Caramelized Carrot and Ginger Miso Soup with almonds and pomegranate

Caramelized Carrot and Ginger Miso Soup with almonds and pomegranate

Caramelized Carrot and Ginger Miso Soup with almonds and pomegranate

Typically carrots are oven-roasted to develop caramelized sugars but pan roasting can create some of these flavor compounds in a one-pot dish—less washing and no hot oven! The garnishes add a crunchy almond texture and contrasting sweet-tart pomegranate seeds.

Caramelized Carrot and Ginger Miso Soup with almonds and pomegranate

Author: Chef Michele
Ingredients
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil or enough to coat the pot
  • 2 pounds of carrots, peeled, cut into 1 inch “cylinders”
  • ½ large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 4.5 cups vegetable broth
  • Big pinch of cayenne
  • 2” piece (2 heaping teaspoons) ginger root, peeled and chopped*
  • 1/3 cup of white or yellow miso or ¼ cup red miso
  • Fresh lemon juice from half a lemon
  • 1-2 tablespoons honey
  • Garnish Ingredients: Toasted almond slices and Pomegranite seeds
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a large stock pot on medium-high heat until oil is very hot but not smoking. Add carrots (should hear a sizzle). Every 5 minutes toss carrots to caramelize more areas and prevent burning.
  2. Sauté for about 14 minutes or until carrots have darkened in color. Pull out any small pieces that have burnt and nibble on as a snack (dark flecks are hard to blend out of a pureed soup).
  3. Lower heat to medium-low, sprinkle salt on carrots, add onions stir and cook until onions have softened.
  4. Add the broth, ginger and cayenne and cook 30-45 minutes on a simmer until carrots are tender enough for a knife blade to easily pass through the carrot.
  5. Add lemon juice and miso**. Use an emulsion blender to puree the soup or in a blender, puree in batches.
  6. If soup is too thick, add more broth or water and blend. Taste soup and add more honey and salt if desired.
  7. Serve in bowls and garnish with pomegranate seeds and toasted almond slices.
  8. *chopped into ⅛ inch pieces if the blending device is powerful, otherwise grate the ginger
  9. **miso has better flavor when not heated for long times or at high temperatures.

    About Me

    The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
    Michele Redmond

    Michele Redmond

    French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

    It's about Making Food First

    Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

    Catsup Chutney

    Catsup Chutney

    Catsup Chutney

    Chutneys are fruity, sweet, sour or tangy with some heat from spices and ingredients such as ginger. This fast chutney uses canned tomato sauce as the “fruit” source because it’s available all year round and luscious, sweet tasting tomatoes are hard to find.

    Because this chutney has the texture of traditional catsup, it’s an homage to the old word for ketchup. This chutney can serve many purposes and so it’s a make once, use several times item for your week!

    Use this chutney as a sauce to cook or serve with chicken and salmon or as a condiment on sandwiches or for dipping french fries or fritters into (see crispy chickpea flour shrimp fritters ).

    Catsup Chutney
    Recipe Type: Condiment or Sauce
    Author: Michele Redmond
    Ingredients
    • ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
    • 1 teaspoon coriander seed, crushed fine (optional)
    • 1 14-ounce can tomato sauce (no herbal seasonings added)
    • 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 3 Tablespoons honey
    • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
    • ¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
    Instructions
    1. Add the cumin and mustard seeds in a pot large enough to contain the recipe ingredients.
    2. Over medium heat, dry toast the seeds until you begin to smell the cumin and/or the mustard seeds may begin to pop—just 1-3 minutes.
    3. Then add the coriander, tomato sauce, ginger, sugar, honey, vinegar, pepper flakes and salt. Mix together.
    4. Turn down heat so that sauce gently simmers. Stir periodically to prevent from sticking. Cook for 40 minutes or until sauce has reduced and thickened.
    5. Adjust salt seasoning if needed (not to be salty but to balance and enhance the tomato flavor) and add more pepper flakes if a hotter version is desired.
    6. Pull off heat and place in a bowl to cool in the refrigerator if not using upon finishing. The chutney can store refrigerated for up to one week.

     

      About Me

      The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
      Michele Redmond

      Michele Redmond

      French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

      It's about Making Food First

      Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

      Marmalade Apple Chutney

      Marmalade Apple Chutney

      Marmalade Apple Chutney

      Marmalade apple ginger chutney on sandwiches or tartines.

      Here’s a tartine with the chutney, Italian Spring red onions, crispy slab-smoked bacon and melty, gooey cassarrigoni tallegio cheese.

