Green Bell Pepper Soup

This is an easy, but not quick recipe. be very careful with the oven!

Ingredients:

4 large bell peppers
1 Teaspoon olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 liter boiling water
1 can of baked beans (about 560 gr.), drained
2 chicken bouillon cubes, low fat and low sodium
A pinch of fine herbs

To begin with preheat the oven for broiling, then place the bell peppers on a baking sheet inside the oven near the top. Let the peppers broil until they blister and blacken, then turn them, using tongs, until all sides are black and blistered. be very careful, and remember to slide the oven tray out (wearing oven mitts, of course!) It's safer than sticking your arms into the oven.

When they're done, let them cool for about twenty minutes. Next you'll find the skin comes off with a little effort. Skin them. You don't have to remove the entire skin. no, let em rephrase that: I did not remove the whole skin from each. Once they're skinned, cut them open, and get the seeds and core out. You'll find the seeds may have turned brown. The peppers will be soft and easy to cut. Now chop them in small pieces.

In a soup pot heat the oil, then saute the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the chopped peppers and saute another 3-5 minutes. Add the water and bouillon cubes. Stir well to dissolve them. Add the beans and a pinch of fine herbs. Stir well and reduce heat to minimum. Bring to a slow boil, then let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Let it cool and serve.

The recipe I was originally making called for putting the thing in the blender after adding the beans. I decided to let it cook through first. When I tasted it I found it very good, so I omitted the blending step. But that's a good option for another time.

Bean Soup

Sorry for the delay. My day job this week was far harsher then usual for this season.

I love beans in almost every kind of way, but I love bean soup best of all. So here's my recipe:

300 grs. of beans (I used a local purple variety called "Flor de Mayo," 250 gr. worth, and 50 gr. of white beans)
1/2 liter of chicken broth
440 gr. tomato puree
1/3 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon fine herbs
3 turkey sausages sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

First you cook the beans. You can use a pressure cooker. I considered it, but quite frankly I'm afraid of all tools that require high pressure (yes, this includes the espresso machine, but there's no other way to brew espresso) So first I soaked the beans for about 18 hours (at room temperature, covering the container with a paper towel), I poured about 1.5 liters of water in a pot, added a half teaspoon of olive oil, let the water boil, then added the beans and cooked them for about 2 hours on low fire. The beans aren't quite done, but they'll cook further when making the soup.

Next, cook the onions and garlic in a skillet along with 1 teaspoon olive oil. When they're done, add the sliced sausages and let them brown a bit. 

In the bean pot, add the chicken broth, tomato pure and spices, stir well and add the onions, garlic and sausage. Add a hefty dash of Worcestershire and Tabasco to taste. Bring to a slow boil, then let it simmer for about 40 minutes covered (be sure to use a pot lid with a hole or a valve on it).

You can skip the sausages if you want, or substitute some other kind of mean, such as bacon (any kind) or chicken. When serving, you can add more Worcestershire or Tabasco, or a little lime if you like.

Textured Soy Chili

Here's my take on vegetarian chili, or as I call it, chile sin carne.

And yes, it's another textured soy recipe. I've a few of them. Textured soy is low-fat and a good source of protein, but lacks flavor. So I tend to drown it in sauces, or mix it with ground beef.

Textured soy needs to be hydrated. So soak about 1/3 of the weight you want in water for a few minutes, then drain it. after you drain it, you need to squeeze it to remove excess water. And then it's ready to be used.


Ingredients:

300 Gr. prepared textured soy
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Cilantro twig, with stem, chopped
1 Teaspoon powdered turmeric
1/2 Teaspoon cumin
1 Tablespoon oregano
1/2 Teaspoon fine herbs
840 Gr. Tomato puree
2 Chicken bullion cubes (low fat, low sodium)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Chipotle chilies, chopped
1 Carrot in cubes
1 Cup snow peas
2 Cans baked beans (560 gr. each)
1 Teaspoon olive oil

In a large pot heat the olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic until the onion turns translucent, then add the cilantro and saute for another minute. Add the textured soy, carrot and snow peas and stir fry until the vegetable soften a little.

Reduce heat to minimum and add the tomato puree, the spices, canned beans, Worcestershire sauce, chipotles and chicken bullion cubes. Stir well, making sure the bullion cubes dissolve (if you can, crumble them first so they'll dissolve easier). Bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally. When it boils, let it simmer for a few minutes, then let it cool and serve.

This dish goes very well with unflavored boiled rice.