Detox Dal: A Simple Winter Soup

January used to be the hardest month. Back to school, back to work, back to cold, intense urban environments. Now January is this: Warm soups on lovely days. Writing. Researching. Planning. Walks on the beach. Morning prayers with the sunrise. Sitting by the fire in the evening. Meals with my beloved.

January. Slow. Mindful. Deep. Days of hope. Days of white: snow, skies, interior scapes. Days of spiced tea and hot soups.

This simple winter soup has been our favorite so far. Made with three basic ingredients: split mung bean, carrots and chard, it’s easy, the way January should be.

It’s easy to make, easy to digest, and easy to love.

Be sure your mung beans are split, otherwise it will require soaking and a longer cooking time, and frankly it just never tastes as good. You can find them at any good Asian or Indian store, or you can order them online here.

A Wintry Dal
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 T ghee (be generous)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T vata spice mixture (see below)
1 t ginger powder
1 t curry powder
1 c SPLIT mung bean, rinsed and drained
4 c vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
4 small to medium sized carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
1 bunch chard, rinsed and loosely chopped
1 c water
1 T white miso

Seasoning: gf tamari or shoyu, extra virgin olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper
Optional: scallions, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, cilantro, sage leaves

Instructions

Melt your ghee over a medium flame. Sweat the onions, then add the garlic and give it a swirl. Add your spices and swirl again, now for about a minute. Stir in the mung beans. Turn the heat to high, and slowly pour in the vegetable broth. Add the bay leaves. Bring it to a boil, cover and reduce heat.

Allow it to gently boil for about 25 minutes. Add the carrots. Stir and check your liquid levels. It might need another cup of water. If so, add now.

Cook for another 15 minutes and add the chard. Let it sit on top of the soup to steam. Cook until it wilts, about 5-10 more minutes. Stir the chard into the soup. Taste to check if the beans are cooked through. They will be soft if they are done.

When the beans are done, turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the miso, and mix in well.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Season with tamari or shoyu, and a generous splash of olive oil. Sprinkle with cilantro, chopped scallions, roasted seeds, and, optionally, a toasted sage leaf.

Enjoy!

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How well do you know your dals? When I was home visiting my mother recently she shared with me this article from the Chicago Tribune which is a great feast of delicious information about legumes, and how best to prepare. It’s worth a read for any travel, culture or culinary lover.

This New Year, I have a brand new, wonderful, online course called New Year New You. It’s full of goodies and powerful tools to help you live your very best life, and shine your gorgeous light. So check it out and see if it resonates with you. If so, sign up quick. We begin this weekend.

If you comment below letting me know you are interested, you will be eligible for a 10% discount (even if you’ve already registered!). I’ll pick randomly tomorrow afternoon.

Again, I wish you a Happy New Year. May it be nourishing and bright.

Namaste! 

Sunshine Soup

It’s all about the light really, isn’t? These holidays ~ Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas, New Year’s? Aren’t we all in some way, each in our own way, celebrating light? Its sustenance… its return… its birth… its miracle… its warmth… our dependence on it….

I had a teacher who used to say, “Eat Light. Plants do. Why can’t you?”

In this darkest of seasons, here is a soup of sunlight. With its saffron swirl, it offers vitamins A, D and E to strengthen your color and sight, and selenium to keep your moods sunny and bright. It’s a warm break from winter’s toil, and another good reason to celebrate the return of light, and the approach of a new year.

The brazil nuts offer a rich base note to the carrots’ creamy sweetness, while the tarragon weaves through with a unique pungency, and the orange zest gives that bite of bitter that makes it all beam. It’s so simple, you might be surprised by what a grand dish it makes.

Carrot Tarragon “Sunshine” Soup
Serves 2-3

2 t ghee (or coconut oil)
1/2 t ground turmeric
2 t tarragon, chopped (dried is okay if you can’t find fresh)
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1″ piece of ginger, peeled
1 lb carrots
1/4 t sea or pink salt
1 dash red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable broth
8-10 brazil nuts, lightly toasted
1 orange

Roughly chop your carrots, onion, garlic, ginger. Grate the orange peel to make about a teaspoon of zest and set aside. Juice the orange and measure out about 1/4 cup.

Melt 1 teaspoon ghee in a sauce pan on low heat. Add the turmeric and 1 teaspoon of the tarragon to the ghee and give it a good swirl. Add the chopped vegetables, red pepper flakes and half the salt. Allow this to “sweat” by cooking on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.

Turn up the heat, add the broth, and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat so it just lightly boils for about 10-15 minutes, or until the carrots are soft.

Put your toasted brazil nuts, and a bit of the soup mixture in a blender and mix until the nuts are completely broken down and throughly integrated. Pour in the rest of the soup and purée. Add water if the consistency is too thick. Pour the purée back into the sauce pan, cover and warm over a low heat.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining ghee in a small saucepan. Add the remaining salt and tarragon. Stir over a very low heat for about one minute. Turn the heat under the soup off. Stir in the orange juice. Ladle into bowls, drizzle with the tarragon “butter” and sprinkle with orange zest. Serve piping hot.

On a recent day devoted to cleaning out the pantry, we had it for lunch with gf crackers and this cilantro pesto. But it’s not just a worker’s lunch. In elegant bowls garnished with a stalk of fresh tarragon, it would be an inspiring starter for a New Year’s dinner. I’m sure Champagne’s sparkle would delightfully pair with this bowl of sunshine.

I wish you a Happy New Year ~
With light and love in every bite!

Chestnut Porcini Soup

Chestnut Porcini Soup

I found this recipe in Edible San Diego, a wonderful new magazine about local farms, markets and restaurants. It is featured in a profile of Patrick Ponsaty, Chef de Cuisine at Mistral, a restaurant overlooking San Diego Bay.

The original was not vegetarian, but with some adaptations is now a perfect “Opening” to our Christmas dinner. It would also make a great meal for those days after Christmas, when you want something hearty and hale. It’s certainly a creative way to use up any Chestnuts remaining from Christmas!

CHESTNUT & PORCINI SOUP
Makes 5-6 servings

1 yellow onion, medium dice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 bouquet thyme
1 pound porcini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 pound white mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
4 ounces white wine
9 ounces chestnuts
42 ounces vegetable stock
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon black truffle oil
4 ounces heavy cream
1 sprig cilantro, for garnish

In a medium stockpot, sweat onions in olive oil until translucent, then add chopped garlic and thyme. Add ⅓ of mushrooms and cook them until sweated out. Repeat with the next ⅓ and the next ⅓ until all mushrooms are cooked.

Once mushrooms have evaporated and have started to caramelize, deglaze with white wine.  After all alcohol in wine has evaporated add chestnuts. Cover with chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook for 30–45 minutes.

Remove from heat and add truffle oil. Place small amounts in a blender, add a splash of cream each time and blend until smooth. Repeat this process until all is blended. Use a whisk to mix all the batches together.

Check for seasoning and serve hot. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Chestnuts

Mistral is the signature restaurant at Loews Coronado Bay Resort.