Hey foodies in the Hive!
Hope you had a nice weekend.
For me, Sundays are soup days. How about you?
Today I made plenty of coconut milk, so I thought it'd be the perfect time to use it and take my soup to a heavenly level π
A ripe tomato helped a lot; ever since I discovered how a ripe tomato added so much flavor to my veggie soup, I try to keep one in the fridge for the occasion. I guess it's mostly about "umami," but let's not forget lycopene.
Vegetable soups are ideal for dinner because they are easy to digest.
When we add homemade coconut milk to a broth, it becomes much more robust; the soup is much more filling, so you can eat less, and in a couple of hours, when you go to bed, your stomach will feel light so the chances you struggle to get to sleep are reduced. Sounds nice, right?
INGREDIENTS
Single serving:
- half medium size onion
- 1 tablespoon mince garlic
- half medium size zucchini
- 1/4 medium size carrot
- 1 sweet chili pod
- 1 ripe tomato, peeled
- fresh parsley to taste, for cocoking and garnish
- 1/2 ear sweet corn
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 150 ml water
- 250 ml homemade coconut milk
- salt to taste
- a little olive oil to sautee
Making soup for one serving is a challenge for somebody like me who's used to making big pots of soup. I did it. One single bowl; delicious and enough π
THE PROCESS
I started by browning the onion. This always makes a nice broth. I peeled it, finely chopped it, and sauteed it in a little hot olive oil.
When the onion had begun to brown, I prepared the mince garlic and spices: smoked and hot paprika, one bay leaf, and the oregano. I peeled and dice the ripe tomato and added everything in the cooking pot.
Immediately, I diced the half zucchini and added it, too.
It looked like a sofrito.
I washed the parsley well and separated it into two parts: one to cook and one for garnish. I chose a little sprig and some leaves for garnish. They add a crunchy ingredient that complements very well the overall soup experience. Because soup is an experience.
The sliced chili pepper looked like flowers; that was a gorgeous touch. I cut the half ear of sweet corn into four parts and finely diced the carrot, which I peeled first.
Everything went into the cooking pot.
And that was the moment to add the water.
I'd help the veggies cook tenderly before I added the coconut milk, which I prefer to add last.
The next thing I did, after the vegetables had cooked for a couple of minutes over medium fire, was to add the sliced chili pepper (no seeds), the salt, and the apple cider vinegar.
As you an see, this soup is done in a snap. Soon, after a couple of minutes, I added the coconut milk...
...stirred well and made sure it had the creamy consistency I wanted.
The soup was done!
I removed the pot from the fire and grabbed a bowl and a spoon! I served the soup with no black pepper on top, which I must say, I rarely do, but this soup wasn't calling for it. It was spicy already and at the same time it was gentle.
As usual, I hope you found this post useful πβ€οΈ