       

      Marmalade Apple Chutney
      Recipe Type: Condiment
      Author: Chef Michele
      Chutneys have a long and diverse history. This means no one agrees what they are except that fruit is a central ingredient which is most commonly boiled with spices, sugar and vinegar. Vinegar, a central chutney ingredient credited to British influence, increases the shelf-life. Apples, popular in American and British chutneys, are used in this recipe but lemon replaces vinegar to brighten and complement the apple—so enjoy it within 3 days of making. [br][br]To make this chutney more “Indian-style”, you could add some mustard seed and coriander as a start.
      Ingredients
      • Ingredients
      • ¾ cup of low sugar marmalade
      • 1 medium sized gala or red delicious apple, peeled and diced (about ½ cup diced)
      • 2 tablespoons red onion, finely minced
      • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
      • Few pinches red chile flakes (ginger provides the primary heat)
      • ¼ teaspoon Indonesian ground cinnamon (Ceylon works also)
      • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (red wine or cider vinegar can substitute)
      Instructions
      1. [b]Fast non-traditional method: [/b]Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Taste, adjust as needed. Enjoy. [br][br]
      2. [b]Cooked method[/b]: Mix all ingredients together and either cook in a sauce pot on low heat until apples are soft or carefully microwave in a bowl until apples are soft. Taste, adjust as needed. Enjoy. Refrigerate unused portions in a tightly covered container for up to 3 days.
      Notes
      [b]Serving options: [/b][br]1) As jam, no duh. So try on toast, w/ bagels and cream cheese etc.[br]2) Sandwiches (open face tartines or regular sandwiches). Use as is or blend into a spread.[br]a. Chutney, taggliatelli, slice of bacon, red onion sliced thin, arugula[br]b. Chutney P&J, chicken salad—chutney mixed with greek yogurt and add toasted pecans[br]3) Make into a vinaigrette using a blender and adding olive oil or a neutral oil[br]4) A sauce for grilled, pan-roasted or baked chicken, pork, salmon or on top of crispy-fried tofu[br]5) Glaze for any of the above (blend the chutney into a puree) and thin a bit with water[br]6) Use as a topping for vanilla ice cream

        About Me

        The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
        Michele Redmond

        Michele Redmond

        French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

        It's about Making Food First

        Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

        Cauliflower Broccoli Tabouli

        Cauliflower Broccoli Tabouli

        Cauliflower Broccoli Tabouli

        I prepared this at the Season for all Cooks 2015 Edible Education Series http://labellaterre.com/blogs/blog/17102032-a-season-for-all-cooks-the-2015-edible-education-series    A fellow from Lebanon commented that it made him think of his grandmother’s tabouli; I told him his grandmother must have liked spiced tabouli since this is an unusual version of the traditional dish.Califlower and broccoli tabouli

        Cauliflower and broccoli tabouli with pistachios and pomegranate seeds

         

        Cauliflower Broccoli Tabouli with Pistachios and Pomegranate
        Recipe Type: Salad
        Author: Chef Michele
        Serves: 4
        A salad of Lebanese origin traditionally made with cracked wheat (Bulgur), lots of parsley, mint, onions, tomatoes, lemon juice and olive oil. Here bulgur is replaced by cauliflower and broccoli and additional piquant spices are added along with crunchy nut element and a hint of sweet from pomegranate.
        Ingredients
        • 1 large cauliflower, base and leaves removed
        • 1 large broccoli stalk (about 1/3 the amount of the cauliflower)
        • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about one lemon)
        • 1 large cucumber, peeled, quartered, seeds removed, then cut into 8 strips and diced (about 1 ½ cups)
        • 5-6 springs parsley, minced (about ¼ cup)
        • 2 spring onions, sliced in thin rounds
        • Lemon zest from one lemon
        • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
        • [br]
        • [b]Spice and seasoning mix[/b]
        • 2 teaspoons coriander
        • ¼ teaspoon allspice berries (about 6 berries)
        • ½ teaspoon of cumin seed
        • ¼ teaspoon of Aleppo chile flakes or red pepper flakes
        • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
        • [br]
        • [b]Garnishes:[/b]
        • Seeds from ¼ of a pomegranate
        • 1/3 cup toasted, salted pistachios
        Instructions
        1. Cut the cauliflower in quarters. Add the lemon juice to a mixing bowl, then hold the cauliflower by the base and using a cheese grater over the bowl, grate the florets against the larger holes (the grated size should be pieces that are about ⅛ inch). Stop grating if the results look like grated cheese strips and use the remaining stalks for a soup base or to roast.
        2. Grate the broccoli into the bowl in the same manner.
        3. Prepare the cucumbers, herbs, onions, lemon zest and add to the cauliflower mixture.
        4. Grind together the coriander, allspice berries and cumin seeds and toss into the cauliflower mixture along with the chile flakes and salt.
        5. Add the olive oil and stir well, then top with half the pomegranate seeds and pistachios and give a quick stir then toss the rest on top.

         

          About Me

          The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
          Michele Redmond

          Michele Redmond

          French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

          It's about Making Food First

          Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

          Le Cordon Bleu Spice Taste Workshop

          Le Cordon Bleu Spice Taste Workshop

          Le Cordon Bleu Spice Taste Workshop

          Le Cordon Bleu WICE Paris FB MR_MO jpeg

          I’m in Paris teaching some cooking classes and taste workshops.

          One workshop was at Le Cordon Bleu and was a special Spice Taste Workshop for members of WICE but also includes students from the school and the general public.

          A big thanks to WICE cooking Director Mary O’leary and Sandra Messier, Marketing and communications Manager at Le Cordon Bleu for organizing a sold-out event.

          I also appreciated the excellent participants from WICE who came with great questions, a willingness to taste all sorts of spices and foods and have fun with food.

          http://www.wice-paris.org/event-1763638

            About Me

            The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
            Michele Redmond

            Michele Redmond

            French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

            It's about Making Food First

            Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

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