POTATO AND CELERY SOUP WITH BLUE POTATO CRISPS

What luck!!
I was enjoying a laid-back morning with a cup of African Ruby tea, my favourite, sitting in my balcony trying to read a book that I had been putting off for sometime.

The beautiful morning breeze, the water-snake along the water edge too scared to swim in the middle of the stream, the beautiful blue-brown kingfisher with its sharp beak swooping down and catching that unsuspecting prey, a baby monitor lizard slithering in the tall grass, two koi fish playing right under my balcony  and two turtles who appeared to be playing the game of hide-n-seek with me, did not want me to know they were just two. They were going in and out of water and for a long while I could not make out if they were two or more, and finally an ugly dark grey stork-like bird that has been around for many years all lonely, deep in thought.

The tiny little brown-yellow bird, sitting between my beautiful pink Malti flowers, chirping in my ear, telling me to put off reading that book for another day.

And just as I was taking in all this beauty, my phone rang.
"Want to come? I am going shopping and leaving in five minutes", my friend said.
Tearing myself away from such a beautiful scene I made it to the car-park in ten.

Hoping I would get something that would compensate, I looked around and found these beautiful blue potatoes right here in Singapore. I stealthily scratched the skin of one potato and was relieved to find that it was blue all the way inside.

Yes!! What luck!!
My day had started beautifully. I came home with two bags of blue potato, not knowing what I would do with them.
So I thought I would start with a potato soup.



potato and celery soup with blue potato crisps



Potatoes as I have mentioned in my previous posts Zingy Potato Upma, Herbed Potato Medley are very healthy. Frying them adds the fat that makes them the dreaded calorie-bomb. Being tastier after frying, they tend to make couch potatoes of simple beings like me who love to eat them while watching the favourite television show.

Freezing them makes them unhealthy as mentioned in my earlier posts.

POTATO AND CELERY SOUP WITH BLUE POTATO CRISPS

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the soup:

.Potato..........................................................3 cups, finely chopped

.Yellow onion..............................................1 cup, finely chopped

.Celery stick.................................................1 cup, finely chopped

.Butter..........................................................1 Tbsp.

.Garlic..........................................................1 tsp., finely chopped

.Green chili(bird's eye)................................1 tsp., finely chopped

.Bay leaf.......................................................1

.Thyme, fresh leaves.....................................1 tsp. lightly crushed

.Water ..........................................................2 cups

.Salt...............................................................to taste

.Milk..............................................................2 cups

.Water............................................................1 cup

 For the topping:

.Blue potato...................................................1/2 cup, finely chopped

.Blue potato................................................... 1/2 cup, grated thickly

.Carrot...........................................................1/2 cup, finely chopped

.Celery stick..................................................1/4th cup, finely chopped

.Red bell peppers..........................................1/2 cup, finely chopped

.Black pepper powder...................................to taste

.Lime juice.....................................................2 tsp.

.Olive oil/ butter............................................1 Tbsp.

For the garnish

. Pea shoots for garnish...................................a few

potato and celery soup with blue potato crisps and cream

.Blue potato chips............................................freshly deep fried
.Cream(optional).............................................1 Tbsp.

.Parmesan cheese.............................................2 Tbsp. grated or shavings
.Oil...................................................................for frying the chips

Method:

.In a pressure cooker, heat the butter.

.Add onions and saute till translucent. Add the potatoes and saute` for 2  minutes.

.Add in the chopped celery stick, garlic, green chili, bay leaf and thyme.

.Saute` further for 2 to 3 minutes.

.Add water and salt to taste.

.Pressure cook for 5 to 7 minutes or two whistle sounds.

.Take off the heat and wait till the pressure in the Pressure cooker is self-released.

.Remove the bay leaf.

.Using a hand-held blender blend the soup into a near smooth paste.

.Add 1 cup water and bring to a rolling boil.

.Add milk up to 2 cups to get the desired consistency.

.Add Black pepper powder and simmer.

.Add the lemon juice and mix well.

.Taste and adjust the seasonings.

For the topping:

.Heat olive oil/butter in a pan.

.Add the red bell pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from pan and set aside.

.Add the carrot in the same pan. Sprinkle a little salt( a few grains)cook for 1 minute(should not

 caramelise). Remove from pan and set aside.

.Add the celery in the same pan and cook for 30 seconds or less. Remove from pan and set aside.

.Add the blue potato(chopped) in the same pan. Add a little salt(a few grains)and cook while stirring

 continuously for 1 to 2 minutes or until cooked.

.In the same pan spread out the grated potato in a single layer(preferably), sprinkle a little salt and cook

 till crisp. Flip and cook on the other side till crisp. Sprinkle a little black pepper powder.
.Deep fry a few blue potato chips just before serving.

How to assemble:

.In a soup bowl, ladle a few spoons of the soup.

.Gently sprinkle a little red bell pepper, carrot, celery and chopped blue potato, so that they float.

