A souped-up supper
January 12, 2010
If there was ever a time for comforting, hearty soups, it’s now. The weather may be getting very slightly milder, but it’s still chilling me to the bones. So tonight’s supper was a winter warmer I adapted from a recipe I cut out from The Guardian a couple of years ago for braised cauliflower with cherry tomatoes. This is another case of me taking the essential flavours of a recipe and adapting it into something of my own.
I added a spoonful of the tomato/pul biber paste that I used in the omelettes I wrote about in Istanbul. But regular tomato paste with a good pinch of chilli will do the job just as well. It also has some ground fennel seeds in it, and I would strongly suggest you don’t leave them out, because they really do add another very tasty dimension. Finally, some chopped fresh basil gives the soup a deliciously fresh lift.
Tonight I added some couscous, to make it extra hearty, and with some toasted pitta on the side, this is what I call real comfort food.
And the cupboard was bare… 
January 12, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Would have made a perfect starter for my homemade mushroom and garlic pizza.
January 13, 2010 at 8:54 am
I had also made a hearty soup with veg, the tomato paste from Istanbul – only I used a once family favourite – pearl barley and – having no fresh basil – lots of chopped parsley and what was left of an organic French boule – delicious.
Especially while watching heavy snow falling, though now melting fast.