Ottolenghi's hot and sour mushroom soup

Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook Plenty More and the filters of VSCOcam : two things I enjoyed spending time with during the Christmas holidays . The hot and sour mushroom soup, photographed with the VSCOcam app in F3 filter, is a little taster for you. My family loved both of it!

Hot and sour mushroom soup (slightly adapted)

(serves six) 

1 tbs sunflower oil

3 small onions (roughly chopped)

3 medium carrots (peeled and sliced)

6 celery staks (sliced)

6 garlic cloves, peel and left whole

a chunk of fresh ginger root /peeled and sliced)

3 lemongrass staks, roughly chopped

6 prunes

1 red chili

(6 star anise; in brackets, because I didn't use any)

2 tbs tamari soy sauce

6 lime leaves

1tbs coriander, pestled

2 tbs red Tandoori paste ( instead of Tamarind paste, which I had not in my pantry)

toasted sesame oil to finish

a choice of mushrooms ( I used brown champignons, dried and soaked cèpes, chanterelles, shitaake and and chinese tungkow), sliced

juice of about 2 limes

coriander leaves

basil leaves

some peas ( green beans in the original recipe)

I also added a tbs of vegetable stock and I didn't discard the vegetables as Ottolenhi suggested. As we wanted a more filling meal I added some rice noodles to the soup. Perfect for a warming lunch. 

Begin by heating oil in a sauce pan and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and ginger. Cook on a high heat for about 5 minutes until the edges begin to colour. Pour in 2 2.5 liters of water and add the lemongrass, prunes, chilli, soy , lime leaves and coriander. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cook for 45 minutes.

Add the Red Tandoori paste , followed by the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.Then add the remaining ingredients apart from the sesame oil, along with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt - and some instant  vegetable stock, if necessary. Allow to heat for a further minute.

Ladle into bowls and finish with a little drizzle of sesame oil in each bowl.

Russell James' Mexican tomato soup

Lately I discovered Russell James, England's leading raw chef. I browsed through his food blog and watched a couple of his videos. He made me curious. What would be hiding behind his "top 10 most-loved raw recipes"? I must confess, until now raw cuisine hadn't convinced me: too fat, too sweet, too many dates and soaked cashews.


"Amazing recipe n°8", however, caught my immediate attention. The result? Absolutely delicious!

mexican tomato soup
(slightly adapted)

1 cup ripe tomatoes
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for an hour
1/2 avocado
1 tablespoon red onion
a few twigs of fresh cilantro
a few leaves of fresh mint
a small piece fresh chili pepper
1 clove garlic
2 soft (or soaked) dates
1/2 teaspoon dried coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
juice from 1/2 lime

500ml hot or cold water

Mix all ingredients in a blender, before serving decorate with chopped spring onions, chives, cilantro and slices of lime.
As an additional topping I roasted cashes and sunflower seeds.

garden soup // garden salad

broccoli, carrots, fennel, red onions, tomatoes, spring onions and a sprig of lovage 

lettuce, tomatoes, springs onions, radishes and grilled tofu 

an old family recipe: summertime potato soup

My grandfather loved it because it was reliably followed by a cake or by sweet yeast dumplings with a divine salty crust. My mother continued the tradition and we all loved it.
I am the one who changed it for just potato soup accompanied by baguette, some olives, a bit of pizza or what else the kitchen offers. The quick and easy way!

Potato cucumber soup

4 tbs olive oil
4-5 spring onions, chopped
 about 750g potatoes, diced
1 large fresh cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 ts salt
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
about 1l  vegetable stock ( I use vegetable stock powder from the wholefood store)

Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the spring onions and the potatoes over low heat, stirring, until the vegetables soften and begin to turn golden. This step is very important, because it gives a special flavour to the soup. Much better than the raw vegetables simply thrown into the stock.
Add salt and pepper.
Pour in the stock. Should cover the vegetables by about 3 cm.

Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add now the cucumber and let it simmer for only 5 minutes more. (No longer!)
Liquidize it in a food processor until smooth.
You can pimp the soup with a bit of sour cream, freshly chopped parsley, croutons....

And of course, have a piece of cake afterwards if you like to follow the old traditions!