feel food club

Soups

Super Comforting Turkish Roasted Bell Pepper & Lentil Soup

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Finally – it is soup season!! Isn‘t it the best feeling when the leaves are turning red and brown and the temperatures start to drop, while you are sitting inside, underneath a cozy blanket and enjoying a heavenly, warm bowl of soup? There are few things that are as cozy as this! And especially if you are enjoying this Ultra Creamy, Comforting Turkish-Inspired Roasted Red Bell Pepper Lentil Soup!

What is special about this dish?

We all know that soup basically is equal to comfort heaven. Yet, if you always have the same, good, old, pumpkin soup and chicken soup, it gets boring easily. So, in order to keep the soup game fun we need to switch things up. Just as we are doing with this soup – because it definitely is not your average soup!

Also, as the name says it is Turkish Inspired. Originally the lentil soup is made without bell pepper – but you know what? I thought a little veggie never hurt nobody, so why not adding it into the soup? What else is so great about this recipe is the creaminess of the soup. Soso heavenly thick and fillings – it is pure heaven. And the soup will actually keep you full and satisfied for long, because the lentils are packed with fibre.

Is this healthy?

Speaking of fibre, is this dish healthy? Soups tend to be pretty healthy in general because they mostly are packed with veggies. So is this soup. The main ingredient, the star of the show are the lentils. Those tiny, little things are packed with nutrients! They not only contain a decent amount of fibre, but also an incredible amount of plant based protein. This makes them a super nutritious base for the soup.

Regarding the rest of the ingredients, it can be said that they also are pretty nutritious. The bell peppers are loaded with vitamins and fibre and so are the onion and garlic. The vegetable broth mainly is added for the texture of the soup, but also may contain essential vitamins. The greek yoghurt on top is the dot on the eye, contributing a little more protein and deliciousness. The olive oil as a finishing touch makes sure you get your unsaturated fats and voilà, the perfectly balanced meal it is!

How to make this dish?

Soups (almost) never are difficult to make, so is this one. It really takes very little time and few ingredients to create such a delicious dish! All that needs to be done is sautéeing lentils and veggies, then covering it with broth and letting it simmer until the lentils are soft. We of course, do need to add some spices too, for that incredible flavor, but nothing too fancy or special. In the meantime the roasted red bell pepper can roast in the oven until golden brown. The process of roasting it will let the bell pepper intensify in flavor and sweetness!

Once both is done, it can all be blended up until having reached a creamy soup. It is beat not to add all liquid (from the broth) into the blender at once, this way you can adjust the consistency after blending. And that already is it! Isn’t it easy? If you want, you can also prepare a little salsa to go on top, by just finely chopping some jalapeños, cilantro and mint and mixing it with olive oil. This can go on top of the soup along with a dollop of greek yoghurt and some olive oil. Voilà! Enjoy!

Perfect for meal prep!

Just make a larger portion of it, let it cool to room temperature and fill it into tupperware. You can then freeze this and grab and thaw one whenever you are craving it. Or you know, on those days, when you are coming home exhaustedly and don’t really feel like cooking a lot! Just add a splash of water while reheating it and enjoy your meal!!

I genuinely hope, you‘ll enjoy this dish as much as we do and have an amazing time cooking it! Wishing you lots and lots of cozy fall days!

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Super Cozy Turkish Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Lentil Soup

This is not your average soup but a fun twist on the turkish, classic lentil soup. This Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Lentil Soup is a creamy heaven for cozy fall days and also so quick and easy to make! Plus, it is vegan and healthy – there are no excuses left not to make this!

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine turkish
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

  • 300 g red lentils
  • 4 red bell peppers
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste (Tomatenmark)
  • 1,5 l vegetable broth

Optional to serve:

  • 2 jalapeno peppers
  • 1 tbsp mint & parsley
  • olive oil
  • greek yoghurt

How to

  1. Start by preheating the oven to 200°C. Remove the core of the bell pepper and cut in half. Lay out on a baking tray, sprinkle with salt, drizzle with half of the olive oil and bake for 20 minutes until soft and slightly brown on top.

  2. In the meantime peel and finely dice the onion, garlic and carrot. Heat up the remaining olive oil in a pot and fry them in there for about 2 minutes until fragrant before adding in the lentils, cumin, a little salt and tomato paste and letting fry for another minute. Add the vegetable broth and let simmer for about 15 minutes until the lentils are soft.

  3. In the meantime remove the seeds and finely chop the jalapeños, mint and parsley and mix with the olive oil for a salsa!

  4. Once the bell pepper is done, roughly chop it and mix it with the lentils, as soon as they have finished cooking. Do this with a blender or a hand blender until creamy. If too thick, add a little more water.

