Peanut Soup (Kenya)

(1) Combine in a heavy sauce pan:

• 2 L chicken or beef stock
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 large leeks, with 2 inches of green top , chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 red chilli peppers (halved)
• Salt and pepper

Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until tender (30 minutes).


(2) Remove from heat and add 2 cups of peanut butter.  Puree until smooth


(3)  Return to heat and add 2 cups uncooked brown rice.  Simmer, covered, until rice is tender 30-45 minutes (will depend on the type of rice added).  Salt and pepper to taste. Thin with some additional water if required. May also add in some Tabasco sauce if desired.


Crock-pot Variation: Step 3 will take an hour or two depending on the heat setting. Another option is to cook the rice separately and add to soup and let simmer for a bit.


Source: Adapted from Extending the Table.

Roasted Garlic & Pumpkin Soup

Roasted Garlic

• 4 heads of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Soup

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups onions coarsely chopped
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and coarsely diced
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 can pumpkin puree 
• 1 cup yellow flesh potatoes, peeled and coarsely diced
• 2 tbsp fresh sage coarsely chopped
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup 35% cream 
• Freshly granted nutmeg to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Slice tops off the whole heads of garlic to expose just the tips of the cloves, place on a large sheet of foil and drizzle garlic with olive oil.  Wrap completely and bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Once roasted, open package and let cool.
3. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high, add onions, carrots, ginger and chili powder and cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add to the pot the pumpkin, potatoes, sage and chicken stock.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and let cook uncovered until the potatoes are very tender, about 35 minutes.
5. While soup is cooking remove all the garlic from its skin and add to pot along with any residual oil.
6. Once soup is cooked, let cool slightly and puree with a hand blender or in a stand-up blender.
7. Once soup is pureed, add cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper to tase, and warm through.  Garnish with extra sage leaves, if desired.

Rachel's Thoughts: I added only half of the amount of stock (due to pot size) with the intention of adding it in at the end but decided that I likely the soup super dense and opted to leave it out.

Source: LCBO Magazine (Autumn 2011)

Squash Soup

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 large onion
• 2c chicken stock
• 400g cooked squash
• 1 small apple peeled and seeded
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp ground corriander
• 3/4 cup milk

Serves 4.

Melt butter in a sauce pan and cook the onion until soft, stir in flour and gradually add the chicken stock.Add squash, apple, curry and corriander.  Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for at least ten minutes.  Add salt and pepper and blend.  Add milk and return to a boil.

Rachel's Thoughts:  I generally double the recipe and use a large butternut squash, but if I want a really thick super I use two medium.  Because the squash generally isn't bang on the same weight every time I generally add more spices based on the taste.