Curry pumpkin soup with chicken skewers

Pumpkin soup:
800g butternut pumpkin, peeled & chopped
1 apple, peeled & chopped
100g shallots (or a small onion), chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1 pinch paprika
1 teaspoon curry powder (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 litre chicken broth
1 can coconut milk, or else a good few shakes of coconut milk powder
black pepper

Chicken:
2 chicken breasts
5 skewers
peanut oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons chilli jam or sweet chilli sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Fry shallots, garlic and carrots in butter, add pumpkin and apple together with paprika, curry, and ginger. Add chicken broth and simmer for 20 min. Add coconut milk, puree and season to taste.

Cut chicken into 1cm cubes and thread onto skewers. Fry in peanut oil, and deglaze in soy sauce. Brush over with chilli jam/sweet chilli sauce and coat with sesame seeds.

Serve soup in bowls, and place two chicken skewers over each bowl. Serve.

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What do the food critics say? Is there any more? Well, except for Lukan, but he did eat one bowl willingly. If you count "three spoonfuls of soup for one piece of cheese" as "willingly".
What does the cook say? The peeling and chopping is a bit of a pain, but it's otherwise easy and fancy looking enough to serve at a dinner party. I used a Thai marinade for the chicken though (coconut milk, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, fish sauce, fresh & ground coriander, cumin) and grilled the skewers instead of frying them. I also think less coconut milk for the soup is better - enough so you can taste it, but not so much out drowns out the more subtle ginger.

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Adapted from a recipe book at the house we stayed in on the Canary Islands.

Spinach, garlic chive and egg dumplings

1 bunch English spinach, trimmed, chopped and blanched
8 garlic chives, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
20 round gow gee wrappers
1/3 cup soy sauce, extra
1 small red chili, chopped
Small amount of vegetable and sesame oil combined

Place the spinach, chives, egg, sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl and mix to combine.

Spoon one and a half teaspoons of the mixture onto each wrapper. Brush the edges with water, fold over to form a half moon and press to seal.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Place the dumplings in boiling water and cook for approximately 5 minutes. Remove when they float.

Toss cooked dumplings in vegetable oil and sesame oil to prevent them sticking together.

Combine the extra soy sauce and chili sauce to use as a dipping sauce.

Serve with the dumplings on a bed of steamed spinach.

Serves 4.

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Falafel (kind of)

1 cup DRIED chickpeas
Water
3 green onions or 1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 garlic cloves
1 egg
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Oil for frying
Sesame seeds

Soak chick peas in about 5 cups of water overnight.

Drain. Place all ingredients in food processor, except sesame seeds. Process until almost smooth. Let sit for 15 minutes and refrigerate until cold. Form into balls or disks. Roll in sesame seeds and fry in hot oil until brown. Turn and fry on the other side. Drain on paper towels.

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Arame stir fries

Olive oil
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger (optional)
½ cabbage, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
½ cup dry Arame (soaked in water for 5 minutes and rinsed)
1 T sesame oil
Ponzu (soy and citrus sauce. If you don’t have Ponzu, add lemon to soy sauce or tamari)
2 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup washed quinoa cooked in two cups of water for 15 minutes)
Salt and pepper

Saute chopped onion in olive oil on medium high, stirring until soft and brown around the edges. Add garlic, ginger, carrots and cabbage and saute, stirring frequently, until cabbage is soft. Add sesame oil and arame and stir for a few more minutes. Generously sprinkle wtih Ponzu. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine with quinoa and serve with toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top.

Or: Take out the ginger and substitute edible pea pods for the cabbage.

Or: Stir fry garlic and a mixture of fresh greens in olive oil and sesame oil (broccoli leaves, broccoli, broccoli rabe, cilantro, and mizuna). Add arame and season with ponzu. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you want.
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