Tomato and shallot noodle soup

A simple soup, lightly seasoned with Indian spices that is a meal in itself. Sautéed shallots add sweetness and pungency to the broth but if unavailable substitute with onion (about 1 large onion, thinly sliced, would be sufficient)

Servings: 2

Ingredients

300g/12 oz tomatoes, roughly chopped

100/ 4 oz rice noodles (see note)

12 shallots, sliced

1 green chilli, sliced

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

1/2 teaspoon chopped turmeric root or 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

a large pinch of cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil over medium heat in a pan. Add the shallots, chilli and ginger and sauté for about 5 minutes until the shallots are softened. Add the cumin seeds and turmeric and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and juicy. Puree the mixture until smooth, in a blender/food processor. Prepare the broth by returning the puree to the pan and mixing 1 ½ cups/375 ml water. Heat the broth until it begins to simmer. Add the noodles and simmer for about 3 minutes or until the noodles are cooked. Season to taste with salt. Serve hot sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper.

NOTE: If you don’t have rice noodles or any other noodles that cook within about 3 minutes, use the same amount of noodles but cook them separately. Mix only 1 cup/250 ml of water with the vegetable puree, add the cooked noodles and simmer for 1-2 minutes until the broth and noodles are hot.

Chickpea and pasta soup

A hearty one-pot meal, this Italian inspired soup has a multitude of flavours from herbs, onion, garlic, celery and lemon juice.

Servings: 2

Ingredients
300 g/ 12 oz cooked chickpeas (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups)
75 g pasta (I used whole-wheat fusilli)
2 sticks of celery, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 a medium onion, thinly sliced
2 spring onions, sliced with green and white parts separated
3-4 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon olive oil
about 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper (more or less to taste)
1/2 a lime or lemon for freshly squeezed juice for garnish

Method
Place the olive oil in a large pan, mix in the garlic and dried herbs and place over a low heat. Saute the garlic and herbs for about a minute, then add the onion, celery and white parts of the spring onion and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Add the cooked chickpeas and 1 tablespoon of the parsley and mix to coat well with the other vegetables. Add the pasta, salt, pepper and 3 cups/750 ml water (to save time use boiling water from a kettle or pan). Increase the heat and bring it to the boil, then lower the heat to medium and let it simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add a little water and heat through. Stir in a generous squeeze of fresh lime or lemon soup into each serving and serve hot sprinkled with the remaining fresh parsley and the spring onion greens.

Miso vegetable noodle soup

A light but substantial soup that is full of crunchy stir-fried vegetables and soft noodles surrounded by a hot, savoury miso broth. The dish contains both soya sauce and miso, both high in sodium so salt is generally unnecessary and I have not included it in the recipe. In fact additional flavouring is minimal as the soup takes advantage of the varied flavours of different vegetables.

Serves: 3

Ingredients

About 1 cup cooked rice noodles

½ a broccoli broken into small florets

1 small carrot, cut into thin long strips

4 spring onions, sliced diagonally

Mushrooms, halved and sliced thinly (I used chestnut mushrooms; if using very small mushrooms there is no need to halve them)

2 handfuls baby spinach leaves

1 teaspoon oil

1½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger

1-2 teaspoons soya sauce (I used tamari which has quite a strong flavour; use a larger amount if using a milder sauce)

For the miso broth:

1 cup/250 ml boiling water

1 ½ tablespoons miso (I used a dark miso so use more if you wish if your miso is light) mixed with ¼ cup/60 ml warm (but not very hot) water

Method

Heat the oil in a wok over a high and stir-fry broccoli, carrot, ginger and mushrooms for about 3 minutes. The mushroom will have begun to soften but other vegetables should be tender-crisp. Add the spring onions, spinach leaves and soya sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes. 

The soup should be served as soon as possible after stir-frying the vegetables, otherwise they will lose their crispness. Heat the noodles if necessary. To prepare the broth, mix about ¼ -½  cup/ 60-125 ml cool water with the boiling water so that it is still hot but of a drinkable temperature, which will prevent the beneficial probiotics in miso from being destroyed as would happen at a high temperature. Place an equal amount of the vegetables in bowls for each serving and top with a portion of noodles. Pour about ½ cup of hot broth over the noodles and vegetables, stir if necessary and serve immediately.

Spinach spaghetti

There are few ingredients in this simple dish but it makes a satisfying light meal. The nutmeg is optional but it combines well with spinach.

Servings: 1
    

Ingredients 
40 g /1.5 oz spaghetti

1 small bunch spinach, finely chopped

½ an onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Nutmeg, to garnish (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Boil water in a small pan and cook the spaghetti for about 10 mins or until it is cooked but still firm to bite. When cooked, drain and rinse with cold water and keep aside. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring constantly, for a few minutes longer until the onion has softened and spinach has wilted. Add the cooked spaghetti and heat through. Season to taste with salt, pepper and, if desired, freshly grated nutmeg.