Tag: soup

Hungarian Eggdrop Soup with Sorrel (Tojásleves sóskával)

This recipe uses sorrel. Unfortunately, it is harder and harder to get in stores so I decided to grow my own. We actually built a raised bed garden so I can have sorrel every year. It is such a giving plant. It is a perennial plant and it will come back year after year. You get to harvest it in late spring and early fall. I have harvested it even during the summer when it was not too hot.

Sorrel is such a unique vegetable with a distinctive sour, lemony flavor. Try to find it in your grocery store, farmers market or if possible grow your own. If you don’t have sorrel, you can use mustard greens, arugula, yellow dock or even spinach. If you use these alternate vegetables, make sure you add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

This is a very nourishing, easy to make soup based on the Hungarian egg-drop soup recipe. It is a sweet and sour soup made with eggs, carrots and sorrel and is seasoned with the wonderful synergy of the caraway seeds and paprika. Serve with bread of your choice!

MAKING THE ROUX
I use roux in this recipe. It is made with an easy French culinary technique that gives dishes an interesting nutty taste and thickens the dish. All you have to do is add flour to some oil in the sauce pan on medium high heat and stir for a couple of minutes until it turns a nice, orange color. Then add cold or room temperature water, stir and it is ready. Just make sure the liquid you add is at cold or room temperature to avoid lumps from forming. Warm or hot liquids will make the roux lumpy, unappealing. Once the cold or room temperature water has been poured in, hot water can be added. Making the roux is not necessary. According to many Hungarians, adding roux would ‘frenchify’ the dish. Hungarians must have added this technique after people from France immigrated into Hungary. I have made the soup with it and without it and both worked great.

DRY ROASTING THE CARAWAY SEEDS I like to dry roast the caraway seeds to remove its stronger flavor and make it more pleasant tasting. Just simply roast the caraway seeds and add this finished product to the soup. I prefer the caraway seeds whole in the soup; however, if you don’t like seeds in your soup, feel free to grind the seeds and then add the powder to the soup.

Oh I can still smell that wonderful aroma that the synergy of paprika and dry roasted caraway seeds create … Enjoy this delicious unique sweet and sour soup!

RECIPE

4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 cup broth (vegetarian or chicken) or water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice if not using sorrel
  • oil (vegetable or lard)
  • 1 tbsp flour (optional)
  • 1 bunch sorrel, washed and chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, peeled and shredded or match sticks
  • 1 medium onion, finally chopped
  • 1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1-2 tbsp whole caraway seeds, dry toasted
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 tbsp dehydrated vegetable seasoning (optional)
  • parsley, chopped for serving
  • Hot pepper to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • bread or croutons for serving

METHOD

  • Have 1/4 cup of cold water or stock ready.
  • TOASTING CARAWAY SEEDS. Put the whole seeds in a dry skillet over medium low heat. Toast for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan until they become fragrant. This simple step mellows the sharpness and unlocks a beautiful, nutty warmth. You can grind the seeds if you wish. Set aside.
  • Sauté the onion in a medium sized pot for 5- 10 minutes or until translucent.
  • Add 1 Tbsp flour to make the roux. Stir for 3 minute or until it turns a beautiful orange color. (You can omit this step).
  • Add 1 tsp paprika and stir for 1 minute.
  • Add the cold water that was set aside in the first step. Stir well.
  • Add stock, bay leaves, carrots, sorrel and caraway seeds. Bring to a boil and turn down. Cook for 15 minutes covered.
  • Turn off the heat and take off the top.
  • Separate 2 eggs and lightly beat the yolks. Add a small amount of liquid from the soup, mix and slowly add to the soup while stirring. (My mom made this soup with just the yolks but if you would like feel free to use the whole eggs).
  • Add vinegar and dehydrated vegetable seasoning (optional).
  • Season with salt, black pepper and hot red pepper to taste.
  • Serve hot with bread or croutons.

Enjoy!

Text and photo by Twincitiesherbs.

