mint.

2. Chop up the feta so it’s small crumbly pieces, then put to one side.

3. Boil or steam the broad beans for 1min 30 seconds.

4. Add cooked beans to olive oil etc dressing, and stir. Then add in the feta and stir again.

5. Serve on salad leaves.

Simple, but delicious.

Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry with Sorrel

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
Olive oil (or canola/rapeseed oil)
2 tablespoons (30ml) grated ginger
6-8 garlic gloves, crushed
2 teaspoons (10ml) curry paste or powder
1 teaspoon (5ml) ground cumin
1 teaspoon (5ml) ground chilli powder
1 teaspoon (5ml) turmeric
2 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-3cm chunks
1/2 cup (120g) dry red lentils
1 can coconut milk
1 cup (240g) of water
1 cup/a good thick handful of Sorrel (or Spinach/Chard leaves), larger stems stripped out and leaves torn up a little.

Steamed rice

1. Prepare vegetables and spices.

2. In a large pot, add some oil, and all the ginger, garlic and spices. Stir, and cook this for a few minutes on a medium heat.

3. Stir in the sweet potato, lentils, coconut milk and water and bring to a simmer. Then cover, turn the heat down for c. 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender.

4. Add in the Sorrel. Stir, replace the lid, and cook for a couple more minutes.

5. Serve immediately over steamed rice.


Notes
a) The Sorrel adds a lemony tang that we think goes really well with this recipe. And with Sorrel being a perennial vegetable that is so easy to grow, we tend to choose it over Spinach and Chard now.

b) We are generous with the garlic and ginger and use double the amount from the original recipe. So do start with less if you aren't sure you like quite that much.

c) This is a great recipe for batch cooking. We often make 3 times the recipe, then freeze most of it in containers. A standard (not small) takeaway container will hold enough for two. Then just unfreeze when you want, heat up and make rice, and there you have a healthy and yummy meal for when you are low on spoons.


Source
Spilling the Beans, Julie Van Rosendaal & Sue Duncan, 2011, page 146.
ISBN: 978 1 77050 041 9


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