Curried Kobucha Peanut Soup

Here is an exotic take on a creamy butternut squash soup. I posted this recipe originally in 2012, and now (in 2015) am going back through and retesting my recipes, since I (think) I have become a better cook over the past couple years. I've made some improvements to this recipe. 

For one, I wanted to have a protein and a green in the soup. I wanted the protein because I like to have a protein at the heart of all my main dishes, and I wanted the green because I wanted the additional nutrition. 

After some thinking, I've decided to entirely omit the greens. It took a lot away from the soup, and really, between the tomatoes and squash this soup is extraordinarily nutritious already. The beans really took a lot away from the soup too. But I still wanted to have protein in this soup, so instead of mixing them in after blending the soup, I've blended them along with the rest of the soup, achieving a creamier and heartier texture and taste (but not one that screams "beans!" in any way at all).

I've used adzuki beans, which look like small black beans, although a bit browner. I have occasionally found these beans in cans, but for this recipe I cooked them fresh, which is easy to do--just combine 1 cup beans and 3 cups water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary. For this recipe you can then strain the beans and add to the pot when called for. If you cannot find adzuki beans at all, you can substitute red kidney beans. Likewise, if you cannot find any kobucha squash, you can substitute with a pie pumpkin or a large butternut squash.

Curried Kobucha Peanut Soup

Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 Kobucha Squash, about 3 1/2 pounds, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes 
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked adzuki beans
3 cups veggie broth
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and squash, and saute until softened and the onion is translucent. Add the jalapeno, ginger, and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the curry and garam masala and saute for 30 seconds longer. Add the tomatoes and veggie broth, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes. 

Stir in the beans. At this point, if you have an immersion blender, you can use this to blenderize your soup and make it creamy. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can pour the soup in batches into a regular blender, blending until smooth. Return the stew to the pot and stir in peanut butter and cilantro. Serve with crusty bread.

Cheers!

"Beef" Stew to Warm Your Bones

This winter has been so strange here in Boston. On October 1st we had a nasty snow storm. After least year's winter, when the city literally ran out of space to put the snow (you can't just push it into the ocean because of all the pollutants it picks up in the street), everyone took this to be a terrible omen.

But then came November, December, January, February and nothing happened. There may have been one little storm that left about three inches but was gone the next day. There was lots of rain. There was a day in the 60's. But come March 1st we get dumped on. It snowed for nearly 30 hours straight. Good thing the temperature was high enough to keep some of it from sticking, but we still got some significant snowage. While it has mostly melted in the city, there is still about five inches covering the countryside.

It has been grey out for the last three days and I'm thinking that it may be my last chance to make "warm you from the inside out" food. Something that, in the words of Isa Chandra Moskowitz "gives a warm and flavorful fork you to winter."

March is here Old Man Winter, and I just want you to know that we've now got the upper hand! Your demise is looming just right around the corner.

So here it is, this vegan "Beef" Stew. What's the best thing about it? Well, its hard to say. There's a lot of things that are good about it.

• It's way healthy for you. Little saturated fat, no cholesterol.
• Lots of veggies.
• Lots of protein.
• Tender "meat."
• No tough, terrible strings of animal flesh stuck between your teeth. 
• You do not have to simmer Gardein for an hour and a half to make it edible like you would for tough pieces of cow. This means your stew is ready to go in under an hour.
• You don't have to trim fat off of muscle, and then chop it up. Gardein comes ready for the pan. And your hands, knife, cutting board, etc. are not bloody or potentially dangerous.
• My recipe makes a ton.
• Beefless. It's what's for dinner.

And just a note about Worcestershire Sauce. Traditionally it's not vegan. It has anchovies in it. Annie's Naturals makes an organic, vegan version! Yay! It's by the steak sauce in natural foods stores. 

"Beef" Stew

2 packages Gardein "Beefless Tips" (Find it in the frozen section)

3 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks

2 yellow onions, cut in half and sliced into half moons

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrots

3 cups potatoes, skins on (better for you!) and cut into 1" pieces

1/2 pound white button mushrooms, quartered

2 teaspoons mustard powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons basil

1 1/2 teaspoons marjoram (you can sub oregano if you don't have this)

3/4 cup red wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons shoyu (you can use soy sauce)

4 cups water (may be more or less depending)

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup frozen peas

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Ciabatta or other crusty bread, to serve

Beer, such as Sam Adams Alpine Spring, to serve

Let the Beefless Tips thaw while you chop the veggies. Then heat 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance in a VERY large pot.

Add the Beefless Tips and saute until browned on all sides. 

If there is enough oil in the bottom of the pan, add the onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. If there is not enough, add the remaining tablespoon Earth Balance, and then add the veggies. Saute until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms have lost their water. Add the potatoes and stir. Continue to saute until the water/oil at the bottom of the pan has been used up. Add the mustard, paprika, thyme, marjoram, and basil. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Meanwhile whisk together the wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce.  Add mixture to the pot to deglaze. Scrape the burnt bits from the bottom of the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the wine is reduced by half. 

Add water to the pot until the vegetables and Gardein are just covered (you want to add enough water that your stew has as much broth as you would like in it). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Once the veggies are all thoroughly cooked, use a liquid measuring cup to remove about 1/2 cup broth. Add the flour to this broth and whisk until evenly incorporated. Return the flour/broth mixture to the pot, and stir. The sauce should thicken. If after thickening, there is not enough broth left, add a bit more water, until desired consistency is achieved. Add the peas and heat through.

Remove stew from heat, stir in chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm bread and chilled beer!

Cheers!