My favorite cold soup for warmer days

Although I adore Manresa’s strawberry gaspacho, a recipe I wrote down from their book when I was in California back in 2014, and which since then has been my top choice of cold soup for entertaining friends in the summer, this cold cucumber and avocado one is my favorite go-to on a daily basis. I love to play around with different green vegetables, herbs and citrus. For one generous serving, place half an avocado and half to three-quarters of a cup of very cold water in a blender, and add:

option I: 1 small cucumber, peeled + handful of coriander + juice of half a lime + salt and olive oil

option II: 1/2 small cucumber, peeled + 1/2 fennel bulb + handful of dill + juice of half a lemon + salt and olive oil

option III: 1 small cucumber, peeled + handful of spinach + handful of mint + juice of half a lemon + salt and olive oil

option IV: 1/2 small cucumber, peeled + 1/2 green pepper + handful of basil + juice of half a lemon + salt and olive oil

Blend all ingredients and serve cold, maybe with a couple of ice-cubes, a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of pepper and some scattered herbs.

Homemade instant broth

It sounds like a contradiction having something that is instant and homemade, specially when it comes to broth making. Yet, this is exactly that and it is my go to comfort food - or should I say drink - when I’m in need of some warmth and a cup of tea just isn’t satisfying enough.

The idea is to add to nutritional yeast your favourite dried herbs, veggies and spices. I’m using dried shiitakes as my main flavour and keeping both powdered garlic and onion out, making this suitable for Sattvic diets.

Homemade instant broth powder

3/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp dried shiitake mushrooms, powdered
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp curcuma
1 tsp mustard seeds, powdered
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika

Mix all ingredients in a glass jar. Cover with the lid and keep at room temperature. Use within 6 months.

To serve: pour boiled water in a bowl, add 1 tbsp of the powder and mix well.

You could also use this powder to season risottos, soups, sauces and stews.

A quick soup for a cold day

If you're living in Portugal you must have noticed that the cold is finally here. It's not freezing cold but cold enough to kickstart the hearty soup season.

As I was flipping through Donna Hay's book, Seasons, this morning, a French onion soup caught my eye. It was simple, with few ingredients - meaning that I didn't even need to go to the supermarket. But the point of a French onion soup is the melted cheese bread on top, something that doesn't quite fit in my daily meals right now (I basically don't buy any kind of cheese these days, and noticed a lot of improvement on my skin due to that). So I decided to tweak it a bit by adding something hearty, as chickpeas, and keeping the bread simple.

I started with one big brown onion, peeled and chopped finely into slices. I stir fried it with a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf in a bit on ghee and olive oil until soft and golden. Added half teaspoon of sea salt, two cups of vegetable stock I had previously made and one cup of cooked chickpeas. Let everything boil for a few minutes, enough to heat the chickpeas mostly. In the meantime, I sliced some buckwheat bread and toasted it. I then poured half of the soup into a soup plate, topped it with two slices of bread, a drizzle of olive oil and a teaspoon of chopped rosemary leaves. I'm planning to eat the other half for dinner. 

Additional tips: if you like some "cheesy" flavour, you can sprinkle the soup with nutritional yeast. And for added nutrition, you can skip the salt and add a bit of white miso right before serving.