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Depending on how you used to grocery shop and cook before coronavirus swept the globe, you may be feeling a little hamstrung right now. If you are really limiting your forays to stores, you don’t have the option of dashing out for a few ingredients you need to make a favorite recipe that you hadn’t planned to make, or a new recipe that caught your eye. More people — including myself — are relying more on pantry staples, so what do you do if you want some thing really delicious and fresh?
The other day, I had the barest glimmer in my mind of a soup using canned tomatoes, canned coconut milk, onions, and curry powder. I tried to find it, but I have more than 300 cookbooks, most of them in storage until we move out of our rental apartment and into our house. So I pulled the details I remembered, improvised a bit, and was quite happy with the results!
All of these ingredients (except the fresh herb garnish) are totally non-perishable (canned tomatoes, coconut milk and spices) or mostly so (onions). If you want to keep more onions around than usual, be sure to store them in a dark, cool spot. I usually buy a few at a time and keep them on my counter, but right now I’m storing them in my cool, dark garage. I think cilantro would be really good on this, but all I had was some almost-sad fresh parsley. That was good, too, and the soup reheated well on days 2 and 3.
Tomato-Coconut-Curry Soup
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 14.5-ounce can coconut milk
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- Pinch of chili powder or a few drops of hot sauce
- Optional: Chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, or basil, for garnish
- In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and stir. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until the onion is very tender, almost like it’s melting. Keep an eye on the onion as it cooks, stirring occasionally, so it cooks evenly.
- Add the curry, cumin, coriander and chili powders and stir. Cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes (with their juice) and 2 cups water. Stir to combine, and turn up the heat to medium-high. Bring to a simmer, and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Now you need to blend the soup. You have two options, an immersion blender (preferred, because it’s safer and easier) or a regular blender. If using an immersion blender, carefully submerge the blender end and blend until the soup is smooth. If using a regular blender, transfer the soup to a blender in batches and puree until smooth, then return to the pan. (Bonus fashion tip: don’t wear a white shirt while doing this…you’ll thank me later.)
- Whisk in the can of coconut milk and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Gently heat over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the herbs, if using.
Finally, I’m doing another Facebook Live on Thursday…from my new office in our new house, which we can’t move into yet (still have a few odds and ends to finish before we can get an occupancy permit), but as of yesterday has Wi-Fi. Woo-hoo!
Carrie Dennett, MPH, RDN, is a Pacific Northwest-based registered dietitian nutritionist, journalist, intuitive eating counselor, author, and speaker. Her superpowers include busting nutrition myths and empowering women and men to feel better in their bodies and make food choices that support pleasure, nutrition and health. This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute individualized nutrition or medical advice.
Seeking 1-on-1 nutrition counseling? Learn more about her Food & Body, IBS management, and nutrition counseling programs, and book an intro call to see if the program is a good fit, and if we’re a good fit!
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