Hungarian Lentil Soup with an Indian Flair

If you are like me and enjoy eating with the seasons, you might find it difficult to find dishes to make now. There are no local produce growing here, in fact we just got 5 inches of snow today. I would like to post my favorite recipe that I often turn to when I am out of ideas. This dish is my lentil soup.

This delicious lentil soup is super easy to make and is very filling. You most likely have all the ingredients in your kitchen. I just make a Hungarian soup base with root vegetables like carrots, celery and onions. I also add cabbage or green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, chard and of course the lentils.

I use curry and paprika powders to spice the soup. When I was shopping at an Indian grocery store, the Indian shopkeeper told me that he often added Hungarian paprika to curry. Hmm interesting, so when I went home I gave it a try. I added curry powder along with paprika to this soup and the results were phenomenal. The Indian man gave me a great tip! I really like how the curry and the paprika work together in this soup.

That is it! It takes less than an hour to cook and it will never disappoint you. Try it and please let me know in the comment section what you think!

RECIPE

INGREDIENT
  • 4 cup Stock (chicken or vegetarian)
  • 1 cup dried French or brown lentils or 1 can of lentil (14 oz)
  • 1 medium sized onion, finally chopped
  • shortening (sunflower oil, lard)
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 large tomato or 1 can (14 oz)
  • 3 medium sized carrots, chopped and peeled
  • 1 cup green vegetables (cabbage, spinach, kale), chopped
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp of sweet Hungarian paprika (make sure it is authentic)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
  • Preparing the lentils. Clean and soak the lentils for a 8 hours. (You can skip the soaking if you don’t have time). Discard the liquid. Add 3 cups of fresh water and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cook covered on low heat for 1 hour. Turn burner off. Let the lentils soak up the let over cooking water for 15 minutes with the lid on. Set aside. (Omit this step if you are using canned lentils).
  • Meanwhile prepare the soup base. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes until translucent. Stir. Add chopped celery, continue sauteing for 5 more minutes. Keep stirring.
  • Add the curry, paprika and crushed garlic for 1 minute. Stir. (Make sure there is enough oil). Add the tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes until the tomatoes break up. Stir.
  • Add the carrots, cabbage or spinach and the stock.
  • Bring to a boil. Turn down to low heat and continue cooking for 45 minutes
  • Add the cooked lentils along with its cooking liquid and salt to taste. Stir.
  • Serve hot with bread or biscuits.

Enjoy!

Recipe, photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com

Fusion style curry pumpkin soup

After the rich foods of the holidays, we often just want to eat something simple yet nourishing. It can get a bit tricky in January to do this as it is still cold here. To stay in tune with nature, I really enjoy eating some warming soups. This tasty soup is more of a fusion style pumpkin soup. Its main ingredient, the butternut squash is cooked in a coconut milk base with some warming spices from the East. This soup should feel refreshing after all the rich, heavy foods of the holidays. Oh and those warm aromas in your kitchen while the soup is cooking … enjoy!

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 Tbsp graded fresh ginger
  • 1-3 garlic cloves
  • 2 cans of coconut milk
  • 1 cup vegetable stock or water
  • 3 Tbs-whole bottle (to taste) of Thai Kitchen Roasted red chili paste, 4 oz
  • Nuts (pumpkin, almonds), slivered
  • Salt

Preparation

  • In a medium sized pot, heat coconut oil on medium high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until it is translucent.
  • Add ginger and cook for a few minutes until you smell its aroma. Add the powdered curry and garlic cloves and stir for 1 minute.
  • Pour in the coconut milk, vegetarian stock/water and the Thai Kitchen red chili paste. Stir and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to a low medium heat and cover.
  • Cook for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let the soup cool.
  • Add salt.
  • Use an immersion blender and puree until smooth.
  • Reheat before serving.
  • Serve with nuts, yogurt, bread.

Photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com.

