When Last Sunday's Soup Is Tonight's Dinner

This spicy veggie powered soup is littered with a lot of goodness and not for the faint of heart in the kitchen.

You can make it as simple or complex as you want and I’m gonna roll out what I did to make this masterpiece in 3 separate posts.

1. Today’s post: the recipe and info on SOUP ONLY 
2. In the coming days: a recipe for baked tofu which can be added to this soup and is another great weeknight make ahead staple
3. Also in the coming days: a spicy yogurt sauce for the soup and to be used to top grains, salads, roasted veggie, etc

Now … On with the soup … 

Laksa is a Malaysian curry that’s spicy, hearty and typically served with rice noodles. Last weekend I spent about $17.79 to refresh my produce. I needed a freezer soup stock update and was hankering for something warming and spiced. 

I made a massive pot of a laksa inspired soup during last Sunday’s cook, filled to the brim with veggies, anti-inflammatory spices (so good for your tummy, joints, bones and body overall) and a ton of flavor. Along the way I added baked tofu for a one bowl meal that will pack a day’s worth of veggies and plant protein in one sitting. I'm finally sitting down to enjoy it one week later. Hello big Saturday night! 

Veggie based soups (as well as ones with beans) are a great way to:

1. Eat veggies without REALLY having to try all week long or suffer (even though this isn’t the case for me, but is for many) the slings of salads (so I’ll be teaching you how to make more enticing ones of those).
2. Ride free on the fiber train of love which means you’ll stay fuller longer (the fiber found in veggies takes time to digest - and it goes through us real slow so we’re not hungry in an hour) and poop better. Yes, I wrote poop on a food blog and I’m sorry but I’m not - our insides are important my friends! 
3. Try new spices because new flavors keep our palates curious, open, expanding and out of the same old same old rut of eating one note (think salt only, so many people think spice means salt - but it actually means to build different flavors).

You can buy so many of these veggies pre-cut or even use 2 bags of frozen stir fry. Eliminate veggies or add even more. Adjust to your liking. This recipe of mine is kicked up with super immune system boosting spices (like turmeric, cumin, curry and garlic) and boasts LOADS of ginger (great for digestion) and hot spices (from jalapeños to sambal). Laksa is spicy, but if you need to turn this soup down - do it. Make it work for you. If you live in an area (or have an Amazon account) where you can get a pre-made curry paste, even if it has more salt and other ingredients in it (Trader Joe’s makes a pretty decent one from what I can tell simply by reading ingredients) us it because it’ll jump start your cooking process. I'm all for ease if it's going to get someone in the kitchen and experimenting!

Get in the kitchen! Have fun! Taste your way through the process!

All love and happy cooking!

XO

Ingredients

• 1 32 oz container of vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 cans of light coconut milk
• 3 T. coconut oil
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 large 6” piece of ginger or 2 x 3” large wide ones
• 6 T ground coriander
• 3 T.  turmeric
• 3 T. curry powder
• 3 T. cumin
• 1/3 c. peanut butter 
• 3 T. fish sauce
• 1/4 c. tamari, soy sauce or aminos
• 1 jalapeno *I couldn’t find chilis today 
• 2 T. sambal or chili paste
• Zest + juice of 2 limes 
• 1 c. eggplant, cut into small cubes
• 1 c. sweet potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 bunches of scallions, sliced, greens removed and saved for topping
• 1 c.  red + yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 c. mixed broccoli + cauliflower florets, cut small
• 2 c. napa cabbage, shredded

HOMEMADE SPICE PASTE

Method

• Place sesame oil, garlic, ginger, coriander, turmeric, curry, cumin, peanut butter, tamari, fish sauce, jalapeño and zest of lime + juice in a food processor, pulsing ingredients together until a super thick paste is formed
• Add stock and coconut milk to a pot and place over medium low flame
• Whisk paste into pot with liquids and bring to a low boil
• Add all vegetables and cover, lowering heat and cooking for 45 minutes until vegetables are soft enough to be pierced with a fork
• Serve as is, with a noodle, with a grain, tofu, with more greens or with an egg on top
• Dare to put a spicy yogurt sauce *Recipe to come
• Add tofu for additional non-animal protein power *Recipe to come
• Welcome to a veggie filled one pot/one week lunch, dinner and/or freezer bonus meal