Eat Simply, Eat Well

Healthy recipes & tips to help you live the good life. by Ann Plough

A different kind of fish soup: Sweet Potato, Kale, Fish and Coconut Curry Soup

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Sweet Potato, Kale, Fish and Coconut Curry Soup

With the rain dripping down the side of the window at a steady and soothing rate, a little relaxing classical piano music streaming through the computer speakers, and an evening of relaxation ahead, soup seemed to be the perfect dinner.  I’ve been in the mood for something spicy all day, so “making something with curry” was the starting point for tonight’s dinner.

With a sweet potato that had been languishing on the countertop for a couple of weeks, a huge pile of fresh cilantro I’d just picked up from the local Turkish grocery store, and coconut milk I’d made this morning on a “just in case” whim waiting in the fridge alongside a hunk of Greenland halibut that we’d put there to thaw last night, the creative wheels started turning.

The crunchy pieces of fish from the frying pan add a nice texture to the soup, too.

First of all, although that had been the plan, I really didn’t want a dinner centered around that hunk of fish.  Don’t get me wrong: I love fish, especially halibut.  But a hunk of fish requires side dishes and sauces and things that I wasn’t in the mood to make.  Plus, this hunk of fish was fairly small, so as a resource it needed to be stretched a bit. I decided to treat the fish as a garnish to the main course, and with that we were off and running.

This soup isn’t overly spicy, but you can easily adjust the spice level by adjusting the amount of red curry paste you use.  I also felt that the curry paste together with the fish sauce provided enough salt; feel free to adjust the level of salt to your liking.

Not only does this soup taste delicious with a all favor flavors including umami at play, it’s good for you.  The sweet potato packs a strong punch of vitamin A, the kale is one of the super greens with more phytonutrients than nearly any other plant out there, and the cilantro packed into this soup has been shown to have anti-diabetic effects, is used as an anti-inflammatory in India, has been studied in the US for its ability to lower cholesterol.  And if you’ve been having trouble getting your omega 3, the fish will add a healthy dose of that, too.

Full of satisfying flavor, it tastes as good as it looks.

Sweet Potato, Kale, Fish and Coconut Curry Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced 
1 liter chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk
2-4 teaspoons Thai red curry paste, depending on how spicy you like it
1 1/2 teaspoons Fish sauce
1 small bunch cilantro, roots trimmed; stems and leaves chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
3 cups Kale, washed, stems removed and chopped small
300 g halibut (or other white fish)
lemon juice, salt and pepper, for seasoning halibut
oil, for pan

Season the halibut with a sprinkle of salt, and a few grinds of pepper.  Set aside while you prepare the soup.

Pour the tablespoon of olive oil into a medium-sized pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute more. Add the chicken broth, water, coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce and cilantro stems.  Allow the broth to simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potato and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the kale and cook for one minute.  Add the cilantro leaves, reserving a few leaves for garnish. Cover the pot and turn off the heat.

Heat a heavy bottom frying pan or cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat.  Squeeze lemon juice over the halibut, brush the top side with oil, and place the fish, oil side down, in the pan.  Brush the side of the fish that is now facing up with oil.  Cover the pan and allow the fish to cook and steam until it is cooked about halfway through: 2-3 minutes.  Now, using a flat spatula, gently lift the fish up from the pan and flip it over.

Cover the pan again and allow the fish to cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through and slightly crisp. Transfer the fish from the pan to a cutting board and cut it into all cubes.  If you can, use the spatula to scrape some of the crispy bits from the bottom of the pan as well. Be careful to remove any bones during this process.

Ladle the soup into four bowls.  Divide the fish and the crispy pieces and arrange it over the top of the four bowls.  Garnish each bowl with cilantro leaves and serve.

Serves 4.

Kidney Bean, Kale and Barley Soup

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The wind is howling and puffing and blowing outside and it’s been doing that all day.  I live at the top of an 8-story apartment building, and I can hear the whistling of the wind, the rattling of the window pane and the whole building feels like it may be swaying just a bit.  Probably unlikely, though – this building has been here since the 1950s, so I don’t think we’re going anywhere.

I love a windy day – especially a day like this one when it really isn’t very cold outside.  I just took a short walk, and love the way the wind gusted up around the trees and buildings, across my face, through the hat I was wearing and pushing my winter coat back against me.  There is something about standing there, leaning slightly into the heavy gusts, looking out into the dark, starless night, that I found so enlivening and refreshing.  Woohoo!  Bring it on.

Here’s a hearty soup that’s well-suited for a windy winter day like this one.  It takes a bit of pre-planning since you’ll need to soak the grains and beans, but you can pop them in a bowl with water before you go to bed and they’ll be ready to go by the time you need them the next day.  Or you could use canned beans and pre-cooked grains leftover from something else, and then this comes together in about 20 minutes.