Authentic Minestrone Soup

When we go on vacation, I always get inspired by dishes that we eat at restaurants. This year, it was the Minestrone soup that we ate at an Italian restaurant in the middle of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. The owner of the restaurant was from Verona, Italy and created a thriving restaurant slightly off the touristy area. You might say oh there is nothing special about Minestrone soup. Well, when the only places where you can eat are chain restaurants and you happen on this simple, delicious and filling soup, things might change…

Minestrone soup is basically a vegetable soup but there is a little more to it. Yes we always order it when we go to Olive Garden, but it really should have seasonal vegetables from your garden or the farmers market. You start with the trio of carrots, celery stalk and onions and add other seasonal vegetables and some delicate beans like Borlotti or Cannelloni beans. Of course, kitchen spices are also a crucial part of the recipe. I used oregano, fennel, thyme and added a little paprika. Usually some pasta is added at the end but potatoes are also used instead of pasta in some parts of Italy. Finally, add the beans with its liquid to make it a filling, satisfying soup. It actually taste better the next day.

Buon Appetito!

RECIPE

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup diced carrots

2 celery stalks, diced

vegetable oil

6 cup vegetable or chicken broth

seasonal diced vegetables (I used 1 cup of each: green beans, zucchini,spinach)

1 cup potatoes, diced

2 large tomatoes, chopped or 1 can 14 oz

3 clove garlic, minced

1 cup dried delicate flavored beans of you choice like cannelloni, borlotti or 15 oz canned beans

1 tsp of each: dried oregano, ground dried fennel seeds, dried thyme, paprika

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 oz pancetta or bacon, diced (optional)

cheese rind (optional)

parsley to garnish

Method

Soak the beans overnight and cook for 1 1/2 hr or until they are soft but don’t fall apart. Omit if using cans

Sauté the onions in some oil until translucent for about 10 minutes. Add the diced celery, pancetta if using and keep sautéing for 5 minutes.

Add the crushed garlic and Italian seasoning, cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for a 10 minutes or until the tomatoes fall apart.

Add the vegetables, bay leaves and the stock. Bring to a boil and slowly cook for a 1.5 hour on low heat.

Add cooked beans with the liquid. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 more minutes.

Use salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm with parsley and cheese if you wish!

Enjoy!

Recipe, text and photos by twincitiesherbs.

Spring ramp soup

Ramp (wild garlic) is a very special plant, one of the first foods available in the spring. Soups are always a great way to enjoy them. This recipe is very simple; in a nut shell, it is a basic potato soup made with shallots and the ramps added at the end. Just let the ramps shine and enjoy its special flavor in this simple soup!

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 tsp of sweet Hungarian paprika (make sure it is authentic)
  • 1 lb russet potatoes, cleaned and cut into cubes
  • 4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
  • 20 ramps, feel free to use more if you have more
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Sauté the shallots in butter until translucent.
  2. Add paprika quickly, stir for 1 minute and add a little cold water.
  3. Add the chopped potatoes, the stock and let it cook for about 20 minutes.
  4. At the end add the whole ramps and cook for a few minutes on a slow boil.
  5. Add the cream, salt and pepper and puree the soup with an immersion blender to get a creamy consistency.
  6. Serve with yogurt and croutons if you wish!

Enjoy!

Photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com.

photo by twincitiesherbs.com

Creamy Celeriac Soup with croutons

This delicious dish uses this forgotten vegetable, celeriac. The sweet and bitter celeriac is the perfect vegetable to eat as we enter the colder months. It can nicely offset the heaviness of other dishes that we eat during the holidays. The celeriac along with the potatoes are cooked in a stock and are infused with thyme and bay leaves. Serve with cream and some croutons or hazelnuts on the top. Enjoy!

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
  • oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 lb celeriac root, peeled and cut into 1/2 ” chunks
  • 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ chunks
  • 1 slice of bacon, cut into small pieces (optional)
  • 4 cup of vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts or croutons
  • chopped parsley
  • crushed red hot pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Cook bacon on medium high heat, in a little oil for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Sauté the onion in a little oil for about 5 – 10 minutes, stir often. Gently fry the garlic for a short time, do not burn. Add the thyme, bay leaf, celery, the potato chunks, bacon pieces and the stock. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium low heat. Cook for about 40 minutes or until all the vegetables are nice and tender.

