Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup

This Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup is made with small, sweet Chantenay carrots and lots of fresh ginger, garlic and yogurt, a warming bowl of goodness.

My older sister Tanya was a huge fan of cooked carrots, often cooking up a pot of sliced ones to serve as a side dish or frankly just to eat the whole lot as a meal. I must admit that I also cooked them as a side dish but way, way more rarely. Carrots had to be just about the last item in the vegetable drawer for me to choose them as a cooked side dish.

My younger daughter was even less of a fan than I was. When I would serve cooked carrots, I’d give her a few raw carrot sticks as her side. Hey, she was eating vegetables and since they weren't my favorite either, I completely understood. 

But soup? Soup changes everything. Sweet carrots roasted then pureed in delicious savory soup is perfect for rainy cold days, especially with plenty of warming fresh ginger. 

Chantenay carrots are a British-grown heirloom varietal known for their diminutive size and extraordinary sweetness. Originally cultivated in the Chantenay region of Northern France as far back as the 1800s - hence the name - they fell out of favor there in the 1960s when food production became increasingly mechanized. 

They are enjoying a resurgence of popularity in the UK now though. Whenever I see a bag in my local grocery store, I cannot resist buying some. They are so sweet and so cute! 

Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup

If you can’t find Chantenay carrots, substitute seasonal local carrots from wherever you live. If the internet research can be believed, smaller young carrots are sweeter than larger older ones. This recipe is adapted from one on The Mediterranean Dish. 

Ingredients  

Extra virgin olive oil

1 lb or 450g Chantenay carrots, scrubbed

Fine sea salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

2 large garlic cloves

2 in or 4 cm knob fresh ginger

4 cups or 960ml vegetable or chicken stock, divided

1/4 cup or 61g Greek yogurt, plus extra drizzled for serving, optional

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Method

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and line a baking pan with a silicone liner or baking parchment for easy clean up. 

Peel and mince the garlic and ginger. 

Trim the roots ends off of the little carrots. 

Pile them in your lined baking pan and drizzle them with olive oil. Sprinkle on a few good pinches of salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. 

Use your clean hands to toss the carrots around to distribute the salt and pepper and coat them with the oil. Spread them out in a single layer.

Roast the carrots for 20 minutes. 

Stir them around and roast for another 10-12 minutes or until they are fork tender and slightly caramelized. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

When the carrots are cool enough to handle, place them in a blender along with the garlic, ginger and some of the broth. 

Puree until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the carrot puree to a heavy cooking pot.

Add the remaining stock to the blender and give it a swish so you don't leave any pureed carrots behind. Pour that into the pot. Place the pot on medium heat and bring it slowly to a low boil. 

Stir occasionally and cook for about 30 minutes or until it’s reduced slightly and the garlic odor has tempered.

Turn the heat to medium-low and stir in the yogurt and ground cumin. 

Cook till it's heated through then remove from the stove.

Transfer to serving bowls and add a few drizzles of yogurt to garnish, if desired. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing dishes cooked with root vegetables. Many thanks to our host Mayuri of Mayuri’s Jikoni. Check out the links below. 

• Alu Kangmet - Manipuri Potato Mash from Mildly Indian
• Arbi Ka Paratha from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Beetroot Paneer Rice with Leftover Rice from Cook With Renu
• Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup from Food Lust People Love
• Ginger Almond & Poppy Seed Vadi from Sneha's Recipe
• Maple Miso Root Vegetable Medley from A Messy Kitchen
• Parsnip and Leek Soup with Cumin and Mustard Seeds from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Roasted Beet Galette from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Roasties from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie from Making Miracles

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Smoky Spicy Roasted Almonds

These smoky spicy roasted almonds are seasoned with cayenne and smoked paprika. They are super easy to make and perfect for snack time or happy hour.

I’ve been trying, at my doctor’s request, to up my protein intake and eat a bit more healthily. While the calorie count is rather high for almonds, most of it is from so-called “healthy fats” and they add fiber and protein to a balanced diet. At least, that’s what I’ve been reading! 

So, when our host for this week’s Sunday FunDay said that since tomorrow, 16 February is National Almond Day, today we should share almond recipes in celebration, I knew I wanted to make my new favorite snack. 

A lot of recipes for roasted nuts toss them in oil to get the seasonings to stick but I learned from my friend and fellow blogger Sue from Palatable Pastime, that egg whites do a much better job. Bonus: they add very few extra calories and the egg whites bake up dry so your nuts are lovely and crunchy. Thanks, Sue! 

 If you like smoky and spicy, these are going to be your new favorite snack too! 

Smoky Spicy Roasted Almonds

Regular paprika won’t do here. You need the smoked to impart that wonderful smoky flavor. Adjust the cayenne according to your preferred spice level. I use a minimum of a1/2 teaspoon!

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons egg white

2 cups or 300g whole raw almonds

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4-1/2 teaspoon (or more!) cayenne pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 325°F or 163°C and line a baking pan with foil or a silicone liner for easy cleanup.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until it’s foamy to make sure it is completely broken down.  

