Koo koo for Kuku Paka

I've been reading The Settler's Cookbook: A Memoir of Love, Migration and Food by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. Yasmin was born in Kampala, Uganda, and her parents' families were originally from South Asia. She writes about coming of age in the 1960s, the era of decolonization and youthful rebellion. It's a great book, a peek into the life of the south Asian settlers who lived in East Africa for generations before they were harassed into fleeing Kenya and Uganda. Yasmin tries to be fair to the settlers, who attempted to find a place between the exploitative British and the resentful Africans, but ultimately made allies with neither group. It's a great first-person story about how colonialism divides people who should be able to find common ground.

She remembers her mother as an amazing cook who kept her family together in tough financial times.  Yasmin shares some of her mother's recipes, but also some of her own, made in Britain but recalling her former home. She writes so evocatively, I've been excited to try one of her recipes since I first started reading the book.

Here's my vegan version of Kuku Paka, a coconut milk and chicken stew, made with what I had in the fridge. Yasmine writes "Sometimes Mum bought a kuku paka and on those nights I went to bed with my nightdress splashed with pale yellow sauce and smelling of coconut, dreaming of the next time, possibly!"

I can understand why young Yasmin would dream of the next time, kuku paka is spicy, creamy, tangy, tasty delicious! I think this would be great with a lot of different vegetables: Squash, broccoli, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms.  See where it takes you!

Disclaimer: as this recipe is written it is not hot!  It is very flavorful and spicy in the full of spices sense.  If you want it hot, throw a couple more chiles in!

Kuku Paka

Makes 4 servings

Takes 2 hours

1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

1 giant garlic pod, minced fine

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced fine

juice of 1/2 lime

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 carrot, cubed

1 block of tofu, cubed (all should be the same size)

3 potatoes

1 large onion, diced

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 stick of cinnamon

2 cloves

1 cardamom pod

1 dried red chili (or fresh)

1 tsp. tumeric

1 14 oz. or 400 ml can tomatoes

1 14 oz. or 400 ml can coconut milk

In a bowl, mix together half of chopped cilantro, all of garlic, ginger and lime juice.  Add about a tablespoon of oil and toss the sweet potatoes, carrots and tofu with the marinade. Let soak together while the oven heats up.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit.

On a baking sheet, spread the sweet potatoes, carrots and tofu out evenly. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 325, turn the veggies/tofu over and bake for 10 more minutes.  When they are finished, put them on paper towels to drain the oil.  Save the marinade, and keep the heat on!

Parboil potatoes.  Cut them into even-sized quarters and put them in a pot with salted cold water.  Bring to a boil and boil for 6 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Cut them into cubes that are about the same size as the roasted veggies/tofu.  Set aside.

In an oven proof pot, saute onions on medium high heat until they are nice and browned (stir occasionally so they have time to brown but do not burn).  Turn heat down to medium, add cashews and spices and saute for about 10 minutes, until it is really sizzling.  Add tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes, until the tomatoes are completely broken down and it is a thick paste.  Add coconut milk, turn down heat to a low simmer and let everything come together. Add salt to taste and Indian red chili powder or cayenne if you want it spicier.  Turn off heat, and stir in the roasted vegetables/tofu and parboiled potatoes.  Top with remaining marinade. 

Put into hot oven, and cook for 15 minutes.  Turn oven to broil and brown the top for 5 minutes.

 

Sprinkle the remaining cilantro over it.  We ate this intense curry with simple steamed spinach and rice.  And hot sauce!  I'll bet it would be good with Aloo parathas too!

Pav Bhaji--the Indian sloppy joe!

Pav bhaji is a famous Mumbai street food that has become popular all over India and the world.  Mumbaikars have many opinions on the best places to eat pav bhaji in the city, and the best way to make it at home.  Pav means bread, and bhaji means curry, and I tell my non-Indian friends that pav bhaji is the Indian sloppy joe!

There are many amazing Indian home cooks with blogs, and this recipe is my mash up of several recipes.  Check out One Hot Stove, Annaprashana, and of course, Manjula!

