Carrot and Almond Soup

This is my favourite soup recipe which I'm posting for Laura. It comes from Gillian McKeith's cookbook "You Are What You Eat," which, actually, there is no point in buying because it only has about three good recipes in it. Though I must admit that those three recipes are AWESOME!

When ever I eat this soup I always feel like I'm putting something really nutritious into my body. It tastes sweet and the ground almonds give it a lovely creaminess. Gillian does some messing around with herb stalks but I'm inclined to ignore anything fussy like that. It's also nice to double the recipe and freeze ahead for ease of access to yummy deliciousness. :)

Carrot and Almond Soup
Serves 4

• 2 onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 6 carrots, trimmed, peeled and sliced
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
• 1 tbsp wheat-free vegetable bouillon powder (I use a stock cube...)
• 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 100g ground almonds
  
  
  
  

Method:

1. Place the onions, garlic, carrot and celery in a large saucepan. Add 1.25 litres boiling water and the bouillon powder. Bring to the boil and add the herbs.

2. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife.

3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Strain, reserving the stock. Blend the vegetables with a hand held blender until smooth.

4. Return the mixture to the pan and add the ground almonds and enough of the reserved stock to make a soup-like consistency.

Reheat, then divide between warmed soup bowls and serve garnished with chopped fresh coriander and parsley.

What I said earlier about freezing was true - I always made double to freeze - but everyone always eats at least two bowls in one sitting so the next time I make it, I'm going to do it when everyone's out and not tell anyone what I made...

Pumpkin and Spinach Lasagne

Yesterday, I showed you how to make pumpkin purée. Now I'm going to share with you a recipe for Pumpkin and Spinach Lasagne I tried out for dinner yesterday. The original recipe comes from a magazine called 'Healthy Food Guide.' (My favourite magazine, so many gorgeous recipes!)

Alterations:

Though the original recipe asks for chunks of pumpkin to be lightly fried, I used my purée instead. I also used adult spinach instead of baby spinach, removing the stalks and wilting it before adding the pumpkin. The recipe also called for 350g of fresh lasagne but I used dried and I only needed five sheets! Very low in carbohydrates. :) (Also low in fat, salts and saturates as well as high in calcium and iron.) How many sheets of pasta you need will depend on the size and shape of your oven proof dish.

PUMPKIN AND SPINACH LASAGNE
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Cooking oil spray.
• 500g pumpkin purée
• 250g spinach, heavy stalks cut off
• 2 x 400g cans of tomatoes with herbs
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 250g ricotta
• 250g low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 30g parmesan, grated
• 5-7 sheets of dried lasagna
  
  
  
  

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/ fan 18O°C/gas 6.

2. Spray a frying pan a few times with the cooking oil. Add the spinach, a third at a time and wilt over a low heat, stirring frequently.



3. Add the pumpkin, garlic and tins of tomatoes to the spinach and cook over a medium heat for five minutes.

 4. Add the ricotta, cottage cheese, two thirds of the parmesan and dried herbs together and blend in a food processor or with a handheld blender until it makes a smooth paste.

 5. Pour one third of the tomato into an ovenproof dish. Add a layer of lasagne, followed by more tomato sauce and a layer of the cheesy sauce.* Repeat these layers until the ingredients are used up and finish with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes.

*(The cheese sauce can be tough to spread, I found. Try using a spatula.)