Spiced Meatballs, Chickpeas And Vegetables Soup

Dinner was meant to meatball salad again but I settled on something a little more hearty after the weather took a nasty turn. However the meatballs remained on the menu but they ended up swimming in a delicious tomato based soup rather than frolicking among tomatoes and salad leaves.

I added some cavolo nero towards the end of the cooking; to freshen up and to add colour to the dish, if you are unable to obtain cavolo nero, spinach, chard or dandelion greens are all good substitutes.

I made a rather large batch of seasoned mince as usual, way too much for what was required for this recipe. Halve the quantity of mince if you only want to be able to make enough meatballs for this recipe, otherwise I will share with you a few quirky dishes that I came up with using my leftover seasoned mince in the coming days.  At the meantime you can use the leftover mince for the following recipes found in this blog;

1) kebabs and warm beetroot salad with spiced yoghurt sauce

2) burger and chips

3) bunless burger

3) spaghetti with meatballs

4) baked kofta rolls with egg filling

5) kofta rools filled with spinach, almonds, pine nuts and raisin

recipe from the tummies' kitchen

serves 4 to 6 as a one dish meal

you'll need;

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

4 celery ribs, sliced

2 cups of crushed tomatoes

2.5 l of stock

1 can of chickpeas, drained

2 bay leaves
1 bunch of cavolo nero

salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley to serve

for the meatballs;

1 kg of beef mince or mince of your choice

1 egg, lightly beated

3/4 cup of breadcrumbs, soaked with 1/2 cup of milk 

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks of parsley, chopped

1/2 tbs of coriander powder

1/2 tbs of allspice powder

1 tbs of cumin powder

1 tbs of smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

a little oil for frying

Prepare the vegetables and set aside. Feel free to add other seasonal vegetables of your choice

Place all ingredients for meatballs/kofta in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill until needed.

Shape seasoned mince into meatballs the size of a 20 cent coin, you'll need about 30 meatballs. Brown meatballs with a little oil until golden all over and set aside, they don't need to be cooked through.

In a large pot, saute garlic, onion, carrot and celery for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onion is soften. Add the can of crushed tomato and continue to cook on medium heat for a further 5 minutes.

Add stock, chickpeas, bay leaves and allow the content to come to a simmer, season with salt and pepper.

Add meatballs to the pot, cover and simmer on low heat until the vegetables are tender and meatballs are soft and tender. Add cavolo nero and cook until wilted, check for seasonings.

Hearty but not too heavy... perfect for a mild spring night!

Mung Bean Noodle Soup With Chicken And Vegetables 雜錦粉絲湯

We had a wonderfully warm 18 C day but before I had a chance to dust off the picnic basket, cold wintery days returned with a vengeance. 

To counter the inhospitable weather one often needs something hearty and rich;  a hot pie or a hot bowl of pumpkin soup would be ideal but I was quite happy with a bowl of hot noodle soup using whatever I can find in the kitchen, meaning I was able to avoid the elements altogether.

Thanks to my new jar of Vietnamese satay sauce (see photo and descriptions below), I was able to spice up the otherwise fairly plain dish. If you are unable to find Vietnamese satay sauce use Sichuan chili oil, Cantonese chili oil or my homemade dried shrimp chili sauce instead.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen

recipe per serve

you'll need;

1/2 a chicken breast, marinated with a little soy, sesame oil and corn flour

2 Chinese cabbage leaves, sliced

1/2 a carrot, peeled and sliced

1 celery rib, sliced

2 bundles of mung bean noodles, cooked until al dente and drained well

1.5 l of stock

a handful of baby spinach

dash of sesame oil

dash of white pepper

chopped spring onion to serve

Vietnamese satay sauce to serve

Prepare all the ingredients. You may use meat and vegetables of your choice of course.

Cook noodles until al dente and drain well.

Bring the stock to a boil then add in the vegetables, follow by the marinated chicken slices and pre-cooked noodles, when it returns to a boil add in the baby spinach.

Top with chop spring onion or coriander and drizzle with a little sesame oil.

For an adult version simply add some hot condiments I suggested earlier.

This is what vietnamese satay sauce looks like; not quite the satay sauce that we are familiar with but more like a cross between chili oil and Taiwanese sha cha sauce (沙茶醬).

Pasta Soup With Chicken, Mushrooms, Bokchoy And Wakame Seaweed

I did warn you about my obsession with this particular type of pasta (casarecce) and this is what I whipped up when I wanted something quick and comforting during a wet and windy afternoon.

The casarecce soaked up just enough of the tasty hot broth in their cavities, making each mouthful a very pleasant experience on a 8 degree day. If you are not convinced or are unable to find casarecce simply replace it with Shanghai noodles or homemade hand-cut noodles, after all the pasta was a replacement for noodles in the first place.

Have a great weekend and remember to come back for a very delicious Malaysian dish that is very close to my heart, see you then!

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
recipe per serve
you'll need;
1 cup of cooked casarecce or pasta of your choice
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 chicken thigh, sliced and marinated with a little soy, pepper, sesame oil and corn flour
2 chinese mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes then sliced
1 bokchoy or Asian green of your choice, sliced
1.5 l of stock
2 tbs of wakame seaweed
dash of white pepper
dash of sesame oil
cut chili in soy to serve

Marinate the chicken and finish off the chopping and slicing.

Saute garlic with a little oil then add in the  chicken and mushroom and continue to cook for 30 seconds.

Add stock and allow the content to come to a simmer.

Add cooked pasta and wakame and simmer for a minute or until the seaweed has expanded.

Finally add the sliced bokchoy and cook until slightly wilted, add a dash of sesame oil and white pepper and check for seasonings.