  5. Divide onto bowls, garnish with the salsa and a dollop of greek yoghurt and enjoy!

Enjoy,

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Incredibly Quick & Easy Tomato Soup w/ Caramelised goats Cheese Bread

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Tomato soup in winter? Yes that’s possible – because we are using canned tomatoes! Don’t worry – it is at LEAST as delicious as the one with fresh tomatoes. Creamy, tangy and really easy. Plus, with the bread on the side you do not have your average one but a fancier (still super easy) version of it!

I, as a HUGE tomato lover (more like addict), have the hardest time in winter not eating everything with tomatoes. Tomatoes really are one of the things I miss most about summer! Anyway, we cannot have them fresh, but we can have the in their preserved way. Canned tomatoes are harvested when they are in season and then preserved in cans. Therefore you can enjoy them all year around, which is life-saving for tomato lovers like me.

What is special about this dish?

First of all it is made with canned not fresh tomatoes. Why? Tomatoes are not in season at this time of the year. You could still buy some but they are 1) not as tasty as in summer, 2) more expensive, 3) not good for the climate. Just because they are not in season right now, does not mean that we cannot enjoy some tomato soup – we just have to find other ways to make it! So we are using canned ones!

Plus we do not have some baguette to dip or some regular grilled cheese but a way fancier version of grilled cheese. Crispy wholegrain bread with goats cheese & honey straight out of the oven and still warm. This really goes perfectly with the creamy tomato sauce.

Is this dish healthy?

I would say so. We have got vitamins from the tomatoes, onions and garlic. Some carbs and fibre from the bread and some protein from the cream cheese. It definitely is no nutrient-bomb but it does provide your body with some essential nutrients! If you wanted to make it a bit more nutritious, you could serve it with a side salad!

How to make this?

Really, super easy!! It essentially comes down to frying some garlic, onion and herbs in some oil until golden. Then we only need to add some tomato paste, vegetable broth, canned tomatoes and some fresh herbs. This just simmers for about 15 minutes so it can absorb the flavours of the herbs. In the meantime we can prepare the bread.

Therefore we slice up the wholegrain bread and place it on a baking tray. To this we are adding some goats cheese. The creamier and fresher it is, the easier it is to spread on top of the bread, but here you can go for whatever you like most! Just add a drizzle of honey and bake it for about 10 minutes and that is it for the bread.

To finish off the tomato soup, we are now removing the herbs and adding it to a blender. To make it creamy and a bit tangy, we are also adding some ricotta cheese and a little touch of honey to recreate the sweetness of those beautiful summery honey tomatoes! Blend and serve!

Meal prep friendly and how to have it:

This really works great for meal prep or also for being made in a big batch. You can just make more servings, let it cool down and freeze it in Tupperware. Whenever you want to have some, just heat it up in a pot and you have got it ready in minutes.

The bread can not be meal-prepped but it really does not take very long to make 🙂 Beside the bread, I also love to serve it with some burrata cheese and balsamic vinegar!

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Incredibly Quick & Easy Tomato Soup w/ Caramelised goats Cheese Bread

Comforting, healthy, easy and super quick tomato sauce. Yes, you can have it in winter and it is really really good! Plus the caramelized bread with it is absolutely amaaazing!!!

Course Appetizer, dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 2 servings

What you will need

  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1.5 cans tomatoes
  • 500 ml vegetable broth
  • a few branches fresh oregano & thyme
  • 3 tbsp ricotta cheese
  • 2 slices whole grain bread
  • 4 tbsp goats cheese (the younger and fresher it is, the easier it is to spread)
  • 2 tbsp honey

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

  2. Finely dice the onion and chop the garlic. Heat up the oil in a pot and sautée both of them in there for about 2-3 minutes until fragnant and glassy. Add the canned tomatoes, vegetable broth and fresh herbs and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

  3. In the meantime spread the bread slices with the goats cheese and drizzle about 1 tbsp of the honey onto them. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

  4. Remove the herbs from the tomato soup and either transfer them to a blender to blend with an immersion blender in the pot along with the ricotta.

  5. Divide onto bowls and serve with the bread! Enjoy!

I hope that you’ll enjoy this recipe and make it on repeat! It is super comforting, cozy and actually fairly easy! I would love to hear and see how you like it and am wishing you a fun time cooking!

Enjoy,
Love,
Katie

Curry Noodle Soup with Lemongrass Meatballs

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This dish honestly is one of my favourite things I have ever made. It is just so good. And so family friendly. The combination of a creamy slightly spicy and refreshing soup with fresh vegetables, dense meatballs and soft noodles. It just is so good. Unbelievable good.

