My take on cock-a-leekie soup and turkey tikka masala
So remember how I mentioned I was using French Women Don't Get Fat as a lifestyle changer? I still am, almost a month in and ten pounds down, but I'm not going by the book, so to speak.
One thing I dropped was a leek broth cleanse. I don't do cleanses. I just can't get through them. But I did start making this soup, taking a few recipes and playing around with what I thought would taste better. My roomie loved it. We ate it with a little bit of crusty baguette. He put butter on his, but I just tore off bits of mine and ate them in the soup. It was awesome and filling and I got six meals off it. I made it again with results as good (maybe adding more white pepper and sour cream -- don't you judge me!).
Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast cut up
2 trimmed leeks - roughly chopped - they were about 7 inches worth, roots and greens trimmed off
1 cup onion - diced
8 oz chopped mushroom (I used cremini as i like its chewiness and it was pre-sliced, but i halved most with my hand as i put them in the pot as I wanted more mushroom per bite)
3 tbsp olive oil (I added some bertolli olive oil spray as well when the veggies looked too dry to me)
1 qt. chicken broth (I used Trader Joe's organic free range)
1 cup water
1/3 cup sour cream
paprika
garlic
white pepper (I just prefer it to black in this soup for being finer and having more kick, but you can use black)
sea salt? (It's a judgement call. taste your broth after the boiling part and see if it needs a few shakes
gluten free flour (or regular. I just had the gluten free on hand. Maybe corn starch would work, too)
So, first I took my raw chicken and cut it into about 1/2 inch squares, then I put that in the preheated (med-hi) pan, added some olive oil spray (I love this stuff, but how does it have no calories? It's WITCHERY or LIES!), then seasoned it with garlic, white pepper and paprika when it was about halfway done (I just shook out enough of each to dust the whole top surface, then stirred). I added about a half cup water to the pan at the end and stirred it around to get all the juices and flavor off the pan (not that breast has much juice, but I waste nothing) and put it aside.
Then I took my pot and heated up 2 tbsps real olive oil (still med-high). I added my onions, stirred them up then my leeks (kind of taking them apart with my hands just a little as I put them in, and stirred them up a little till soft, spritzing more of that bertolli when they looked dry, then i added my mushrooms and stirred occasionally as I cleaned, about five minutes, more bertolli, I added my spices (garlic, pepper, paprika), then stirred it up a bit more, 5 minutes maybe. Just eyeballing it here and there.
Then I added my chicken and the bit of water in it and stirred it in before I added the broth and cup water. I stirred that up gently with 4 shakes of salt, then let it come to a boil.
I left it on for about 7 minutes, covered, tasting the veggies to be sure they were soft, but not too soft. You can leave it on longer if you like them softer. Just check on it as you don't want them too mushy.
Then I turned off the heat and added about 2 tbsp of my gluten free flour, sprinkling and gently whisking it in in tiny circles around the pot. Once that was in, I added 2 tbsp of sour cream (gentle, small whisking circles again), then the other two, same thing.
Once it was cooler, my roomie and I ate it with a little bit of crusty baguette. He put butter on his, but I just tore off bits of mine and ate them in the soup. It was awesome and filling and I will make it again.
Note later: Since I got six meals off the first batch, I made it again. This time, I went crazy on the white pepper, so watch out on that. Not that I minded, but everyone else might not like the bite. I liked it so much, I added more to every bowl. :)
For Turk-a-leekie:
I also made a leftover turkey version - made bone stock to replace the broth, and about 1 and 1/2 pounds (cooked, obviously). I just sauteed the veggies less and boiled everything together more to be sure the turkey married everything else nicely. TBH, it was tastier with chicken breast as turkey just has a stronger flavor and putting dark meat as well made it a bit heavier. But it wasn't bad, by any stretch. Just heavy and turkey dominant at the expense of the veggies. Eh, I'd do it again.
Then I took about 1.5 pounds of turkey left and made something I'd been successful with before: Turkey Tikka Masala. It was super easy and super tasty.
Ingredients:
1.5 pounds turkey cut into about 1/2 inch squares - as that's what I had,
or 1.5 pounds raw chicken, cut the same. But you will fry it up separately till cooked, then add it to the onions
5 oz (half a 10 oz jar) of Patak's concentrated curry paste - medium (not hard to find in stores. I'd have got spices, but I'm lazy)
2 cups roughly diced onion
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup roughly diced tomoato
curry, turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper - I just play around with all till it looks and taste right to me.
1/2 cup sour cream, yogurt, or heavy cream - I used heavy cream this time, but I've had success with all 3. I never go low-fat on stuff like this, It's just not as good and 1/2 cup spread over about eight portions isn't gonna kill you
This yielded about 8 servings. You can cut this in half if you don't want to make a lot, but it's just as easy to make more, then freeze some, IMO, and save yourself hassle later.
I took a large pan and melted my oil, then took my onion and sauteed till soft, then added my turkey and my spice paste, stirring it all up, then added my water and let it all sit for a bit while I chopped tomatoes.
I added them and stirred with a spatula till things got all soft and married. I added the cream, then tasted. Same as the other times, it was goos, but not enough oomph for me by this point. But maybe you'll like it that way. This is largely up to the cook, but I added 7 strong shakes of paprika (I confess, mostly for color as it was too light for me), 5 of curry powder (yellow as I didn't have red. Next time, will get some red), same with Turmeric, then anywhere from 3-5 shakes of cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you want it. I let it simmer on medium stirring here and there while I cleaned up. At one point I added a splash more water as it was too thick for my tastes. You might think differently.
I made this over Uncle Mike's as he has possession of my favorite giant pan and wooden spatula -- which I I will steal from him while he sleeps one of these days. We had it over brown rice. I know basmati rice is tastier and less sticky, but I try to eat brown or quinoa when possible for the fiber. Also, this tastes great over quinoa, especially if you let it the quinoa dry out a little, but not if you hate quinoa, obviously (some people do and you can't argue taste).
I went to a grocery store near me that has a nice Indian buffet and picked up some garlic naan and a pint of mixed veggie korma because I was craving both. I actually want to make that korma at some point because it doesn't look too difficult. Recipe to come if I do.
It honestly tastes great right off, but is always better in the following days when the ingredients get to know each other better in the fridge.
Anyway, that's enough tedious recipes out of me. Sorry, guys! The Holidays bring out the amateur chef in me,
