Chlodnik, cold beetroot soup

Dear all,

Beetroot is an amazing vegetable: Its wonderful purple colour always amazes me when I touch it. Beetroots deliver a wealth of nutrition, taste sweet and can be cooked with ease. I love beetroot, but I generally stick to the easy way of turning it into a salad.

The other day, I watched a TV show about Polish food. The chef turned beetroots into a cold soup with the strange name chlodnik.

I thought this is a brillant idea, a kind of Polish gazpacho. So I set out to look for a recipe. Unfortunately, there are plenty of vastly diverging recipes. I decided to simplify and to restrain from strange ingredients like the brining liquid of pickles.

Unfortunately, for the original chlodnik horseradish seems to be a rather important ingredient. I could not find horseradish in my supermarket. They even were out of wasabi, the Japanese variety used for sushi. So I added some spice by ground chillie powder.

Although it is simple, it is amazing how refreshing it tastes. The beautiful pink colour of chlodnik makes it a great dish for a buffet. It is also a great starter for a dinner party because it tastes best after a night in the fridge.

Chlodnik, Polish Gazpacho

Ingredients (for 4 servings)
 

• 3 beetroots (about 500 grams)
• 1 medium potato
• 1 ½ cups stock
• 1 medium onion
• 1 cucumber
• 2 cups curd (yoghurt)
• 4 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
• salt
• chillie powder
• chives
• 4 tablespoons sour cream

Method:

Peel the beetroot and the potato and cut into small pieces to reduce the cooking time. Place them into a pressure cooker. Add the stock – vegetable or chicken stock will do – and ½ tablespoon salt and cook for 10 minutes after the first whistle. You can also cook the vegetables in a normal pot until tender. Let the vegetables cool down.

Peel the cucumber and the onion. Halve the cucumber and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

Place the cucumber and the onion into a blender.

Add the cool beetroots and potato cubes and the cooking liquid. Blend until rather smooth.

Add the curd, the chillie powder and the lemon juice and blend again.  Adjust the seasoning according to your taste. You can replace the lemon juice with vinegar.

For serving, place the soup into bowls; add a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with chives. Some people prefer dill instead of chives, but it is difficult to find here in India. You can replace the sour cream with thick curd or cream cheese.
 

Lentils

Going strong for thousands of years

This small legume offers a wealth of nutrition with a mighty history. Lentils belong to the first foods that humans cultivated. Archaeologists have found 8.000 years old lentil seeds in the Middle East. Lentils are even mentioned in the bible.

Compared to other dried beans, lentils are quick to prepare. There are numerous varieties with colours ranging from light yellow and orange to dark brown. They don’t need to be soaked overnight and easily absorb flavours from spices. Lentils contain a lot of fibre, plenty of minerals, complex carbohydrates and a lot of protein without any fat. If you want to loose weight, they should be on your menu.

The fibre of legumes not only keeps your bowels going, it also helps the body to absorb the calories slowly thus avoiding a hike in blood sugar and insulin levels. This is especially important for persons who suffer from diabetes.

Lentils also provide two B-vitamins and big amounts of six important minerals, among them folate, magnesium and iron. Folate is especially important for pregnant women as it helps forming the nervous system of the unborn baby. It is equally important for grown ups as it supports the human metabolism to get rid of homocysteine, a byproduct of digestion. This substance damages artery walls and increases the risk for heart disease.

Magnesium relaxes the walls of arteries and veins thus improving the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. The iron in lentils helps the body to form blood as it is a part of haemoglobin, the red blood cells which transport oxygen through the body. It is also required by the human metabolism for important digestive processes.

Lentil Cream

Heavenly healthy is my title for this vegetarian recipe that I have created more or less myself. I write more or less because it is inspired by the vegetarian sandwich spreads which you find in health food stores all over the world.

I have taken the flavours of the Greek lentil soup which I adore. This soup is dominated by tomatoes and oregano. Instead of preparing a soup however, I add just enough liquid to make a cream. 

You can serve this cream as a snack with crackers or bread. I like to stir in some red wine vinegar which adds a bit of tang. You can use the cream also to make healthy sandwiches, for example for your kids’ tiffin boxes. It is great topped with any kind of cheese.

Wishing you  happy cooking, always!

Kornelia Santoro with family

Lentil cream, heavenly healthy 

 

Ingredients

(for 4 big servings):

• 2 cups lentils (masoor dal)
• 2 packets tomato puree (200 ml each)
• 3 big carrots
• 1 medium size beetroot
• 4 big onions
• 4 big cloves garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Unlike other legumes lentils don’t need to be soaked overnight. You can use any type of lentils you like. I prefer brown masoor dal for this recipe because it has a round, earthy flavour. 

Wash the lentils and place them into a pressure cooker. You can prepare the lentil cream in a normal pot as well; it just takes a lot longer to cook. Peel the carrots, the beetroot the onions and the garlic and grate them. Add the vegetables to the lentils in the pot. Pour in the tomato puree, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 750 ml water into the pot and mix everything well. Add salt and pepper, the bay leaves and the oregano.

Close the pressure cooker, switch on the flame and boil the lentil cream for half an hour after the first whistle. In a normal pot you have to cook the lentils for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. The lentils should melt in your mouth. You might have to add some extra water also, but not much. At the end of the cooking time you should have a thick cream, not a soup.

When the lentils are cooked, open the pressure cooker. If there is any water left, you have to boil it some more minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons of olive oil and taste the cream. You might have to add some more salt and pepper. Take out the bay leaves and store the cream in airtight containers. You can keep it in the fridge for at least one week.

Superfood flax seeds

Flax seeds: Tiny size, mighty content

Although small in size, flax seeds contain a huge amount of nutritious substances. Omega-3 fatty acids, a huge amount of fiber and vitamins and minerals make it a great addition for a healthy diet.

100 grams of flaxseeds provide 28 grams of fiber! For example, 100 grams of whole wheat flour, another good source of fiber, only have 10 grams of fiber. Nothing keeps your digestive system going like flaxseeds. 

When I was heavily pregnant, only flax seeds in combination with oats made my compressed bowels work. Always drink enough when you eat something prepared with flax seeds. The fibers need liquid to expand and push their way through the intestines, cleaning them at the same time. The high amount of fiber in flax seeds also stabilizes blood sugar levels and prevents colon cancer.

The omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseeds belong to the group of fats our bodies need to function well. They keep bones healthy and reduce the formation of blood clots. They also lower the risk of heart attack and stroke. 

Furthermore, omega-3 fatty acids keep cell membranes flexible. This is critical for persons with diabetes as flexible cell membranes respond easily to insulin and absorb glucose better than stiff membranes. Flax seeds also have a beneficial effect on persons with high blood pressure and asthma.

Experts call these tiny seeds super food due to the large amounts of B vitamins, folate, calcium, iron, potassium, selenium and zinc they contain.