A PINCH OF CLAIRE

Hold everything! This is the best, tastiest soup you are ever going to make. Rich in fantastic flavour and great with a few crunchy pappadums on the side, this is definitely a hearty meal you’ll make more than once. It does have quite a list of ingredients, but it all goes in the one pot, making it super easy on the washing up detail.

1 red onion , roughly chopped
1 carrot , roughly chopped
1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
thumb sized piece of ginger, finely chopped
bunch of coriander, stalks finely chopped, sprigs picked
1 long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 tbs Madras curry powder
1 tbs tomato paste
200g beef mince
2 x 400g cans of tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
2 handfuls of basmati rice

Place a large pan over medium heat. Heat plug of olive oil and cook the onion, carrot, capsicum, garlic, ginger, coriander stalks and most of chilli for 10 minutes or until soft.

Add the curry powder and tomato paste and cook, stirring,for 2 minutes. Add the beef, tomatoes, beef stock, salt and pepper. Break mince and tomatoes up with a wooden spoon. Bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 1 1/4 hours . Add rice , bring back to the boil and cook over low heat for a further 15 minutes or until rice is tender.

Serve in bowls with a spoonful of yoghurt, remaining chilli and coriander sprigs.

 

Oh my goodness, you are going to love this recipe. I stumbled across it whilst flicking through a magazine and from memory, it was an advertisement for stock. This is a casserole that is perfect to make all year round because it is light and vibrant compared to other heavy duty stews.

2 tbs olive oil
1 kg chicken thighs
1 chorizo, thinly sliced
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp mild paprika
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 x 440g tin diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 tbs tomato paste
2 dried bay leaves
1/2 cup green pitted olives
2 tbs parsley

Preheat oven to 200c. Heat oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add 1/3 of the chicken and cook until brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and continue with the remaining two batches. Reduce heat to medium. Add chorizo, onion, garlic, carrot and cook for 5 minutes until vegetables soften. Add the paprika and cook for 1 minute. Add sherry and cook until well combined. Add chicken, tomato, stock, tomato paste and bay leaves. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until chicken is tender. Remove from oven and add olives. Bake uncovered for a further 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.