Artichoke Heart and Quinoa Salad + Spicy Carrot and Potato Soup

(Catching up on some unposted meals. Sorry about the laziness!)

ARTICHOKE HEART AND QUINOA SALAD

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa*
2 1/2 cups water
2 heads Belgian endive leaves, separated and rinsed (I couldn't find endive, so I just served on a bed of Romaine.)
2 cups artichoke hearts, chopped roughly
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
2 shallots, thinly sliced
dressing of choice (I used olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper.)

Method:
Combine quinoa with water in large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking grains, stirring occasionally, until tender, for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Meanwhile, layer dinner plates with endive leaves. In separate mixing bowl, combine artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes and sliced shallots. When quinoa is cool, stir grain and vegetables together, and dress as desired, tossing to combine. Arrange mixture on endive leaves and serve.

SPICY CARROT AND POTATO SOUP

Ingredients:
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
150g/5oz potato, chopped
400ml/14fl oz vegetable stock
½ tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 vine tomato, de-seeded and chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. Place the carrot, potato, stock and chilli flakes in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 7-8 minutes, then drain the vegetables, reserving the stock.
2. Heat the olive oil in the saucepan and fry the vegetables, along with the chopped garlic, for 3-4 minutes, or until tender.
3. Pour the stock back into the pan with the vegetables, stir in the tomatoes and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using a hand blender, process the soup until smooth.

NOTES:
If you've never tried quinoa, you really ought to. Like cous cous, which has a similar but distinctly different texture and flavor, you can prepare it almost any way you like--Carrie frequently makes it with broccoli and cheese, and I've played around with vegetables and Bragg's soy sauce. Plus, unlike cous cous, it's gluten-free.

*I STRONGLY recommend Ancient Harvest brand quinoa, as it's already rinsed. Unless you enjoy spending a full ten minutes sifting through tiny grains.

VERDICT:
We both loved the quinoa salad, and actually prepared it again a week later when we had guests over. It makes a fantastic appetizer, side-dish, or light meal.

I enjoyed the soup, although it was very literally 'carrot' and 'potato' and I'd forgotten that Carrie really doesn't like the flavor of cooked carrots. Oops. If you enjoy both of those flavors, though, it would be a really great cool-weather soup.

Lentil, Potato, and Chorizo Soup--Vegitarian Style!

Recipe: http://www.cookthink.com/recipe/4012/Lentil_Soup_With_Chorizo_And_Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 package Smart Bacon from Lifelight
6 cups water
2 Vegetarian chorizo (can't remember what the brand was called, and it is hard to find)
2 small russet potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked through
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the carrot, onion, garlic, thyme and pancetta. Season them with a light sprinkling of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, 5-7 minutes.

2. Add the water, chorizo and potato. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce immediately to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potato cubes are barely tender, 15-20 minutes. Add the lentils and cook until they're tender, 5-10 more minutes.

3. Stir in the lemon juice and add more salt and pepper to taste.


Verdict:

The soy-rizo ends up crumbling alot when you put it in, but it adds a nice thickness to the soup and you don't lose any flavor. I added a little yogurt and dipped buttered bread in the soup and found it very delicious. I'd definitely make it again, but save it for a colder day :) Texas in July isn't condusive to hot soups, but I had been cold all day. The house I was working in is kept at 68 degrees and it was only in the mid-eighties outside and I was freezing by the time I got back to my real work and then home and just wanted hot, heavy soup. This fit the bill.

Also, this soup has very little prep time. Once you get the first step in the pot, you have time to prep for the next steps as the other things are cooking, which made it an easy meal. I'd like it a little spicier next time, but it's so hard to even find the soy-rizo that I think I'll have to add the spice with old fashioned pepper.

Savory Tarte Tatin with Carrot and Coriander Soup

(Both recipes from BBC Food.)

SAVORY TARTE TATIN

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
25g/1oz unsalted butter
2 red onions, peeled and chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 circle ready-made puff pastry (cut to slightly larger than a small frying pan)
100g/3½oz Brie, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 shelled walnuts, halved

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Place the olive oil and butter into a small ovenproof frying pan.
3. When the butter has melted, add the onions, celery, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Fry for about five minutes, until well softened.
4. Place the pastry on top and tuck in the edges.
5. Place in the preheated oven and bake for ten minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and carefully turn the pastry out onto a baking sheet.
7. Sprinkle the cheese over, before putting the tart back into the oven, pastry-side down. Bake for a further three minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Serve on a plate, with the walnuts sprinkled over.