We eat this fairly regularly because it is simple and one of Paddy's favorite meals, and we've made it for friends and family all over the continent because the only ingredient you need to get from an Indian grocery store is the masala.  We have been known to travel with our own supply of Pav Bhaji Masala (just in case).

Pav Bhaji

Takes 1 hour

Makes enough for 6 people

3 medium potatoes, chopped into 2 inch pieces

1/2 a large head of cauliflower, chopped into florets

3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch piece of ginger, minced

2 small carrots, diced

1 green pepper (or other varieties of sweet pepper), chopped

1 Tbsp. pav bhaji masala (I have heard Everest is the best brand, I also have used Shan brand and MDH)
1 green chile

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp. salt 
1/2 cup peas, frozen works great

6+ buns, I like to get the small ones that are stuck together

1 onion, diced

2 limes, quartered
1 green chile, minced (if you like it hot!)

bunch of cilantro, chopped

Add the potatoes and cauliflower to a large pot of salted, cold water, bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, saute the garlic and ginger on medium high heat.  When they began to brown, add the carrots and peppers.  When they began to brown, add the pav bhaji masala and saute for a minute or so, until it gets really fragrant.  Add the tomatoes and green chile, and cook until it gets very thick.  

Eventually the oil will come to the surface, this will take about 10 minutes.

While this is happening, keep checking on the potatoes and cauliflower.  They are done when you stick a knife in a potato and a cauliflower and they slide right off.  Drain, reserving about 2 cups of the water.

Add the drained potatoes and cauliflower to the tomato pot.  Stir and mash adding water as necessary.  Check for spice and add salt and more masala as necessary.  Turn the heat down very low, put the lid on, and let the flavors blend together for 15 to 20 minutes.  If you are not going to eat the Pav Bhajis until later in the day, turn the heat off and let the covered Bhaji sit until you are ready to eat--then just reheat.  Add the peas for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

To serve, heat a griddle or saute pan and toast the buns, with butter if you like.  Top the buns with the bhaji.  Sprinkle with onions, cilantro, chopped green chiles if you are brave!  Top with a squeeze of lime juice.

Eat!

Aloo Paratha

Aloo (Potato) Paratha is one of my favorite foods.  I often make myself sick eating Aloo paratha, yogurt and mixed pickle.  So it is important to only make myself 2 parathas, and only eat 2 parathas, and not gobble up everyone else's.  It's actually quite easy to make, and so delicious, you don't really need anything else to eat with.  A simple dal, leftovers, anything.  The dough works best when it is rested, so it's easy to make what you want to eat the parathas with while the dough naps.

Aloo Paratha
Makes 9 parathas

Takes 1 hour

2 cups whole wheat chapati flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup water

some oil (canola or vegetable)

2 large potatoes, quartered (Those long Idaho potatoes work really well)

1 small green chili, chopped very fine (Serrano and the small green chilies work well)

1 handful cilantro, chopped fine

salt

Mix the flour and salt, and then add the cup of water.  Mix together to form a sticky dough.  Oil your hands, and turn the dough ball out onto a floured surface.  Knead until it is smooth and no longer sticky, adding flour as necessary.  Let rest for 30 minutes.

Starting the potatoes in cold, salted water, bring to a boil and cook until when you stick a fork in them they slip off.  Drain, and let cool completely.

Divide the dough evenly into 9 balls, let rest for 15 minutes while you get the potatoes ready.

When the potatoes have cooled completely, add the cilantro and chili, to your taste.  The chili will not make a huge impact on the spiciness of the finished paratha.  If you want more spicy, add some chili powder.  Check for salt, and add to your taste.  

Grease your hands with oil, and divide the potatoes into 9 balls.

Flatten the dough into thick circles and place the potato balls into the center.  Wrap the dough around and pinch the dough tight.

Let rest for 15 minutes while your griddle (tawa) heats up, admire your handiwork.

On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll into thinnish circles.  You can begin cooking the first ones as you roll the others out.  Make sure that you do not stack the rolled out parathas on top of each other, because they may stick together.  This is not a big deal because if they do, just combine and redivide into balls and roll out again.  But you've made such pretty parathas, your work deserves to be honored.