It is something the entire family will love. Meatballs are always a family staple in my opinion and noodles are too. If there are family members who don’t eat meat, they only do veggies and noodles, if there are some who are not the biggest fan of vegetables they can leave them out. It is really versatile and really good.

I do not know how I came up with that Idea but I think I somehow wanted a curry and a noodle soup at the same time so I combined it. And I knew I couldn’t go without some meat for my brother and my dad so I decided to try out something different, something that could easily be eaten in a sop and decided to go for meatballs.

Ground chicken or veal work best for the meatballs but pork or beef works fine too. I have to say though, that I have never tried it out with vegetable mince, because I am worried that this will probably fall apart. Other than the meat in the balls go some lemongrass, fresh is best but dried (in powder) works alright too, some ginger, garlic, soy sauce and cornstarch to hold everything together. It all is diced up finely and then mixed together before being formed into meatballs.

As the base of the soup we use chicken broth because it has most flavour and add in ginger, lemongrass and spring onions to add some asian flavours to the broth. This is all being poured over some curry paste and after simmering for a little while also some canned coconut milk goes into the pot. Coconut milk is such a great addition into soups because it makes everything so much creamier and richer plus it adds a ton of flavour. It really is a healthy go-to for soups!

To finish the meal of we add some pasta to the soup for some carbs and texture. Here I recommend using soba ur glass noodles. Soba noodles are my preferred choice. They originally come from Japan and are made from buckwheat flour. They taste super delicious and have more fibre and protein than regular pasta. If you do not find them near you, you can also substitute them for glass noodles.

And of course, we need some vitamins too, so we are adding some vegetables! Here you can use whatever is in your fridge! Personally, I would recommend using mushrooms, carrots, pak choy, cauliflower, asparagus an broccoli. but if you have any other favourites you are free to add them!

Preparing it all takes a little time because everything needs to be chopped but it is a fun thing to do. Especially forming the meatballs is something kids will love.

I love making this dish as a lunch or a delicious dinner because it is packed with flavour, and nutrients. The entire family loves it and you can still enjoy it the next day if there is something left over (although there probably will be none)!

I hope that this gives you some inspiration to cook good and healthy food for your entire family or just for yourself.

Happy cooking,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Curry Noodle Soup with Lemongrass Meatballs

Best soup you will ever make. Spicy and creamy base with dense deliciously fresh meatballs, soft vegetables and dedicant noodles. The best thing ever.

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine asian, thai
Prep Time 30 Minuten
Cook Time 30 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde
Servings 4 servings
Calories 596 kcal

What you will need

For the Meatballs:

  • 400 g ground chicken
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
  • 4 cm ginger
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 spring onion
  • 1 tbso soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch maybe a bit more
  • 1 tbsp oil

For the soup:

  • 25 g curry paste
  • 1,5 l chicken broth
  • 2 stalks lemongrass
  • 6 cm ginger
  • 2 spring onions
  • 400 ml coconut milk (1 can)
  • 100 g mushrooms *
  • 100 g broccoli *
  • 100 g carrots *
  • 100 g cauliflower *
  • 1 pak choy
  • 150 g soba noodles
  • some fresh spring onions

How to

That is how it works:

  1. For the meatballs peel and mince the lemongrass, ginger and spring onions finely. Combine them in a bowl with the ground meat, soy sauce and the cornstarch. Mix everything well. It shoudl form a sticky consistency so you can form meatballs. It it is not sticky enough, add more cornstarch.

  2. Take one heaped tablespoon at a time from the meat mixture and form it into balls. Heat up the oil in a large pot and fry the meatballs in it for about 10 minutes. Take them out and set them aside.

  3. In the meantime cut up the ginger, lemongras, and spring onions into larger chunks. Combine the curry past with about 3 tablespoons of the coconut milk.

    In the hot pot quickly fry the ginger, lemongras, and spring onions for about 2-3 minutes. Take them out and place them in a tea bag or sieve so they can cook with the broth later. Add the curry paste mixture into the pot any fry this for about one minute before you add the broth and the tea bag. Bring everything to a boil.

    In the meantime chop all of the vegetbales you are using into bite-sized pices. Add in harder veegtables that need longer to cook, like carrot and cauliflower now and boil them for about 5 minutes.

    In the meantime prepare the pasta according to package intructions.

    After the 5 minutes, add in the other vegetables and coconut milk and take out the tea bag. Let everything simmer for another 3-4 minutes.

    When the noodles are done cooking strain them and set aside.

