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This delicious soup is creamy, satisfying and totally RAW! Admittedly, it would probably make a better mid-summer’s snack as opposed to lunch on a 10 degree day in January (thank you, New England). Maybe it was a bit of wishful thinking on my part?
If you don’t have a juicer, you can used pasteurized/bottled/store-bought carrot juice …. but the final product won’t be raw, of course.
Ingredients:
- 2 avocados
- 1 mango, chopped
- about 1 1/4 cup of fresh carrot juice — more or less according to how thick or thin you want the soup to be.
- a small handful of fresh basil leaves
- a small handful of fresh mint leaves
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 1/2 inch chunk of ginger root, peeled
- 1 T (more or less) flaxseed oil
- something crunch for garnish (I used red bell peppers)
- sea salt to taste
To make:
- Run the ginger root through a food processor to mince.
- Add all other ingredients EXCEPT carrot juice (and red bell pepper/crunch garnish) to the food processor and process until well combined — however, save a bit of the mango and avocado for additional garnish, if desired.
- Slowly add in the carrot juice until an even consistency is achieved.
- Garnish with mango, avocado and red bell pepper …. and enjoy!
Be forewarned: this is NOT diet food. And, you may have a hard time eating just one bowl.
This soup is something I came up with after trudging through a particularly rough session of my standard Friday night indulgence (hot yoga). It was especially satisfying in light of the subarctic temperatures Boston is currently experiencing.
Both myself and my go-to tester were impressed with the outcome, which was rich, creamy, sweet and spicy all at the same time. This soup really “sticks” to you, making it perfect for an empty stomach on a cold winter night (hopefully if you are an Ashtangi, that night also happens to be a Friday). We enjoyed ours with toasted pita bread.
This will make about 4-5 servings. And, true to its form as a soup, its flavor improves with time so it makes for great leftovers (and this is coming from someone who hates leftovers). Note regarding leftover soup: it will likely thicken in your fridge, so add a little water before reheating.
Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 1/2 T peanut oil (or canola oil)
- 1 15 oz. can of pureed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix!)
- 2 cups mango nectar (papaya nectar or peach nectar would likely work just as well)
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 3 cups vegetable broth or water
- 4-5 inch chunk of fresh ginger root, minced
- 4 T soy sauce
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes (more or less, to taste)
- 1 T rice vinegar
- raw pumpkin seeds (“pepitas”) for topping (about 1 T per serving)
- fresh cilantro, for topping
- salt and pepper, to taste
To make:
- Brine the eggplant by adding about 1/2 tsp of salt and stirring it to coat, then letting it sit in a colander for about 20 minutes, or until you are ready for it. At that time, rinse the eggplant with cold water.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 T of the peanut oil over medium high heat in a large stockpot. Add the shallots and saute them about ten minutes, stirring frequently, until they start to turn brown and caramelize. Remove the shallots from the stockpot and repeat the process with the eggplant (in the same stockpot): heat 1 T of the oil over medium-high heat, add the eggplant and saute, stirring frequently until the eggplant softens, about ten minutes or so. Then remove the eggplant (can place in the same bowl as the shallots).
- Then, heat the remaining 1/2 T of oil in the stockpot over medium-high heat and add the ginger and hot pepper flakes. Saute for about one minute only, then add in the water or broth, pumpkin, mango nectar, eggplant, shallots, cinnamon, orange zest, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer, covered, for about 15-20 minutes, or until eggplant is tender.
- While the soup is simmering, combine the coconut milk and peanut butter in a bowl with a wire whisk. When the eggplant is tender (i.e., step #4 above is finished), ladle a bit of the hot soup into the peanut butter/coconut milk mix and whisk. Then add the bowl to the soup, along with the rice vinegar, and allow to simmer about 3 to 5 minutes more, covered.
- Toast the pumpkin seeds in a skillet over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes, until they turn brown. (Note: you can use a dry skillet or add just a drop of oil).
- Serve the soup hot, with seasoned with salt and pepper to taste, topped with the cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds.
I have a friend who just can’t get enough of these, so I’ve been making a lot of them lately. They make a wonderful appetizer or treat for entertaining due to their aesthetic appeal and the fact that they are pretty much universally liked. Working with the rice paper wrappers can be a little tricky, but proper technique is acquired with a bit of time and practice. Fortunately, the rolls still taste as just good even if the wrap job is sub-par.
This peanut sauce is delicious and extremely versatile. It can be used for a myriad of things — with noodles, salads, stir-fried veggies, etc. I suggest making up a decent-sized batch and keeping it in the fridge.
The list below represents which ingredients found their way into tonight’s rolls, but work with whatever you like or have on hand. I’ve listed some suggestions for great roll-fillers that I often use.
Roll Ingredients (adjust quantities according to how many you are feeding):
- rice paper wrappers
- fresh basil leaves
- fresh mint leaves
- fresh cilantro
- avocado, sliced in long thin pieces
- mango, cut in small pieces
- red bell pepper, julienned
- cucumber, peeled and julienned
- tofu, pressed and drained and cut into thin sticks
Note: the fresh basil and fresh mint are essential. As are, of course, the rice paper wrappers. But everything else is negotiable. To experiment with different combinations, try adding or substituting some of my other favorite ingredients: thin rice noodles (rice vermicelli) or cellophane noodles (“glass noodles”), julienned carrots, julienned squash, steamed shitake mushrooms (cooled), fresh spinach, or bean sprouts.
To make the rolls:
- Get all your ingredients chopped and ready to go.
- Dampen a towel and lay it out on your workspace.
- Fill a large bowl with lukewarm water. (If the water is too hot, the wrappers will get too mushy and sticky).
- Dip one rice paper wrapper into the bowl for a few seconds and pull it out. It will still be slightly stiff, but the water remaining on it will cause it to soften as you work with it. Flatten it out on the damp towel.
- Place a bit of each filler ingredient in the middle of the roll, forming on oblong mound. Take the edges of the roll on the long ends of the mound and fold them over the mound. Then take third end of the roll and begin to roll it, tucking it under the mound. Keep on rolling so that the fourth end folds over the whole thing.
Peanut sauce ingredients:
- 1/2 C peanut butter
- 1/4 C or more brown sugar
- 1/4 C or more soy sauce
- 2 -4 T chili sauce, or something similarly spicy (I use Thai Kitchen’s Thai Chili Sauce)
- 1/4 C or more coconut milk (lite is fine)
- 1/4 C or more orange juice
- crushed peanuts and fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
To make the peanut sauce:
- Basically, just combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over very low heat, just enough so that the sugar dissolves and the peanut butter incorporates. Stir frequently, and cover so that that too much moisture does not escape.
- Note on quantities: honestly, I have never measured out the quantities I use for making peanut sauce, though when I actually get around to doing so I will certainly post this information. The above represents my approximations for a nice-sized batch that should last you beyond the summer rolls, (unless you are making A LOT of summer rolls). But any rate, I highly recommend tasting your sauce and adjusting it according to your own preferences. You might prefer a version that is saltier (use more soy sauce) or sweeter (more sugar) or thicker (more peanut butter) or creamier (more coconut milk) or tangier (more orange juice) or spicier (more hot sauce). And in fact, the coconut milk and orange juice can be left out, in theory. But the first four ingredients are the essential core to any good peanut sauce!
This salad is really amazing, especially during the summer. It’s a true herbal delight. You really can’t go wrong with mangoes and mint. The recipe was featured in the “One Food, Five Ways” section of the June 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times. It can be found here.
I like to use twice as much mango as called for in the recipe. I also sometimes add fresh red bell peppers and shredded red cabbage.
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