In another bowl, combine the smoked paprika, salt and cayenne pepper. 

Toss the almonds in the egg white and stir them till coated. Sprinkle the spice mix on the almonds.

Toss lightly to season.

Spread the almonds out evenly on your prepared baking pan.

Bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes. Take the pan out and give the almonds a good stir and separate any almonds that are stuck together. 

Bake for an additional 12-15 minutes or until lightly roasted. Watch closely towards the end of the cooking time to make sure they aren't getting too brown.

Cool in the pan. The almonds make a lovely crackling sound as they cool, which is fun. 

Serve immediately or leave to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

If you’re not going to eat them all within a week or two, store them in the refrigerator for up to three months or in the freezer for up to six months. This keeps them from turning rancid on you, as nuts can do.

Serve as a snack at happy hour with the beverage of your choice. It’s chilly right now so we aren’t drinking iced drinks but these also go down a treat with a cold beer or crisp white wine. 

Cheers! Happy National Almond Day. Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, it’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing almond recipes. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the link list below. 

• Almond Date Balls from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Banana Pancakes from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Basil Almond Pesto from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Chinese Almond Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Copycat Panera Thai Chicken Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Energy High Protein Shake from Sneha's Recipe
• Gató de Almendras Mallorquín from Culinary Cam
• Grain Free Almond Flour Cinnamon Pancakes from A Messy Kitchen
• Lemon Almond Muffins from Making Miracles
• Smoky Spicy Roasted Almonds from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Black-eyed Peas with Smoked Bacon

Black-eyed Peas with Smoked Bacon is a delicious, hearty dish made from dried legumes, bacon, onion and garlic, simmered long and slow in broth. It’s a real bowl of comfort food on a cold day. 

I make this dish at least once a year, for New Year’s Day, but I realized recently that I had never shared it. 

The folder with all the photos has many different pots, as evidence of the many times I intended to and took pictures to that end so don’t be alarmed if the cooking pot suddenly changes color or shape as you read on! The recipe remains the same. 

By Southern tradition, eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is meant to bring you good luck all year long. Does it work? Who knows but I know better than to test my luck by going without! 

Black-eyed Peas with Smoked Bacon

I like to use a small slab of smoked bacon which I cut up for this dish but if that’s not available to you, use an equal amount of sliced bacon or even smoked sausage. 

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g dried black-eyed peas 

5 1/3 oz or 150g smoked bacon

1 medium onion

4 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2-3 bay leaves

Fine sea salt to taste

To serve:

hot pepper sauce

cooked rice

parsley for garnish, if desired

Method

Put the black-eyed peas in a large pot and quick-soak by covering them – plus a couple of inches more - with boiling water. 

Put the lid on the pot and leave the peas to soak for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the peas.

Chop the onion.

Chop the garlic and cut the bacon slab into thick pieces. 

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, until the onion and garlic are softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the smoked bacon, black pepper, cayenne and bay leaves and stir well. 

Add in the rinsed black-eyed peas and give the whole pot a good stir. 

Pour in the stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the peas are very soft, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Check occasionally to make sure the stock hasn't evaporated completely, adding a little more water, if necessary.

Taste for seasonings, and add salt and more freshly ground black pepper, if needed. Some smoked bacon can be quite salty so it’s best to wait till the end of cooking time before adding salt. Discard the bay leaves. 

Serve the black-eyed peas with some hot pepper sauce, if desired, over cooked white rice. In southern Louisiana, we would also serve this with a homemade relish we call chow-chow. Garnish with a little chopped parsley, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes make with dried beans. Many thanks to our host Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe. Check out the links below.

• Black-eyed Peas with Bacon from Food Lust People Love
• Indian Style Bean Salad from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Instant Pot 13 Bean Soup with Ham from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans from Making Miracles
• Meatless Shepherd's Pie from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Protein Rich Devil's Food Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Punjabi Style Chitra Rajma Masala with Homemade Rajma Masala from Sneha's Recipe
• Rajma Pulav - Kidney Beans Pulav from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Slow Cooker Chicken and White Bean Soup from Our Good Life
• Vegan Butter Bean Beetroot Salad from Cook with Renu

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Chunky Avocado Egg Salad

Scooping the avocado out with a spoon keeps the pieces nice and large for this chunky avocado egg salad made with yogurt, whole-grained mustard and grated shallot. It’s perfect for breakfast, lunch or snack time. 

Often, I take an avocado, split it in two, then remove the pit so I can fill the holes with ranch dressing. I eat it with a spoon, scooping out the avocado along with a bit of the dressing in each bite. It’s truly the easiest meal/snack ever. 

But a few weeks ago, we were preparing for a trip so I was emptying the refrigerator and I realized there were a few boiled eggs that needed to be used up as well as a couple of just-right ripe avocados. Avocado egg salad was suddenly on the menu! 

Chunky Avocado Egg Salad

I deliberately made the avocado pieces chunky because as you fold them into the egg mixture, they do sluff off their edges and I wanted to be sure they didn’t mash completely. You want still visible chunks of avocado! I give the weight of my avocado below but know that if yours is a little bigger or smaller, it’ll be fine.