  4. To serve add some meatballs and pasta into a soup bowl. Next, pour the soup and vegetables over and garnish with some spring onions and fresh cilantro. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • you can use any vegetables you have in your fridge, they do not need to be those exact ones, 

Creamy Lentil Dhal

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This is honestly one of the best things I‘ve ever made. I really really enjoy that on chilly winter days when you want a hot bowl of something but also on warmer days because it also tastes great when it is enjoyed cold and it actually enhances the flavor when kept in the fridge overnight or for several days. This makes it super meal prep friendly. You can just store it and take it to work, school, or Uni whenever you need it. It is like that with every curry or heavily spiced dish, it only gains flavor when left for a day or a few.


So what is dhal?
Dhal is an Indian term that refers to split pulses, such as beans, peas and lentils. These legumes, how you call them in English, are staple foods in Indian cuisine. But dhak is also used to name several dishes, mostly soups. Traditionally there are tomatoes and onions as well as several other spices added. In Asia it usually is eaten with some flatbread or rice. 

Is it good for me?
I love curries. So much. But sometimes you just feel like having something heartier with more substance. Like this lentil dhal. Lentils are packed with protein and fiber but also lots of other vitamins. Plus there’s a good amount of spices in here which makes everything super flavorful. The veggies and potatoes add some more taste and the toppings take it next level. 


What is in this recipe?
So, I am not a traditional Indian, surprise, surprise, so I took a traditional dhal and added a few things.The star of the dish are red lentils. If you really do not like those, I would recommend using split peas. Besides that we have some onion, garlic, ginger, graham masala, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, paprika powder, bell pepper, carrot as a base. We sautée everything and then add vegetable stock. We add in some potatoes that are peeled and cut. I do not think that it is very traditional to add potatoes but I believe that they add an incredible comforting feeling to it and make everything more filling. Plus they add some nice texture. You could also opt for sweet potatoes instead if you prefer but yellow potatoes work a bit better. 

Next come the lentils. I do not pre soak mine or pre cook them because red lentils cook pretty fast. So we add them in after a while and let everything simmer. Once the lentils are soft, in goes some coconut milk. The coconut milk is essential. I would use full fat one since we have a lot of broth and with low fat ones, you won´t be able to achieve that creaminess. While everything simmers for a little, the flavors of the spices will get deeper into the curry and the lentils become a little bit mushy, which tastes so great. 

So that basically is the dhal, but what would it be without toppings? Let´s be honest, toppings take everything next level. We are cutting up a lime, of which we will squeeze the juice on the dhal after serving, garnish the dish with a little (plant based) yoghurt or more coconut milk, some fresh cilantro, sliced up spring onions and if wanted (but really good) some cashews or peanuts for extra crunch and extra tastiness. 

I would recommend to serve it over some rice or with naan bread. With either one you can soak up the liquid and it tastes super delicious!

Is it family friendly?

Yes! It definitely is! Not only that it is very versatile, as you can add in some ground chicken when stir frying the veggies or some grilled prawns on top, when including some animal products but it also it can be made more or less spicy, depending on who eats it. Moreover, it can be kept in the fridge for several days, so every member of the family can take it to school or work. 

I hope that you will enjoy making and eating this dish, and that you will love it as much as I do! It is such a great dish to enjoy all throughout the year, is super healthy and packed with tons of flavors!

Enjoy, 

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Creamy Lentil Dhal

A super flavorful and warming dinner, that is super easy to make and incredibly delicious and healthy!

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 30 Minuten
Total Time 45 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 434 kcal

What you will need

Thats what you will need:

For the base:

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 4 cm ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp graham massala
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp paprika powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 carrot

The rest:

  • 500 g potatoes
  • 200 g lentils
  • 500 ml vegetable broth
  • 200 ml coconut milk

For servings:

  • some rice
  • some cilantro
  • cut up spring onions
  • yoghurt (plant based)
  • some nuts

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Finely dice uo the onion, garlic and ginger. In a pan heat up the oil. Once hot add the cut up veggies in. Sautee them for 2 minutes and then add the spices and sautee for another 2 minutes.

  2. Peel the carrot. Finely dine it and the bell pepper aswell. Add them to the pot and sautee for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth.

  3. Peel the potatoes and cout them into about 2 cm chunks. Once the broth boild, add the potatoes in and let everything cook for 10 minutes. Then add in the lentils and let everything boil for another 10 minutes.

  4. Next pour in the coconut milk and let everything simmer for another 5 minutes.

  5. Once ready, put it into bowls. Garnish with some yoghurt, cilantro, spring onions and cilantro.

  6. Serve and enjoy!