It is important that your tawa is the right temperature, hot but not too hot (on my stove 4.5 out of 5), and your first paratha will be a bit of an experiment.  Put it onto the tawa and let it be for a couple of minutes (roll out another paratha), it should begin to puff!  Turn it over, the cooked side should be nicely browned in spots.  When the second side is finished, take the paratha off the heat and rub with a little ghee or oil.  

Serve to your ravenous fellow diners immediately, or if they are patiently waiting for you, place on a plate on which you have put a paper towel, and cover with another plate.  They do make chapati warmers in India, but if you don't have one, this works fine.  As you make a stack, you can just ghee one side of the paratha because the other side will get the ghee from the paratha below.

We ate these with really simple spinach and chana masala.  I'll post a recipe for that soon!

Some Experiments

Happy New Year everyone!  I feel so excited about 2010 already.  Hope it's a good one for you all.  In the next few days I'll try to post some recipes from over the holidays, once I get some pictures together.  There was so much cooking.

Yesterday was my first night cooking in Halifax, and I decided to experiment a little.  I made my dal, but towards the end, I added some defrosted frozen whole spinach.  I only made 1/2 cup of dal and added 2 cups of water.  It was really good.

We ate the dal spinach with some chapatis I made with cracked wheat, and an experimental potato curry.  I've been meaning to use the cracked wheat since I had so much leftover from the amazing cracked wheat top knots from October.  I wanted to make a massaman-ish curry with potatoes and peanuts.  My betrothed was not so happy about this curry.  In his words, "it's not that I don't like it, I just don't like it." 

I actually really liked it.  It was spicy and peanuty.  You have to like peanuts to like this curry.  Try it and tell me what you think.

Cracked Wheat Chapatis

Makes 8 chapatis

Takes 2 hours (but only 30 active minutes)

1/4 cup cracked wheat

1/2 cup water

1 cup chapati flour (wheat flour)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup water

Place the cracked wheat in a heatproof bowl.  Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil and pour over the wheat.  Cover and let sit for 1 hour.  (While waiting you can make whatever you want to eat with the chapatis.)

Drain the wheat of any excess water and place in a large bowl with the flour, salt and water.  Oil your hands with ghee or canola oil and mix together to form a dough ball, adding more water or flour as necessary.  Place on a flour surface and knead until it is smooth and tight.  Let rest for 30 minutes while you are making other things.

Pre-heat a griddle on high.  Divide the dough evenly into 8 balls.  I divide the dough into halves, the halves into halves, etc to form evenly sized balls.  Using plenty of flour, roll into thin circles.  I recommend watching Manjula making her chapatis.  She's a pro!

Cook the chapatis until they are brown on each side, (they won't puff) and rub both sides with ghee when you take them off the griddle.  To keep them warm, place between two plates with paper towels on the bottom and top of the stack.

This is a hearty chapati that I really enjoyed.  I think this would also make a delicious cracker, and I am planning on making the dough again and baking it.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Peanut Potato Curry

Makes 4 servings

Takes 30 minutes

1/4 cup raw peanuts

1/2 inch piece of ginger, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

4 potatoes, chopped into 1 inch cubes
1/2 green chili

1 teaspoon sambhar powder, or other curry powder

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1 inch piece of dried tamarind, available in Indian grocery stores

1/2 cup water

Boil the water and pour over the piece of tamarind to soften it.

Heat oil in a large saute pan on medium-high.  Add peanuts, and when they are lightly brown, add the ginger and garlic.  When they are beginning to brown (make sure your stove is not too hot), add the potatoes.  Saute for a minute and add the sambhar powder, green chili and cinnamon.  Squeeze the tamarind, mashing all the pulp loose with your fingers.  Pour the water only into the pan, saving the tamarind pulp in case you later decide the curry needs more sour taste.

Add salt (a half teaspoon for now), lower the heat to simmer, and cover for 10 minutes.

