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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Caraway, Tuna, and Broadbean Soup

Soup season doesn't mean you have to drink your dinner.  I personally prefer chunky creamy soups to velvety smooth blended soups.  I have different thickening methods, but my all-time favorite is to use beans.  Once they're cooked, I blend some together with the cooking liquid and pour it back into the pot.  The result is similar to cream.. without the cream, but with all the goodness of creaminess!
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 green chile, slit
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup dried split broad beans, soaked for at least 1 hour
water to level
1 cube vegetable bouillon
1 carrot, diced
2 handfuls cauliflower florets
1 can tuna, drained
1/4 cup frozen peas
lots of cracked black pepper
grated parmesan for garnish
Directions
1.  Heat the oil in the soup pot and add the caraway seeds when it is hot.  When the seeds start to crackle, add the turmeric.  It should fizz.
2.  Add the green chile and onions and cook until translucent.
3.  Add the soaked broadbeans, carrot, cube of bouillon, and water to level.  Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the beans are almost tender.  Remove a ladle with the beans and set aside.
4.  Add the cauliflower florets and more water if needed.  Simmer for 5 more minutes.  You don't want to overcook the cauliflower or it will be come mushy.
5.  Add the tuna, peas, and black pepper.  Judge the water level yourself.  Heat through for a few minutes.
6.  While that is happening, blend the beans you set aside in step 3 and pour them back into the soup. This is your thickener.  The liquid should no longer be clear.  Taste and add salt if needed.

Serve garnished with parmesan.  I found some excellent multigrain bread to sop up the last bits with.
Bread and caraway also go hand in hand by the way.

This is is one of those dinners I created as I progressed through the steps and made sure to write each detail down so I could recreate it.  It was everything I love about a soup with a little mix of Indian style technique.  Cauliflower and caraway seeds are a perfect match, but frying them in oil and then adding the turmeric for a fizz is the best way to have them release their flavor.  I love the way the method can be applied to any type of dish.. not only Indian food..
(as I say this, bhangra music is playing in my head)

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