Remove the bay leaf and let the soup cool off to room temperature. Pour in the cream. Puree the soup. You can use an immersion blender or a regular blender.

Add salt, pepper and red hot pepper to taste.

Serve with hot with croutons or hazelnuts and parsley.

If using hazelnuts, heat up a pan and lightly roast the hazelnuts for 6-8 minutes. Make sure they are toasted on all sides. Chop the cool hazelnuts. Serve on to of the soup.

Enjoy!

Photo and text by twincitiesherbs.

French Onion Soup (soupe à l’oignon)

There is a little more to the soup than just throwing all the ingredients together … follow this recipe and you can make a perfect onion soup. Oh and when you serve it, play some nice French music. Last time I ate French onion soup, we were at the restaurant called Naniboujou by Grand Marais, Minnesota after canoeing at the Boundary Waters and they happened to play the Cd from the movie Amelia… ah total bliss…

I love French onion soup.

Today, we often see this soup in fancy restaurants; however, it traditionally started out as a peasant food made with the simple ingredients: onions, beef broth and cheese. It is the perfect soup for the winter. The secret is in the preparation. Of course, it is made with lots of onions … and these caramelized onions give the soup its rich color and flavor. It takes a long time to slowly caramelize those onions but it is so worth it! You get this wonderfully savory flavor with a little hint of sweetness.

Oh and of course the ingredients. Your soup will be as good as the ingredients used. I prefer making the beef stock at home and let’s not forget the cheese! Try to get the best cheese you can buy! I like using Gruyere cheese, but you can try other rich flavored cheese as well.

RECIPE

Serves 8 people

Ingredients

  • 6 larger onions (1 kg) onions, sliced
  • 5 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 3 Tbsp brandy or cognac
  • 2 Qt beef stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • few fresh thyme springs
  • toasted sliced French bread (about 2 slices per serving)
  • cheese (1/4 cup per serving)

Method

Peel the onions, cut them in halves (Make sure you remove the first 2 tougher layers of the onions). Cut them into very thin slices.

In a large pot melt the butter. Add the onions and the sugar, stir. Cook on medium high heat for about 15 minutes until onions are translucent. Stir occasionally.

Turn heat down a notch and continue cooking the onions for 40 – 45 more minutes or until they are nice and brown but not burnt. Stir occasionally. Do not cover the pot.

Stir in the flour and mix. Let it cook for 5 minutes.

Add the wine and the brandy if using alcohol. Mix. Cook for 3 minutes.

Add the stock, bay leaves and thyme springs and cook for 25 – 30 minutes partially covered.

When done, add salt and pepper to taste.

You can serve the soup in individual bowls if you wish. Add the toasted bread and 1/4 cup of cheese per bowl on top. Broil on high for 5 minutes. Or you can serve the soup in a big pot and just let people serve themselves.

Serve hot with some French wine if you wish. I used Famille Bogrier Vouvre Chenin Blanc white wine, a very lovely wine from France.

enjoy!

Russian sauerkraut Mushroom Soup (Щи) – vegan

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a very lovely Christmas and were able to indulge in as many Christmas dishes as you could … but now many of us tend to gravitate towards lighter yet nourishing foods. In general, to tune in with the seasons, winter is more about dormancy and resting, giving our body a break especially after all the feasting and partying.

Sauerkraut mushroom soup is a popular winter dish in Russia that will nourish your body and soul. It is special for the Russian Orthodox Christians because this is what they serve during the long fast lasting from the end of November until January 7th. During this time period, the strict rules dictate that no meat, bacon, animal fat, butter, eggs, or milk may be eaten. This tradition was particularly hard for the farmers who had to work outside and needed heavier foods to survive. The cooks had to be creative and came up with this delicious, hearty soup … that today would fit the vegan definition.

