Spargelcremesuppe / Asparagus cream soup

 

Germans go nuts over spargel. The previous statement is not an overrated one. It is 100% true. When I came to Germany my labmate got a bundle of spargel from one of her friend. Her face was shining more than usual and I am very curious to know what that white coloured bundle was. She told me it is spargel and it is called as asparagus in english. I asked her how she will prepare it. She said she will prepare soup out of it or just cook and eat them. This vegetable is available only during a particular time period  (end of april to end of june) and they call this period as asparagus time or ''spargelzeit''. Every hotel in Germany will serve a special meal with spargel at this time.

Spargel come in green and white colour. The white ones are German's favourite. White asparagus are costly because of the enormous labour associated with its cultivation. The fields on which white asparagus is grown will be covered with a thick cover to prevent sun light entering the cultivation area. This totally prevents the photosynthesis and hence the white clour of the white-asparagus. The harvest of asparagus is also a time-consuming and labour-intensive process. It has to be harvested with hand. Because of all these reasons they also cost much. But nothing prevents Germans from enjoying this mild variety, nutty flavoured spargel. 

The amino acid asparagine got its name from Asparagus officinalis since it is rich in it. It has no cholesterol and contains very less calories and sodium. It is also a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium (Source : wikipedia). 

I got this recipe from a German cookbook, which I borrowed from a friend ( Thank you Julia !!) . This is my first try and I should say the soup turned out to be several times yummy than the commercially available soup powder.  Healthy, wholesome and very satisfying, one should definitely try this German delicacy.

 

Ingredients :

Asparagus- one bundle (10-12 stalks)

Whole milk- one cup ( I substituted milk for cream)

Spring onions- 1 bunch

Refined wheat flour or maida- 2 tbspns
Butter- 1 tbspn

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method :

Wash and peel the asparagus. It has a thick outer sheath. With a peeler remove that outer sheath. Discard the bottom muddy and woody region too (1/2 inch). Now cut the asparagus into small pieces and boil them in water for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture and save both the water and the cooked asparagus shoots. When the asparagus shoots cool down grind them to a smooth paste using a food processor. Now add the ground paste into the water in which asparagus was cooked and mix well. Take a pot and heat it. Melt the butter in it. Now add maida and fry it until it acquires a light brown colour. Add some minced spring onions too. When the flour becomes light brown add the asparagus mixture (ground asparagus in water). Add a cup of milk and bring it to a boil.  Simmer the mixture for another 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. When serving garnish with freshly ground black pepper and minced spring onions. A rich and  creamy asparagus soup will be ready to be relished.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Take care to romove the outer sheath and the bottom muddy shoot. If you do not remove the outer sheath properly the preparation acquires a bitter taste. Make it more creamy and not watery. Happy cooking !!!

Kurbis suppe/ kürbissuppe / Pumpkin or cucurbita or squash soup

 

Yesterday was a very cold and rainy day. The weather forecasts say that, this horrible condition will last for another week. I need sun and warmth. I just hate Germany's weather. Because of this weather I felt very lazy and just wanted some warm fluid food to gulp down. No mood for the routine rice dishes. So thought of making some rich soup. I love soups. I am a big fan of Knorr soups which are sold in India. My dad loved soups too. The mushroom and  chicken Knorr soups sold in India are just awesome. On a very relaxed evening, me, my dad and my sister would sit with a bowl of Knorr soup and will have a nice chit chat. My mom hates soup and so is my husband :). Eventhough still I swear that the Knorr soups are very tasty they are too unhealthy. To be honest those soups only had some thickening agent like corn powder and some flavouring agents. Juts a bowl of unhealthy carb and nothing else.  

I have seen Germans make this pumpkin soup. The veggie in the picture is a pumpkin but a different variety than the Indian one. Here they call it as kürbis. I had kürbis soup once in a scientific conference and I just loved it.  One of my German friend  gave me a recipe book and I followed the recipe from there.  To tell the truth the final product was not as tasty as Knorr ones but definitely this soup is very healthy. I loved the colour and texture of this soup and the taste is bit different for my Indian taste buds. If I have added home made vegetable stock definitely the soup would have tasted much better but I used a store bought  vegetable stock cubes.

Before going into the soup recipe a few words about this kürbis. The flesh has a deep orangish yellow colour. It  is bit sweet and this veggie is very ric in fiber content. A bowl of kürbis satisfies 50% of your daily vitamin A requirement. It is also rich in vitamin C and phytonutrients which are found to have cancer-protective properties. They are also a rich source of folate. Whatelse reason do we need to enjoy a bowl of warm kurbis soup :) ?

 

Ingredients :

Kürbis / any yellow fleshed pumpkin-  1/4 kg

Onions- 2 nos

Butter- 2 tbspn

Vegetable stock- 1/2 liter (I used maggi stock cubes)

Nutmeg powder- few pinches

Black pepper- as per your taste

Salt as needed

Method :

Cut the pumpkin and remove its skin. (This is the most difficult part. It is as hard as a stone. To make the process easy you can also put half pumpkin in the oven for half-an-hour and then you can scoop out the flesh).  Remove the seeds and cube the flesh. Melt the butter in a pan and add sliced onions. Saute for a few minutes until they are soft. Then add the cubed pumpkin pieces and saute for a few minutes. Now add the vegetable stock, salt, a pinch of sugar and nutmeg powder and allow the mixture to boil. When it boils simmer it until the pumpkin pieces are soft enough. Then puree it. I used a mixer-ginder to puree it.  Garnish with freshly ground pepper powder. Have the soup with some crusty bread. A very wholesome, nutrient-rich soup will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Use a home made vegetable stock.  If you like it richer, garnish with few tablespoons of fresh cream. You can also try adding our spice mixture or few garlic pods when cooking. If the flesh is not sweet enough add a little sugar to bring out the sweet tinge. If you have a better version please let me know. Happy cooking !!!

Oats soup

Oats is a cereal grain which has gained immense importance beacuse of the health benefits it offers. It contains a dietary fiber called beta-glucan which helps in lowering cholesterol. Oats have been originally used as a livestock feed. If you are interested to know more about this so called wonder grain please follow this link.

To tell you the truth I hate to eat oats. For me it was not that appetizing. I could never complete a bowl of oats anytime. Once I saw this recipe in one of the tamil magazine. If I remember correct a chef from a 5 star hotel wrote few recipes under the topic 'star virundhu'. The first recipe he presented is this. I love soups and since the name of this recipe is 'oats soup' I gave it a try. I should say I liked it. Not very much but better than the other recipes I have tried, might be just the word 'soup' did the magic. You too get healthy with a bowl of oats soup :)

Ingredients :

Oats- two handfuls (the less processed the oats, more healthier it is (Different stages of processing oats)

Milk

Maida/ All-purpose flour- 2 tspns

Butter- 1 tspn

Pepper powder- few pinches

Sugar- 1/2 tspn

Salt to taste

Method :

Heat a pan. Add a teaspoon of butter. When the butter melts add the oats and fry for a minute. Then to this add 2 teaspoons of maida and saute for a few seconds. Then add a cup of milk (3.5 % fat) and a cup of water. Boil on low heat until the oats are done. Add sugar and salt. Serve with some silvered almonds, raisins and a few pinches of pepper powder. Hope you will also enjoy this healthy cereal in the soup form. Happy cooking!!!