The Taste Traveller

red lentil ginger coconut soup

Bring on the soup. It's cold! There's nothing like a hot bowl of soup on a cold day. But even in hot climates a bowl of soup can hit the spot. I remember getting quite used to a bowl of chicken, vegetable and noodle soup while backpacking around Thailand. Simple streetfood at its best. Here I've taken a recipe from Vegetarian Times, this one from 101 Cookbooks, and referred to a recipe for a red lentil soup I previously made that was very similar to this. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (250 ml) red lentils, rinsed thoroughly
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sea salt
• 1 cup (250 ml) diced tomatoes, all or a portion puréed
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of coconut, olive or vegetable (coconut and olive being the healthiest)
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
• 1 x 15 oz can of coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) curry powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) cinnamon
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 6 cups (1420 ml) water
• 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Method:

Add rinsed lentils and salt to 6 cups of water in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes. 

Blend lentils roughly with a whisk or spoon or purée. 

Purée tomatoes and ginger until smooth. You may prefer to leave a portion of the diced tomatoes not puréed for a chunkier soup. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, then the onion, carrot and celery. Cook until they begin to soften, stirring often. 

Add the tomato and ginger mixture to the coconut milk and spices and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. If you want to smoother texture, you may want to purée this mixture so the onion, carrot and celery are blended too. 

Add the cooked lentils and simmer for another 15 or 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add a little cilantro on top. Serve. 

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fall into winter easy cooking ideas

We're getting into that busy season in the upcoming weeks and I was thinking recently that I'd like to revisit some of my favourite recipes of the last few years that would fit well into either easy weeknight meals or entertaining ideas. 

Some of you are gearing up for Thanksgiving, others just general entertaining as we head into the big holiday season. Whether it's new recipes, fresh ideas or leftovers ideas - here's a taste of some recipes I've previously shared. 

It's definitely soup weather around here. If it is for you too, here's a few you might like to try:

Carrot, Apple and Ginger Soup (great starter for Thanksgiving or Christmas too - my cousin served a delicious soup like this at her dinner)

Vegetarian Mulligatawny Soup (I'm planning on making this again in the next few weeks, mmm!)

Chicken and Chickpea 'Stoup' (try it with leftover turkey!)

Simple Cabbage and Bean Soup

Looking for ideas for side dishes? Here's a few I've gathered up for you. 

Colcannon (okay, it's not St. Patrick's Day, but this would work well with turkey or ham no matter what we're celebrating).

Curried Rice with Celery and Almonds

Buttermilk Soda Bread with Cheddar and Green Onion

Butternut Squash Risotto

Spicy Zucchini Ribbons

Cauliflower Rice

Spinach, Split Pea and Lemon Mash

Easy weeknight meal ideas? Here you go:

Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Healthy Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Spinach

Lean Turkey and Vegetable Cabbage Rolls (makes lots, great for freezing)

Easy Vegetable and Beef Stew

Caribbean-inspired Stew

 Zucchini Ribbon Lasagna 

Thanks for reading and look out for a recipe ideas post every once in awhile here. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the states.

Zucchini Ribbon Lasagna

Whether you're on a gluten-free diet, wanting to lighten up on the traditional version of lasagna, or simply looking for another way to use zucchini - this is an easy, delicious way to accomplish any of these. I've done a similar version with eggplant - also good - but the focus here is on zucchini. Just a side note that you can tell from the picture I did not slice all of the zucchini equally thin. It still cooked well and was still tender enough. The thinner the better but I wouldn't worry about it being perfectly uniform.

I was inspired to make this not only because we've had a surplus of zucchini, both from our local farmer's market and from my in-law's garden, but also because my husband isn't eating as many carbohydrates these days and I saw a great recipe on Martha Stewart's Whole Living website. Triple inspiration. 

Feel free to use your favourite homemade sauce here, or if you're in a real hurry, a store-bought sauce. But, really, I've done a very simple, quick sauce that I think does the trick nicely. 

As far as the cheese goes, use all ricotta, more mozzarella, some parmesan, or even just cottage cheese (my mom has always used cottage cheese) but for this particular recipe I chose to use a combination of ricotta and mozzarella. 

Fresh herbs are great here - but I didn't have much on hand so used dried, with a good handful of chopped, fresh parsley added to the sauce near the end of it's simmering time. 

This is great the second day, an easy warm-it-up lunch, and will freeze quite well. I like to grate a little fresh parmesan on it when reheated, just before serving or eating. 

You can make this dish even leaner by using ground turkey. If you do so, I suggest making your sauce a little thicker (that's just my opinion of course) by adding a little more tomato paste or some crushed tomatoes (and a longer simmering time if you can). 

Here it is. 

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (or whole tomatoes that you chop yourself)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) red pepper flakes
• 12 oz lean ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) dried oregano
• 2 to 3 fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) garlic powder (optional)
• 1 cup (250 ml) mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1/2 to 1 cup (125 to 250 ml) red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 ml) fresh parsley, roughly chopped

For the lasagna:

• 2 medium or one large zucchini, ends trimmed
• 1 cup (250 ml) or slightly more, ricotta cheese
• 1 cup (250 ml) mozzarella cheese, grated

Method:

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add onion, red pepper flakes, garlic and mushrooms and cook until onions and mushrooms are soft (about ten minutes). You may also do the mushrooms in a separate pan if you'd like to brown them a bit more.

Add the ground meat to the onion mixture and cook, breaking up as it cooks, until no longer pink. Alternatively, cook earlier in the day, ready to add when you need it.

Add the mushrooms if they are in a separate saucepan, then add the chopped tomatoes.

Add the oregano, stir, and bring the sauce to a gentle boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and leave for at least ten minutes to simmer (and bring the flavours together). Turn off the heat and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C).. 

Slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips (about 1/8" thick). 

Place the strips along the bottom of the baking dish, creating your first layer. 

Top the zucchini layer with your sauce, spreadly it evenly. 

Place dots of the ricotta across the top of the layers, pressing these down a bit. Use about a 1/4 of your total ricotta measurement (about 1/4 cup).

Repeat until your ingredients are used up. You can finish with a layer of sauce, topped by the last of your mozzarella and ricotta, or finish with a layer of zucchini, topped with the last of the cheese(s). 

Bake, uncovered, until the lasagna bubbles and the top is a bit browned, about 50 to 60 minutes.

Remove the lasagna from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Slice and serve. 

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