Ingredients

3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

3 tablespoons low fat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon whole mustard

1 small shallot or 1/4 small onion, peeled (about 3/4 oz or 20g whole)

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus extra for garnish

Several generous grinds black pepper or to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 large avocado, pitted (8 2/3 oz or 245g whole)

Method

Separate the egg whites from the yolks. 

In a large mixing bowl, mash the yolks with a fork then stir in the yogurt and mustard till well combined.

Grate in the onion or shallot with the smallest side of your grater. I like to use a microplane.

Stir in the salt and two peppers.

Add the lemon juice to another bowl and then use a spoon to scoop out bites of the avocado into the juice, tossing occasionally to coat as you scoop. 

Chop the egg whites and add them into the large mixing bowl with the avocado. 

Fold until well combined. 

If not serving immediately, cover the avocado egg salad with cling film and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

This is delicious on whole wheat crackers (my favorites are Triscuits!) or sliced bread or toast.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are celebrating National Avocado Month. Since it’s only the first day of February, you have plenty of time to join in! Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the many avocado-full recipe links below.

• Avocado Chicken Salad from A Messy Kitchen
• Avocado Strawberry Salad from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Avocado Toast with Crispy Chickpeas from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Chocolate Avocado Pudding from Making Miracles
• Chunky Avocado Egg Salad from Food Lust People Love
• Crab and Avocado Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Creamy Avocado & Egg Salad- Keto from Sneha's Recipe
• Grilled Tofu Avocado Sandwich from Cook with Renu
• No Cook Avocado Spread from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Pineapple Avocado Salsa from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Winter Citrus & Avocado Salad with Olive Oil and Sea Salt from Our Good Life

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder

Savory and spicy, this Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder is full of flavor, vegetables, fish and coconut milk, a warming bowl of comfort for a cold day. 

I roasted some salmon filets a while back and was looking for something different, a whole new meal in which to use the leftovers. Since it was chilly outside, soup seemed like a great idea. If you don’t have leftover fish, you can use cubed raw salmon which cooks very quickly.

This spicy warming chowder is made with Thai red curry paste which is a blend of dried red chilies, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste, kaffir, lime zest, cilantro root/stem and seeds, cumin and white peppercorns. 

It does the heavy lifting, flavor-wise, in this soup but because we like things spicy, I couldn’t resist adding more garlic and red chili peppers. The coconut milk does make it all more mellow though. I could eat this chowder every winter day! 

Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder

If you have homemade fish stock, by all means, use it for this savory soup. I always keep fish and shrimp stock cubes in the cupboard so I tend to use those instead. Good subs for the kailan are collard or turnip greens or any other Asian greens like bok choy or even snowpeas. Serves two or three hungry people.

Ingredients 

7-8 stalks kailan or other greens 

3 tablespoons butter 

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

4-5 sprigs cilantro

1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely

2 whole celery stalks, chopped finely

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced 

2 fresh red chili peppers, minced

10-12 baby carrots, cut in half or thirds 

1 large russet potato, peeled and cut in cubes

2 cups or 480ml fish or shrimp broth (homemade or from a stock cube)

1 can (14oz or 400ml) coconut milk

2 cooked salmon fillets (about 5 1/2 oz or 156g) or cubed raw salmon

Fine sea salt to taste (This will depend on your personal preference but also how salty your fish stock is.)

To serve:

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Lime wedges to squeeze. 

Method 

Rinse the kailan well then trim the ends off and cut the stalks lengthwise. Cut off the soft leaves and set them aside. They will go into the pot right at the end. Cut the stalks into bite-sized pieces. 

Trim the tough stems off of the cilantro and discard them. Mince the tender stems and set the leaves aside for garnish. 

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add in the curry paste and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.

Add the tender minced cilantro stems, onion, celery, garlic and chili peppers. 

Sauté, covered, stirring regularly, until the onion and celery are tender. 

Stir in kailan stalks, potatoes, carrots and fish broth.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. At this point, I like to take a few of the potato cubes out, mash them with a fork and put them back in to help thicken the chowder. 

Add in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.  

Break the salmon into large flakes.

Stir them gently into the chowder along with the kailan leaves. 

Simmer the chowder until it's heated through and the leaves are soft. Taste the chowder for salt and add a little extra if necessary. 

Serve garnished with the cilantro leaves, with lime wedges to squeeze the juice into each bowl. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are all about SOUP! Many thanks to our host, Mayuri from Mayuri’s Jikoni. Check out all the delicious soupy links below.

• Budget Friendly Minestrone Soup from Cook With Renu
• Cheddar and Burnt Garlic Cauliflower Soup from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Cheese Corn Tomato Coriander Soup from Sneha's Recipe
• Creamy Green Chicken Enchilada Soup from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Dry Cream Soup Mix from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• One Pot Ravioli Soup from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Salmon Coconut Curry Chowder from Food Lust People Love
• Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Sausage Soup from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup from Our Good Life
• Turkey Wild Rice Soup from A Day in the Life on the Farm

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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