Leek and Broccoli Soup:

This soup is light and creamy in texture, that too with very little calories. Addition of broccoli neutralises the strong flavour of leek as well as gives creaminess and appealing colour without adding any fat.

This is a lovely option to have when it is cold outside. With a slice of garlic bread or whole wheat bread or with lots of croutons this can be a delicious, nutrient filled meal.

leek soup_Fotor

First, we will see how to prepare this soup:

Ingredients:

Leeks- 2 to 3 (white and green parts are chopped and tops can be used in stock)

Broccoli – 1 medium head.

Toasted Pine nuts- ¼ to ½ cup (you can use any nuts of your choice)

Vegetable stock – 4 cups

Butter – 1 tsp

Turmeric- ½ tsp.

Salt

Pepper

Red chilli flakes

Method:

Method:

  • Clean leek by removing each cover,( Refer note) and chop (keep aside some roundels for garnishing).
  • Heat butter in a pan ,add reserved roundels and fry till you see the charred look. Keep aside.(this is for garnishing)
  • In this same tawa ,by using remaining butter ,add chopped leeks, sauté for a while. Then add broccoli florets ,turmeric, garlic salt and sauté for some time.

Ribbet collage

  • Then add toasted pine nuts.
  • Now add vegetable stock.
  • Boil for 10 minutes and remove from the heat.
  • After it cools down a bit ,blend this carefully.
  • Bring this puree to boil ,check the seasoning.

leek soup_Fotor

  • Serve this soup by sprinkling red chilli flakes ,pepper and toasted leek roundels.
  • If you want you can add bread croutons or have it with garlic bread.

Note:

How to clean leek : Leek has very tightly packed leafy layers. Usually we find a lot of mud in between the layers ,because they usually grow in  loose ,sandy soil. To clean this , trim off the roots and top dried part if any. Now halve the leek lengthwise ,separate all the layers ,so that it will be really easy to rinse and clean. Now leek is ready to use.

 

 

 

Pasta Recipe:

When I was searching about must do’s in Pondicherry, I came across this amazing small place called Tanto’s which is famous for their wood fire pizza’s and handmade pasta’s. We chalked down our itinerary and this was one of our must dos, when we were there a couple of months back.

We had planned a visit to this place while visiting Auroville, because it is situated in almost 30 km away from the main city, on the way to Auroville. On the way back from Auroville, we had visited this place and it was not yet ready to serve lunch. I was not ready to go back empty handed and was feeling really upset. On hearing this, the owner suggested to us to buy their ready to cook handmade pasta packets and I picked up their five varieties of dried pastas. That included whole wheat plain, Basil, carrot, spinach and beetroot one. Tried everything and liked it all other than basil. This recipe which I am sharing now is specially designed for my daughter who hates bland white sauce pastas.

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Ingredients:

Pasta – 1 packet

Whole wheat flour – 2 teaspoon

Chopped veggies – 1 cup (I have used zucchini, broccoli)

Butter – 1 table spoon

Garlic salt – as per taste

Chilli flakes – as per taste

Oregano – as per taste

Pizza sauce – 2 to 3 teaspoon

Hot and sweet tomato sauce – 2 teaspoon

Milk – 2 cups

Mozzarella cheese – as required (grated)

Method:

-Take one big vessel with sufficient water,1 tsp of oil and little salt. When it starts boiling, drop in pasta and cook.

-When it is done, drain the cooked pasta and reserve water for further use.

collage 1

-Cool the pasta by pouring cold water and set aside.

– Chop the veggies and keep aside.

-Take one kadai, dry roast whole wheat flour and keep aside.

-In the same kadai, add butter, chopped veggies and fry for a while. Add garlic salt, red chilli flakes and oregano.

– When it is done (it should be crunchy) add pizza sauce, hot and sweet tomato sauce and mix nicely, so that veggies will be coated with this masala.

-Now add roasted whole wheat flour and mix evenly.

collage 2

-Add little reserved water (drained water from pasta in which is cooked) ,milk and boil until it is thick and creamy.

-Check for seasoning and add grated cheese and mix in pasta.

-If you find sauce is thick or dry, add either reserved water or milk and adjust the consistency.

pic 8

– Serve and enjoy.