On 28 April 2018 Slow Food chapters around the world gathered to celebrate the use of sustainable produce, scraps and leftovers, by preparing pots of soup and sharing a meal. This was the third Disco World Soup Day - here's what went down at the Cape Town gathering. Words, Food & the Fabulous® intern Nwabisa Ngumbela. [...]
The restorative power of soup.
Today, I want to share an ajoblanco or white gazpacho soup, popular around Spain in summer and perfect for our fiery South African festive season. While ajo means garlic in Spanish, what makes this soup distintive are the almonds used.
I have been thinking a lot about Istanbul recently and our visit there in June. This dish is based on one we enjoyed at a Turkish restaurant in Cape Town and I reminisce about the Asian side in Istanbul and the famous Ciya Sofrasi restaurant.
This is my Mother's recipe for Rasam - the South Indian soup - spicy and sour. The perfect flu fighter. While we are transitioning into spring, I'm holding onto this recipe, just in case.
I share my mother's recipe for Moong dhal (Mung bean dal). Enjoy!
This hadock chowder is complemented with lemon zest, added close to the end of cooking. Smoked haddock and sweet corn kernels are such a lovely contrast. Serve with creme fraiche for extra indulgence. You needn't add the carrots but it adds colour, sweetness and bulks up the soup slightly. By all means use haddock that hasn't been smoked if you can't find it easily.
This recipe is one I've always wanted to make - ever since I watched Nigella Lawson, all tight-fitting baby blue sweater, super shiny locks and glossy pink pout purring about it years ago. Was I still at Varsity then or out, I can't remember. But I do remember the heartiness of this chilli con carne. It was all about abundance and sharing - a huge one-pot meal to share with friends and family who would appreciate this type of communal serving vessel on a cold, blustery evening.
I was invited to present a dish on the Expresso Breakfast show to celebrate the Thai New Year. I am no expert - the cuisine does not form part of my cultural heritage. But, I have been cooking and eating Thai food since my late teens. I decided to prepare a Tom Yum soup, ideal for this drastic change of weather in Cape Town. That lovely balance between sour and hot. Nourishing but not fattening. Flu-blitzing but moreish. Tom Yum soup, that Thai classic -you can control the heat and the zing as you choose. I often use a sachet of Tom Yum paste but enhance the flavour with fresh limes, chilli, lemon grass, dried lime leaves and a little palm sugar.
The warm and talented Nina Timm of My Easy Cooking invited myself, Jane-Anne of Scrumptious and Ilse of The Food Fox to spend a morning cooking in her kitchen with some Safari Dried Fruit and Nut products. I chose to make my Moroccan Chicken Tagine, a tried and much loved favourite, to show case the use of dried apricots. I abbreviated the recipe for Nina for her radio show on RSG. Nina also featured my Moroccan Instant Preserved Lemons with Aromatics.
