Clay Pot Soup Recipes: Five Nutritious Soups (with tips on healthy ingredient substitutes)
Here are 5 healthy and delicious Clay Pot Soup Recipes recipes for cooking in your MEC Pure Clay Pot. As you are taking all the steps needed to cook healthy and nutritious food, it is important to keep the following in mind:
When cooking things like soups, stews or broths, some of the common unhealthy mistakes we do are using canned chicken/beef broth or stock, using pre-made and packaged seasoning like “maggie” cubes and using canned beans or tomatoes. Continue reading to see what could be wrong and how to substitute these ingredients:
1. Eliminate unhealthy canned ingredients like chicken/beef broth. Your dish will still be very flavorful without this when cooked in MEC pots. Because the nutrients stay intact, their original taste is also fully preserved. If your recipe demands, use homemade chicken broth or vegetable broth. You can always make these at home in excess and store them in glass jars for future use.
2. Avoid using pre-made seasoning like “maggie cubes”, harmful chemicals, additives, and poison is what you get from this. The taste of 1 cube can be substituted by using these spices: 1tsp of dried red chili powder, 1 tsp dried cumin powder, 2 tsp of coriander powder and 1 tsp of salt. You could buy the raw ingredients and make this mixture in advance and store in glass jar.
3. Avoid canned tomatoes and beans. These ingredients in their cans contain a lot of the aluminum from the can, are factory processed (low in nutritional value). And many times preserved with chemicals that don’t need mentioning on the label. Use fresh tomatoes (please, it takes 5 minutes to chop them up). And cook your beans in MEC pots and store in the fridge, they can last for 7-10 days when preserved properly. And more importantly, when cooked in pure clay they don’t cause flatulence!
Now, onto these delicious clay pot soup recipes:
1. Thai Beetroot Soup – Beautifully Colored Soup with a Unique Thai Flavor
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
1 lbs cooked beetroot (not pickled), roughly chopped; 1/2 quart tin light coconut milk; 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce; Juice of 1-2 limes; ½ tsp salt; 4 shallots, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced; 4 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and chopped; 2 x 3cm pieces galangal, finely sliced; 2 thumb-size pieces of root ginger, grated; 6 makrut lime leaves, shredded; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 3 cups cold water; 2 ounces coriander, stalks and leaves chopped (reserve a few leaves for garnishing); 1 bird’s-eye chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
Recipe:
(1) In a large MEC pot, fry the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, root ginger and makrut lime leaves in vegetable oil for 5-6 minutes to release their flavor.
(2) Add the water and the rest of the stock ingredients. For more heat, add a few chili seeds to the pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 40 minutes before straining and discarding the solids.
(3) Put the stock back into the pot, add the chopped beetroot and bring back to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. Blitz with a stick blender, then add the coconut milk and bring the pot back to a simmer again.
(4) Add fish sauce, salt and lime juice to taste: the soup should taste sharp and sweet. Serve with the reserved whole coriander leaves.
2. Italian Tortellini Soup – Healthy and Quick Clay Pot Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
(Serves 6)
3/4 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed; 1 medium onion, chopped; 6 garlic cloves, minced; 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth; 1-3/4 cups water; 14-1/2 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained; 9 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini; 6 ounces fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped; 2-1/4 teaspoons minced fresh basil or 3/4 teaspoon dried basil; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; Dash crushed red pepper flakes; Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional
Recipe:
(1) Crumble sausage into a MEC Dutch oven; add onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in the broth, water, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
(2) Add tortellini; return to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes or until almost tender, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; add the spinach, basil, pepper and pepper flakes. Cook 5 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted and tortellini are tender. Serve with cheese if desired.
(*) Freeze option: Place individual portions of cooled soup in freezer containers and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a MEC pot, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth if necessary.
3. Tart and A Bit Sweet Swiss Chard, Chickpea and Tamarind Stew
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
4 tbsp seedless tamarind pulp; 14 ounces swiss chard, cut into 1cm slices; 1½ tsp coriander seeds; 1 medium onion, thinly sliced; 2 tsp caraway seeds; 1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish; 14 ounces plum tomatoes, cut up with their juices; 1.5 cup water; 1½ tbsp caster sugar; Salt and black pepper; 14 ounces chickpeas; For Rice: 12 ounces short-grain rice; 3/4 ounces butter; 3 cups water; To finish: Juice of 1 lemon; 7 ounces yogurt (optional); Coriander leaves
Recipe:
(1) Whisk the tamarind with about 3 tbsp of warm water until it dissolves into a paste. Set aside. Bring a MEC medium pot of salted water to the boil and blanch the chard for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander.
(2) Dry-roast the coriander seeds in a MEC small pot then transfer to a mortar and pestle to grind them into a powder.
(3) Put the onion, caraway seeds and olive oil in a large MEC pot and saute on a medium heat for about 2 minutes until the onion is soft and golden. Add the tomatoes, water, sugar, chickpeas, ground coriander, chard and some salt and pepper.
(4) Strain the tamarind water through a small sieve into the stew. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and leave to simmer for about 40 minutes. When ready, the dish should have the consistency of a thick soup. You can adjust this either by adding more water or simmering uncovered, so the excess liquid can evaporate. Taste and add more seasoning if you think it’s needed.
(5) While the stew is cooking, put the rice, butter and a bit of salt in a MEC medium pot and set on a medium heat. Stir to coat the rice with butter. Add the water and bring to the boil, then cover with the lid and leave to simmer on a low flame for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave uncovered for 5 minutes.
(6) When it’s ready to serve, spoon the rice into MEC bowls, creating a large crater in the center. Add the lemon juice to the stew and stir, then spoon one or two ladles into the middle of the rice for each bowl. Put a dollop of yogurt on top if you like. Finish with a generous helping of coriander leaves.
4. Mixed Lentils with Vegetable Stew – An Easy Healthy & Hearty Lunch
Ingredients:
(Serves 6)
7 ounces brown lentils, (not tinned); 3 cloves garlic; 1 large carrot, diced; 3 Small Potatoes, diced; 2 tablespoons Vege Stock Concentrate; 3 cups water; sea salt & pepper to taste;
Recipe:
(1) Chop garlic and heat in a little amount of water for 15-20 seconds.
(2) Add some more water and saute for 2-3 minutes/medium heat.
(3) Rinse lentils and add to MEC pot along with diced potatoes and carrots.
(4) Saute with Gentle stir for 1-2 minute.
(5) Add stock concentrate, salt and water and cook for 50 minutes with lid azar.
(6) Once cooked check if the lentils are cooked to your liking. If you want to cook longer add a little extra water and cook for a further 5-10 minutes.
(7) Once cooked, leave the lid off and let sit for a few minutes. The lentils will further absorb the liquid. Serve with some rice. – Very tasty and healthy meal.
5. Sauteed Corn & Potato Chowder – Luscious, Hearty and Rich
Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
1 potato; 2 corn-on-the-cob; 1 cup sweet onion; 14 1/2 ounces fat free less sodium chicken broth; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro; 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 teaspoons lime juice
Recipe:
Heat some water in MEC pot over medium heat and cook potatoes, corn and onion, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until corn turns golden and potatoes start to stick. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Lightly mash with fork or potato masher until creamy. Stir in remaining ingredients.