This is a lovely soup that has three simple main ingredients: sauerkraut, mushrooms and the barley. Mushrooms are a nice substitution for meat so use as much as you desire. In Eastern Europe, it is customary in the fall to go out in the woods and pick mushrooms. People then dry them to use during the cold months. If you don’t have access to wild mushrooms, buy stronger flavored mushrooms like morrel, oyster, shiitake or even crimini mushrooms could work. The sauerkraut of course gives it the nice sour flavor and has immense health benefits. The crunchy barley adds the robust part to the soup.

PLEASE READ !!! I use cep mushrooms but if you don’t know how to find edible mushrooms in the wild, definitely go to the stores and purchase them there. Mushrooms are very valuable but there can be some poisonous ones. Stores sell some fine mushrooms that are dried and are worth using. Just soak them in water and then they are ready to be used. Last time I used shiitake mushrooms and I thought they worked well.

The soup will need a good home-made stock. Both a meat based or a vegetable based stock would work great. For the vegetarian stock, I added onions, garlic, and 2 bay leaves. I also included 1 heaping Tbsp of black peppercorn, a handful of mushrooms, 1 celery root, a couple of carrots, and a parsley root. Honestly, we could not taste much difference. Don’t forget to put celery root in the vegetarian stock, it surely adds something special to the flavor.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 lb sauerkraut
  • 80 gr (3 oz) dried mushrooms or about 6 oz fresh mushrooms (Please see above for more info on safety).
  • 1 cup dry pearled barley
  • 1-2 qt (1-2 L) of vegetable or beef stock (please see above)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • few thyme springs
  • vegetable oil
  • shallots or small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • salt
  • black peppercorn
METHOD
  • If using dried mushrooms, soak in water for a couple hours or maybe even overnight if needed.
  • Make the stock. Please see above for more info.
  • Make the barley. Boil 3 cups of water and put barley in the boiling water. Turn down and let cook for 1 hour without cover.
  • In a medium saucepan, sauté the shallots in a little oil for a few minutes.
  • Add the garlic on low heat. Mix.
  • Add drained sauerkraut, thyme spring, caraway seeds, bay leaves. Cover with stock. Cook for 1 hour.
  • For the last 10 minutes, add the mushrooms slices.
  • Take out the larger thyme pieces and bay leaf.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with hardier bread.

enjoy!

Text and photo by twincitiesherbs.

Potato soup with lovage

Lovage is an old European folk remedy but has been forgotten. I would like to bring some attention to this valuable plant with this recipe. In the old days, it was used like parsley is used today, it grew in the gardens of everyday folks. It has an unusual flavor, more like citrusy celery. I used my Potato leek soup recipe (source) but added lovage instead of kale at the end as lovage wonderfully enhances the flavor of the potatoes. Of course, it is a great plant to use to get the body ready for the colder months.

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) can be used for medicine and culinary purposes. It has been around for thousands of years. The Greek physician, Hippocrates (460 – 370 BC), made it popular by adding it into the culinary world. He did so after using it successfully during the epidemics of his time. Lovage offers numerous health benefits. It improves digestion, reduces arthritis, and helps with water retention in edema and the skin, among many others. It is definitely a big digestion remedy and it is even aphrodisiac. Lovage is a warming, sweet, bitter and aromatic plant. I have it growing in my garden right now, a small little shoot grew very quickly into a large plant.

twincitiesherbs.com
twincitiesherbs.com

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 8 medium sized Russet or Yukon potatoes (about 1.5-2 pounds)
  • 3 medium sized leeks, peeled and sliced
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 large slices of bacon or to taste (optional)
  • stock (vegetable or chicken)
  • 1 tsp of sweet Hungarian paprika (make sure it is authentic)
  • 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds
  • 1-3 thyme springs
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • handful of chopped up lovage
  • 1/2-1 cup of cream
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • crushed hot red pepper flakes to taste
  • Parmesan cheese to serve