The soup has one secret, unusual, and completely crucial ingredient: the juice of one Clementine.  This adds a bright, sweet note without the sharpness that lemon juice or vinegar might bring.  Enjoy!

Kidney Bean, Kale and Barley Soup

1 cup kidney beans, soaked overnight, soaking water drained away, and rinsed
1/2 cup barley, soaked overnight, soaking water drained away, and rinsed
3 cups water
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery rib, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
leaves from 4 thyme sprigs
2-3 kale leaves, ribs removed and chopped small
2 cups / 500 ml vegetable broth or 2 cups water + 2 tablespoons homemade bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
Juice of one Clementine

In a medium pot, combine the beans, barley and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 40 minutes.

While the beans and barley cook, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft and beginning to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme leaves and cook for 2 minutes more.  Add the beans, barley and cooking water all at once.  Add the vegetable broth or water+homemade bouillon.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and cook for 15 minutes.  Take a bite of the beans and barley to make sure they are cooked.  If they are done, add the kale, and continue cooking for 3-5 more minutes to let the kale soften.  Remove from heat.  Add salt and pepper if needed.  Serve.

Serves 4

Borscht

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I first tasted Borscht nearly 20 years ago. It was made during a celebration of Russian food as part of an International week program.  At first I took only a small amount of the soup, certain that, since I’d never liked beets up to that point, this wasn’t going to be a meal that I would be excited about.  It was served with a spoonful of smetana (a version of sour cream found in Central and Eastern Europe, more like creme fraiche than the sour cream I’d eaten in the US) and a few slices of rye bread.  I ended up going back for a second bowl, and then a third, delighted by the sweet, earthy flavor of the beets balanced with the savory beef broth and offset by the addition of either vinegar or lemon – I wasn’t sure which.

Fast forward 15 year later, and I found myself living in Finland, newly married, with a husband who’s favorite soup was Borscht, and decided I would learn how to make it well.  No surprise, really, that there are Borscht lovers in Finland: the soup originates from Ukraine, and can be found in various forms and mildly differing recipes in Russia, Estonia, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland and Belarus, to name a few.  The name and ingredients vary slightly from region to region, but in most places, the unifying factor is that beets are the main ingredient, usually with the addition of tomato paste, and nearly always made with beef or pork broth.  Vegetarian version are good too, as long as mushrooms are used to add the much-needed umami that gives this soup its addictive qualities.

There is no better time to eat Borscht than during the Winter months.  Beetroot is in ample supply, and something about the cold dark days make a flavorful soup like this one a welcome sight on the table.  I nearly always serve it with rye bread or archipelago bread, and typically not with smetana.  If possible, I use beef broth, and pre-cooked beef, added during the last 10 minutes or so of cooking.  A good day to make Borscht is on the day after you’ve cooked a beef roast or braised oxtail.  Save some of the beef for this soup.

If starting with raw beef, you can also cook the diced beef briefly in the bottom of the soup until it is nicely browned on all sides, and then remove it and set aside while you brown the onions.  If you do this, add the beef back in when you add the liquid so it has time to cook and tenderize.  You can also make Borscht without beef, if preferred.  The recipe below includes it; to cook without it, make the recipe as is, but omit the beef.

Because it’s main ingredient is beetroot, this soup is bursting with nutrients as well.  Beetroot is a good source of folic acid, potassium, magnesium and iron, along with Vitamins A, B6 and C.

This version is quicker than other Borscht recipes I’ve made as it doesn’t call for roasting the beets first. Instead, you grate the raw beets and add them directly to the pot where the deep red from their juices provides the soup with it’s stunning color.  If there are leftovers, this soup freezes really well.

Borscht

2 tablespoons rapeseed oil or other cooking oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large raw beets, grated
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cups / 2.5 dl cabbage, sliced thinly
6 cups / 1.5 liters beef broth (can substitute vegetable broth; if so, add 1/2 ounce dried porcini)
1 cup / 250 ml crushed canned tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup / 2.5 dl cooked beef, cut into small pieces (you can leave this out, if preferred)
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup / 1/2 dl lemon juice or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Heat the oil in a 3-quart/3-liter pot over medium heat; add onion and carrot.  Cook for 5 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.  Add the garlic, beets, potatoes.  Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring to combine.  Add the beef broth all at once.  Add the tomatoes and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and allow the soup to cook for 10 minutes.  Add the cabbage and beef and continue cooking for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove the soup from heat and add the salt, pepper, vinegar and sugar.  Taste, and if necessary, adjust the seasonings; depending on the saltiness of your beef broth, you may need more salt.  You want there to be a sweet-sour balance in the soup.

Ladle into bowls and serve with rye bread or archipelago bread and soft butter.

Serves 4-6.