CARROT AND CORIANDER* SOUP

Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, chopped
400g/14oz baby carrots, roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh coriander/cilantro*
400ml/1 pint vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
double cream as garnish (if desired)

Method:
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy pan. Add the onion and carrots and sauté over a high heat for 3-4 minutes.
2. Roughly chop the coriander/cilantro* stalks and add to the pan, along with the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes or until the carrots are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blend with a hand blender until smooth.
3. Serve in a soup bowl. Garnish with the coriander leaves and drizzle with cream and remaining oil.

NOTES
*If you're in America, the leaves of the plant are called CILANTRO and the seeds are called coriander. For heaven's sake don't put coriander seed in instead of cilantro. I can't speak from personal experience, here, but I'm pretty sure the result would be far less appetizing.

Leave the cream out of the soup, the brie off the tarte, double-check your puff pastry, use margerine or oil instead of butter, and you've got a completely vegan meal.

VERDICT
I became a huge fan of carrot and coriander soup when I lived in England--there was a soup and smoothie stand at Paddington that I'd often stop at on my way home from the couple of classes I had in London. I was excited to discover just how ridiculously easy it is to make. Mine wasn't quite as good as I remember theirs being, but even given that it was my first attempt and I got a little over-zealous with the salt, it was delicious.

The tarte was okay. Not my favorite ever, and didn't make great leftovers, but it complimented the soup well for that meal.

Beaker's Vegetable Barley Soup and Grilled Cheese

(Original recipe from here. I didn't add the things I didn't like.)

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts vegetable broth (I used this base)
  
• 1 cup uncooked barley (best from the bulk-food section)
  
• 2 large carrots, chopped (I did two baby carrots, because I don't like cooked carrots)
  
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (I added more)
  
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
  
• 1 zucchini, chopped (ick, there was NO SQUASH in my soup)
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained (rinse them to get rid of starchy ick)
  
• 1 onion, chopped
  
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder ( I used chopped garlic in oil, tastes better)
  
• 1 teaspoon white sugar (I don't know why, but I did it)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt (be careful with the salt)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon curry powder (add a little extra)
  
• 1 teaspoon paprika (I think this is mostly for color...)
  
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  

Method:

1. In a large wok, saute onions, bay leaves and garlic with a little olive oil. Slowly add in carrots and celery. Then the tomatoes. Finally add salt, pepper, parsley, sugar, curry powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Pour in the vegetable broth. Finally add the garbanzo beans and the barley. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 90 minutes. If it is too thick, add a little more broth. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Grilled Cheese:

Goat Cheese (something mild and soft)
Shredded Provolone and Mozzarella (it's easier to use pre-shredded)
Very thinly sliced bread (Peperridge Farms has a white-wheat thing that is available)
Butter

Method:

1. Heat a pan.
2. In a bowl, use a fork to mix the chevre and the shredded cheese.
3. Butter the bread, fill with the cheese mix and grill it like normal.

This soup was pretty amazing. A nice spiciness that wasn't expected and really filling. The next day, I melted some of the cheese mixture over it and it was very good, too. I love barley soups, but I usually make beef or creamy and I wanted to try something new. I really don't like squash, and I was afraid I'd miss something by eliminating it and cutting back on the carrots, but the soup still tasted great.

The grilled chesse was just fun. All I wanted all day was tomato soup and grilled chesse, so I just made everything fancy to fit the theme. I really love the cheap mozerella and provolone melted with a sharp, creamy goat chesse. And the thin bread made it more delicate so it was about the cheese. Also a great thing to dip in the soup.

The recipe page, you may notice, says that coarse cracked pepper will ruin the soup. I didn't read that until well after I added the pepper, and I don't think I ruined it at all. But next time, I'll make it with fine-ground, just to see.

Seven says:

I really REALLY like this soup. We had enough of it that I was eating it for the next few days, and it was fantastic. It would be a really great fall or winter stew, as it's very thick and filling. (If the pepper or lack of squash ruined it, I certainly didn't notice.)

I'm not as huge a fan of goat cheese as Carrie, but the sandwiches were tasty as well, if not quite as smooth and melty as I'd like a grilled cheese to be.