Quick vegan Phở-inspired soup.

As a combination of it being flu times (myself, I was struck down by it pretty badly last weekend) and us having to, once again, move houses within the next month or so; I slowly started the project of cupboard cleaning to minimize our packing. You see, at the back of my kitchen cupboard a package of pho-style rice noodles have been lying around ever since I picked them up from the Asian supermarket months and months ago with the intention, of course, to make some vietnamese style soup.  Time to get them to use!

With all the herbs and spices involved, pho is definitely quite the flu killer! Normally, the broth would be left cooking for hours on end – but let’s face it, ain’t nobody got time for that (especially when you are in a race against the limited hours of daylight to get some decent photos! #bloggerproblems anyone?)

VEGAN FRIENDLY PHO

→ 2 litres vegetable broth
→ 1 onion
→ 3-4 garlic cloves
→ 2,5 cm ginger
→ 3 whole star anise (I used tarragon)
→ 3 whole clove
→ 1 cinnamon stick
→ 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
→ 1 package wide rice noodles

Toppings: Fresh Thai Basil, Fresh Coriander, Fresh Mint, Spring Onion, Bean Sprouts, Sautéed Mushrooms, Sautéed Tofu, Peanuts, Sriracha, Hoisin, Lime, Chilli Peppers

(Toppings marked in bold are the ones I used)

1. Cut ginger, garlic and onion – add in large skillet with vegetable broth, star anise, cloves + cinnamon and bring to a light simmer. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes, then add soy sauce to taste.
2. Meanwhile, prepare your toppings. Chop herbs/peanuts roughly, lightly fry some mushroom/tofu. Follow instructions from the noodle package on how to cook them.
3. When everything is ready, sieve the broth before adding to a bowl with noodles + your preferred toppings. Time to dig in!

Carrot + Tarragon soup | Cheap vegan meals.

I doubt soup is a dish that would spring to many people’s minds during the summer months. Of course, writing this from Scotland the term summer is in itself rather vague… so a hot soup works most days of the week, regardless what the calendar may claim.

Weather bashing aside – this carrot and tarragon soup is currently running on the menu at work as it does fall into the category of summery soups. It also happens to be delicious and easy on the wallet – hooray!

CARROT AND TARRAGON SOUP:

→ one bag of carrots
→ one brown onion
→ 1 litre vegetable stock
→ 1 tbsp dried tarragon
→ fresh coriander
→ oil/dairy free-butter for frying
for garnish (opt.): more coriander, roasted sunflower kernels, balsamico

1. Start by peeling and chopping carrots and onion, before adding to a large skillet on medium heat. Sauté for about 8 minutes, until onion is soft.
2. Add vegetable broth, about one litre or just enough to cover the veg, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add in coriander and tarragon. Then, working in smaller batches, puree soup with blender.
4. Once soup is smooth, return to stove top and let simmer for about 5 minutes for the flavours to blend. Adjust flavours, add in salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Top off with some garnish for the eye and it’s ready to serve!

For my side-dishes I had some left over broccoli florets with nutritional yeast and a grilled violife-cheese & avocado-sandwich. ↓

I made this last night, slowly peeling and chopping the vegetables while watching MustardonMovies (and filling up almost an entire a4 with titles to watch). A very relaxing way to ease into my weekend, especially since I have not had the time nor urge to cook anything than sandwiches for the past weeks.