Читать книгу Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian - Rose Elliot - Страница 34

I’ve experimented with many versions of this soup to get it just right, and this one, with its mixture of fresh ingredients and spices preserved in sunflower oil, is my favourite. I love it; it’s light, but the heat of the chilli and the balance of flavours make it very satisfying and uplifting. It’s perfect before an Asian meal, such as chilli-braised tofu steaks or salt and pepper tofu. Don’t be put off by the ingredients list; everything can be bought at a large super-market and the soup is quick and easy to make.

SERVES 4

FOR THE STOCK

stalks from a large bunch of coriander

1.5 litres (2½ pints) water

1 onion, quartered

2 stalks of lemon grass, split in half

4 garlic cloves, halved, no need to peel

4 kaffir lime leaves

3 slices of dried galangal

3 dried red chillies

FOR THE SOUP

1 tbsp mild-flavoured olive oil

150g (5oz) enoki mushrooms, trimmed from their base

4 kaffir lime leaves, roughly torn

1–2 tsp lemon grass in sunflower oil

1–2 tsp galangal in sunflower oil

2 tsp tamarind in sunflower oil

1 tbsp tamari or shoyu soy sauce salt

4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves

Put all the stock ingredients into a large saucepan, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, cover and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and strain through a sieve into a large bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Set aside for the moment, discarding the debris in the sieve. Rinse out and dry the saucepan.

Heat the oil in the saucepan, add the enoki mushrooms and lime leaves and cook for 1–2 minutes. Pour in the stock and stir in the lemon grass, galangal, tamarind, soy sauce and a little salt to taste. Bring the soup just to the boil, then remove from the heat, stir in the chopped coriander and serve.