.Garnish with the crispy grated blue potato and a few pea shoots, the blue potato chips, a tiny bit of
 cream and cheese gratings or shavings and serve piping hot with buttered bread, cheesy bread,
 bruschetta or burger(as I did).

Note:

.Drain the vegetables well before taking them out of the pan thus leaving the oil/butter for reuse(for the

 remaining vegetables).
.The cheese gratings melt in the hot soup.
.This soups thickens on cooling. Add a little boiling hot water to achieve the desired consistency and
 bring it  to a simmer before serving.

blue potatoes

MUSHROOM TIKKA STYLE

As you know I have been totally smitten by the lovely gigantic button mushrooms that my vegetable vendor snuck under my nose and enticed me into buying. Those lovely mushrooms that my family and I have been enjoying over the week.
I wondered if I should divulge my secret recipe now or keep it for until later.
But my excitement over my new creation just wouldn't let me wait.

It would have been blasphemy to cut up these mushrooms to make a soup or a casserole or a curry or any other dish that would require cutting or chopping of my beauties. So naturally they had to be made whole.



mushroom tikka style

Mushrooms are low in calories, fat and carbohydrate and contain no vitamin C and sodium. They are a good source of the B vitamins niacin, pantothenic acid and riboflavin and essential minerals such as potassium, selenium and copper. Vitamin D2 is produced in them when exposed to ultraviolet rays. More about mushrooms in my previous posts Mushroom on Toast, Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms in Capsicum Coulis, Chili Mushroom, Mushroom with Greens-Tapas.

I love to combine my mushrooms with yogurt so yet again I started to think of yogurt as my base.

Here's what I came up with.

MUSHROOM TIKKA STYLE

Ingredients:

.Large sized white button mushroom.............16

.Red bell pepper...........................................1 large, cut into large sized dice

.Yellow bell pepper.....................................1 large, cut into large sized dice

.Japanese cucumer........................................1. halved vertically and cuy into large chunks

.Baby corn....................................................12, halved

.Olive oil......................................................2 Tbsp.

For the marinade:

.Yogurt..........................................................2 cups

.Red onion.....................................................1 large or 1 cup finely chopped

.Garlic...........................................................3 large cloves

.Ginger..........................................................2 tsp., finely chopped

.Red chili(bird's eye)....................................2 to 3 finely chopped(adjust to taste, but add all if you like

.Red chili powder.........................................2 tsp.

.Garam masala powder.................................3/4th tsp.

.Roasted cumin seed powder........................1 tsp.

.Turmeric powder.........................................3/4th tsp.

.Dry raw mango powder(amchur).................1 tsp.

.Pav bhaji masala..........................................1 tsp.*

.Dry oregano leaves......................................1/2 tsp.

.Carom seeds................................................1/2 tsp.

.Salt..............................................................to taste

.White vinegar..............................................1/8th cup

.Black salt....................................................1 dash

.Black pepper powder.................................1 dash

mushroom tikka style

Method:

Preparing the vegetables:

.Gently rinse the dirt off the mushrooms, peel them and gently rinse again, taking care not to get the gills
 water logged.(I prefer this step though you can choose to avoid it.)
.De-stem them if you like.
.Cut the baby corn into crosswise halves.
.Cut the bell peppers into 1 to 1.5inch dices.
.Cut the Japanese cucumber vertically into half and then cut into 1 inch thick pieces.

For the marinade:

.In a mortar and pestle, pound together onion, ginger, garlic and red chili to a rough paste.
.You can adjust the bird's eye chili according to your own taste, but add all(in the recipe) if you like it
 hot and spicy like I love.

.In a large bowl beat the yogurt to a smooth texture.
.Add to it all the ingredients of the marinade.

.Add the onion paste and mix well.

.Mix together all the prepared vegetables and the marinade till all the vegetables are well coated.

.Refrigerate for 6 to 7 hours or upto 24 hours.

How to proceed:

.Heat oven on grill setting .

.In a baking tray spread out the marinated vegetables and sprinkle the olive oil and grill till the

 vegetables start to colour.

.Here the vegetables will be seen cooking in the marinade and the juices from the vegetables. It

 may appear to be a little runny while being cooked.

.Flip all the vegetables using tongs or a spatula.

.Grill till the vegetables start to colour and appear a little charred at the tips and the liquid has almost
 dried up.

How to serve:

.Serve as a starter.

.Skewer them if you like.
   or

.Use it as a filling in a wrap.
   or

.Pasta it with Durum wheat Penne pasta. Do not let all the liquid of the marinade dry up.
 Mix it with the al dente pasta. Grill for 5  to 7 minutes until light charred marks begin to appear.
 Serve hot.

Note:
*You can get Pav Bhaji Masala at an Indian store. It is a blend of spices that I put in my rice, in my
 vegetables, in my kebabs and I always have it in my freezer (I keep it there to maintain maximum
 flavour as I do with my other blends like Garam masala).
.Grilling the yellow and red bell peppers makes them sweet. Green bell peppers do not grill well.