Preparation

  • Wash and slice up leeks. Slice leeks thin with a sharp knife. Use more the white part (cook the greenish part in the stock or discard). Put the sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water for 1/2 hour. This will get all the dirt out of the leeks. Clean well. Strain the liquid using a colander or pat dry. 
  • If you decide to keep the peel on the potatoes, clean and soak potatoes in some cold water for 1/2 hour. Scrub off any dirt. If you decide to peel potatoes, you can skip this step and just peel and slice the potatoes thin.
  • Sauté leek slices in some butter for about 10 minutes or until you can smell the aroma of the leeks. Add 1 tsp of paprika and fennel seeds to activate for 1 minute and stir. Add 1/4 tsp cold water, stir. 
  • Fry up some sliced bacon if you decide to use it. 
  • Add potatoes and bacon to the leeks. Pour in the stock enough to barely cover the vegetables. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Start heating the soup carefully until it starts bubbling but not boiling. Quickly, turn the heat down and slowly cook for 1/2 hour. 
  • Clean and cut up lovage.
  • When soup is done, add the lovage. It doesn’t need to cook. 
  • Add cream, salt, black pepper, hot red pepper flakes.
  • Serve hot with a little Parmesan cheese.

enjoy!

Source

Matthew Wood. Eartwise Herbal

Text, photos and recipe by twincitiesherbs.com

Chinese bitter melon soup

Bitter melon is not called bitter melon for nothing … yes it is very bitter … but if you take out the seeds, it won’t be bothersome. Besides life needs a little bitterness so you can better appreciate the good things – right?!? Big smiley face. It is also very healthy and makes delicious dishes. This interesting plant is hugely popular all over Asia particularly in India and China. My recipe this week is the delicious Chinese Bitter Melon soup. No worries there are no exotic ingredients … you just need garlic and ginger for seasoning. The recipe is from the following source.

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) originated in India and became popular in China in the 14th century. It is now used all over Asia. It is a bitter plant that is also sour. According to Chinese Medicine, its bitterness makes it great for the Fire element in the summer (cooling) and detoxifies the liver and its sourness supports the liver ( Wood element). It also improves digestion. In Ayurveda, it is considered a great pitta pacifying remedy that is immensely valuable for the hot months. Western research has found it to be beneficial for the prevention/treatment of many problems including diabetes, cancer, infections, skin problems, dysmenorrhea, immune system, autoimmune diseases, and colds/flus. (If you have any of these problems, please see a practitioner first though).

Today, we often don’t get enough bitter flavor in our diet but it is important for good overall health. Chefs use sweet flavored foods to balance out the bitter flavor. In this recipe, mainly the carrots, chayote squash and potatoes do this job. If you don’t like or don’t have all these vegetables, feel free to use any sweet vegetables you have on hand and/or think would work well together. For instance, we don’t have winter squashes yet so I used zucchini instead. Of course, the pungent ginger and garlic are essential to balance out the bitter flavor as well and the bitter flavor will be barely noticable. Honestly, this is such a nice tasting soup!

Where can we get bitter melon in the United States? They are easily available at Asian grocery stores and are sold by Asian farmers at farmers’ markets. You might be able to get them at smaller grocery stores too.

Please note that the soup on the picture does not have chicken. I also added lemon grass because I have it in my garden and has a nice flavor.

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • .25-.0.5 lb of chicken thighs or breasts (skinless)
  • bitter melon, handful
  • 1 chayote squash or zucchini or any squash
  • 4 regular carrots, cut into small chunks
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 small potatoes, cut into small chunks
  • 2 stalks celery , sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small chunk ginger, about 2 tablespoons chopped
  • chicken broth
  • salt to taste

Directions

  • Make the chicken stock. Omit if using store bought.
  • Cut bitter melon in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Discard seeds. (They come out easily).
  • Meanwhile peel and chop the ginger and the garlic. Peel the potatoes if you wish. Cube the tomatoes and the potatoes. Clean and slice the squash, carrots, celery. When ready slice the bitter melon.
  • Cut the chicken up into small pieces.
  • Put all ingredients in a medium sized pot, cover well with chicken stock and cook covered for about 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft. I added the zucchini in the last 20 minutes.
  • Serve hot.

enjoy!

Photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com

Sources