Serve the warming bowl of noodles with some cut chili in soy on the side.

Quick Roast Beef And Thick Mung Bean Noodle Soup - A Leftover Special

Often the odd piece of char siu or some marinated chicken slices just sit idle at the back of the fridge until the foul smell reminds us of their existence a few days later. They need not to be wasted; couple with a few basic ingredients, they can be easily turned into something delicious in minutes.

This is more of a meal idea rather than a recipe I think... the remaining roast beef was added to a super quick noodle soup using the same thick mung bean noodles that I am addicted to.

recipe per serve
you'll need;
100 g of left over roast beef or shop bought char siu
a handful of bean sprouts
1 spring onion, chopped
1 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
2 cups of stock
2 bundles of thick mung bean noodles
1 tbs of garlic oil
chopped chilies to serve
Sichuan style chili oil in jar to serve

Get the slicing and chopping out of the way.

Cook noodles in stock until al dente then add in the bean sprout, remove from the heat immediately.

Pour the content of the pot into a large bowl then top with roast beef slices, herbs, garlic oil and sliced chilies, a healthy meal in less than 20 minutes!

I added some chili oil for some extra kick.

Cauliflower Soup With Stilton Walnut Toast

With the hottest start to August on record and the unseasonably warm weather we are enjoying at the moment, it is easy to believe spring has arrived early. Unfortunately wet and wintry conditions are forecast for the weekend so lets enjoy the warm days while they last.

When the cold weather do return how about a pot of this delicious cauliflower soup? This is no ordinary cauliflower soup; the crisp cauliflower and sage add texture and visual to the otherwise unremarkable looking soup; as for the Stilton walnut toast, it simply make the meal a very memorable one. 

recipe from Gourmet Traveller
serves 4

you'll need;

50 ml of olive oil

3o ml of walnut oil

2 leeks, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 large head of cauliflower (reserving about 1/8 for the crisp cauliflower and sage) , coarsely chopped

1 large potato (about 350 g), peeled and chopped

1/2 L of milk

3 bay leaves

3 sprigs of thyme

2 tbs of grated lemon rind

toasted walnut bread and stilton to serve

for the crisp cauliflower and sage;

50 ml of walnut oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced

reserved cauliflower, thinly sliced

a handful of sage leaves

1 tbs of lemon juice

Walnut bread and Stilton. Or any good bread and strong blue cheese will do.

Prepare the crisp cauliflower and sage just before serving - heat walnut oil in a frying pan and fry shallot until golden, add cauliflower and sage and continue to cook until crisp (8 to 10 minutes). Add lemon juice and season to taste.

Heat olive and walnut oil in a pot then add in the leek and garlic, saute until soften.

Add cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes before throwing in the potato.

Add milk, herbs and season well. Bring it to a boil then turn it down to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender. 

Remove herbs and blend until smooth. Add more milk if mixture is too thick, adjust the seasonings.

Ladle some soup in a bowl and top with some of the crisp cauliflower and sage, serve with Stilton walnut toast.

Fresh Rice Noodle Soup With Prawns 清湯蝦球河粉

With soup or curry? Dry fried or with wat dan gravy? Laksa or Ipoh hor fun? Those were just a few of the choices I threw at myself when I looked at the ingredients in front of me. It didn't take long before I picked the easiest option; after all it was just a weekend lunch for one and I rather not spend too much time in the kitchen.

Like many of my simple noodle dishes - this will only take less than 15 minutes to prepare and costs just under $5/serve, more than cheap and very cheerful indeed! To me a bowl of noodles like this beats any takeaway meal anytime, one of the reasons why I always have some noodles on standby.

recipe per serve
you'll need;
6 to 8 prawns, peeled and deveined
1 bokchoy, washed and quartered lengthwise
2 cups of chicken stock
250 - 300 g of fresh rice noodles or noodles of your choice
a handful of bean sprouts
1 spring onion, chopped
2 bird chilies, chopped
crispy garlic and oil
white pepper to taste
your choice of chili sauce to serve

Prepare the bokchoy, chilies and spring onion.

Bring chicken stock to a boil then add in the prawns. When the prawns are half cooked, add bokchoy.

Follow by the noodles and bean sprouts and cook for 30 seconds before turning off the heat.

Pour everything into a large bowl, sprinkle the chopped chilies and spring onion over and top with some crispy garlic and oil.

A cheap, delicious and very healthy meal in minutes. Think again before telling anyone you have no time to cook.

Lebanese Chicken Soup (Shourabat Djaj)

It seems to me almost every culture has a chicken soup that is considered a tonic and there is no exception for the Lebanese. Though I am not too sure about the healing power of this soup but it certainly tastes great and I see it as a wonderful way to end our short tour to the Middle East and North Africa, especially after all the previous dishes which were laden with quite a lot of spices. This gentle soup is light and very easy on the palate so it is not difficult to understand why it is generally served when someone is feeling unwell.

recipe adapted from Abla's Lebanese Kitchen

serves 4

you'll need;

2 chicken breasts

2 l of chicken stock

1 cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

1 brown onion, finely chopped

1 cup finely chopped parsley, including stems

3 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp of allspice

1/2 cup of crushed egg vermicelli

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the onion and tomatoes.

Prepare the parsley and egg vermicelli.

Place chicken, bay leaves and cinnamon stick in a pot and slowly bring it to a simmer. Put the lid on and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot and allow to cool and discharge the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred and cut into bite size pieces and set aside.

Add onion, parsley and tomatoes into the stock and bring it to a simmer.

Add allspice, season with salt and pepper and return chicken to the pot and continue to cook for a further 20 minutes.

Finally add egg vermicelli and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve immediately with some extra chopped parsley and let the healing process begins.