Poached chicken in a coconut, lime, lemongrass and ginger broth

I made this the other day, in mind I was thinking a beautiful poached chicken in a lemongrass, ginger and lime broth. After I made it I realised I had pretty much made Tom Kha Gai! lol

This is pretty easy and you don't need to make a paste or anything, its really just infusing the flavors into the coconut.

It is a sexy soup:)

In a large pot or wok ( I am using Aus-Ion wok made by solidtekniks)

Everything goes in chunky

To serve 4

Ingredients

Put in 1 x 270ml can coconut milk and 1 x cans worth of water.

1x bruised stalk of lemongrass

6 slices of ginger (or galangal)

1/2 red onion, thick slice

6 cloves of garlic cut into half

A handful of thai basil if you can get it

A few lime leaves if you have it, I didn't use any

1/2 lime, cut in half

1-2 red chillis, always optional here

Method

Simmer all this in a large pot or wok for about 20 minutes to infuse.

Then put in your chicken to poach. I have used 2 chicken breast, each cut into 3.(700g) This included chicken to have as a leftover to make salad or pulled chicken burgers etc

If you are in a hurry you can just cook the chicken the same time you start the infusing.

You can use any vegetables you like, I did some whole button mushrooms, asian leafy greens and bean sprouts.

The chicken should simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Check the flavor and use some fish sauce to taste. I serve up with noodles on the bottom, the veg and broth plus the poached chicken on top with some extra lime. You can also garnish with coriander and extra chili if you like.

Slow cooker Spanish chorizo, tomato and bean soup

Ingredients

2 carrots, small dice

2 stalks celery, small dice

1-2 zucchinis, 1 cm dice

1 red and 1 green capsicum, 1 cm dice

1 brown onion, diced

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tbsp paprika and 1 tbsp smoked paprika (or use 2 tbsp of one if you don’t have both paprikas.

700g tomato passata

2 x 400g can rinsed and drained mixed beans

1-2 chorizo, small dice

Water

You can add chopped chili if you would like it spicy, add in with the onion

Method

Put your passata in a large measuring jug and make the total liquid 1200ml (1.2 litres) by adding water. You can adjust how liquidy you want your soup at the end.

Starting in a cold pan, fry off your chorizo to start rendering the fat out, after about 2-3 minutes you can add your paprika onion and garlic and cook for about 1 minute until softened.

Then add your chorizo mix plus your other veg, passata/water to your slow cooker, give it a stir and leave on low for 8 hours. Adjust consistency by adding more water at the end if you need to.

If you want stove top method cook the chorizo in a large pot instead of a pan and carry on with the rest of the recipe. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until all the veg is tender.

Curried red lentil soup

Trying to increase my legume intake and I am finding that you can eat a smaller amount of calories yet be so full. 

I have not been able to eat much of it because it's so filling, so good for managing your appetite:)
I think lentils are quite underutilised which is a shame as lentils are high fibre, packed with nutrients and dirt cheap and that's why I am loving them! Anyone else??

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 cup of dried red lentils

1 brown onion, finely chopped

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 carrots, small dice

3 stalk celery, diced

3 bay leaves

1 x 400g can tomatoes

Enough chicken of vegetable stock to add to the tomatoes to make 1200ml liquid altogether. You can also use come coconut milk as some of the liquid.

This amount of liquid will yield a very thick casserole style soup, you can adjust the consistency when it’s cooked. I added about 200 ml of extra liquid at the end.

For the curry bit this is pretty flexible you can use any Thai or Indian style paste or I used a mild curry powder. Use as much or as little as you like anywhere from 1-2 tbsp, up to you! Just add a little, taste and add more as needed.

Method

In a large pot heat some olive oil and fry off your onion, garlic, celery, and carrot for 1-2 minutes until softened. Then add your curry powder/paste and fry a further few seconds until it smells good! Then add stock, tomatoes, bay leaves and lentils. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes covered. Check soup and make sure everything is tender. Season with salt and pepper. If you like you can blend this soup.

For the bread, using small wholemeal pita breads, brush over some garlic butter/olive oil and sprinkle with either pizza cheese or grated parmesan cheese and bake in a hot oven for 4-5 minutes.