Check the potaotes for doneness (it will probably need 5 more minutes) and the sauce for yumminess.  It should be spicy, if it is not, add more sambhar powder or chili powder.  It should be salty, if it is not, add more salt.  It should have a little tang, if not, pour more hot water over the tamarind, let soak for 2 minutes, and add the juice back to the potatoes.  Add more water if it's a little too dry.  You want the curry to be saucy so you can scoop it up with your chapatis.

It was soo good!  The betrothed is not much of a food experimenter, so maybe after he eats it a couple of times, he'll like it better...

onion rava masala dosai and sambhar

I've been working on two blog posts, one of my last meal in Halifax, onion rava masala dosai, which I am posting here now.  And one on my first meal in London, dal and cauliflower curry, which I'll post tomorrow.  This recipe is for dosai, potato curry and sambhar!  I've tried to write it the way I made it so that everything is ready at the right time.  I also recommend reading it all the way through before you begin because there are a lot of parts.  But I promise, it's not that hard.

Did you guys see in the new and last Gourmet that they had a recipe for Rava dosai?!  Theirs was all wrong.  Way too much flour.  And peas and chickpeas in the potato masala?!  Quelle horreur!

onion rava masala dosai and sambhar

Takes 2 hours

Makes enough for 4

Begin with the sambhar, because as it's simmering, you can get everything else ready.  You can also make the sambhar ahead of time, because it only gets better as it sits.

chinna vengyam sambhar (little onion sambhar)

1 cup toor dal

golf-ball size tamarind soaked in 1/2 cup hot water for about 15 minutes

1 pound baby onions

2 big tomatoes, quartered

1 tbsp sambhar powder*

1 green or red chili

salt to taste

1 tsp. mustard seeds

curry leaves from one stem

1 dried red chilli (or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper)

2 shakes aesofotida

freshly chopped corriander leaves for garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring the lentils and 3 cups of water to a boil.  Lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  While it's cooking, chop the ends off of the onions, and peel.  I find it helpful to have a bowl of water nearby to put the onions in once they are peeled.  They are so potent those little ones!

In another pot, heat oil on medium high heat.  When hot, add baby onions, saute until slightly translucent.  Add sambhar powder, chili and tomatoes, and the tamarind juice.  Squeeze all the tamarind juice and pulp from the remaining harder bits.  Add an additional 2 cups of water.  Bring to a simmer.

When the dal is ready, add it to the other pot.  Continue cooking at a simmer, until it is well-blended and smelling so delicious.  You can jump at this point to the other parts of the meal.  At some point you will have to add the other ingredients.  Here's what you do when you are ready for that part:

In a little pan, heat a little oil on medium high heat.  When hot, add the mustard seeds.  As soon as they start sizzling, add the dried chili, the curry leaves and the asofetida.  As soon as they start popping, pour it all into the sambhar.

This can sit while you are making other things, like the dosai.

Onion rava dosai

1 c. rava (semolina)

1/2 c. rice flour

1/4 c. yogurt

2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 green chili, sliced fine

1 onion, diced fine

curry leaves, if you have them

salt

water

Combine all ingredients and add water, 4 to 5 cups, it will depend on the consistency of the yogurt you use, so it is better to add 3 cups of water first, mix it together and then decide. The batter should be very runny, it should fall easily from the spoon. The real test will be when you make your first dosai.

Leave the batter sit while you make the potato curry.

potato curry
1 tbsp. channa dal

1 onion, diced

1 green chili, sliced lengthwise

4 medium-large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tsp. turmeric

2 shakes asofetida

1/2 tsp. red chili powder

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. When the oil is hot, add the the channa dal, and toast until they are fragrant and light brown. Add the onions and green chili. When the onions are translucent, add the potatoes, turmeric, asofetida, chili powder and salt. Saute until the potatoes are evenly coated and everything is very fragrant. Add a cup of water, cover, and let cook for about 10 minutes. Check at this point for salt, if the curry needs more water, and how well the potatoes are done. Adjust as necessary. Cook for about 5 minutes more, depending on doneness of potatoes. It will be ready when the potatoes hold their shape, but are soft around the edges and in a sea of yummy yellow potato curry. When finished, squeeze lime on potatoes and sprinkle with cilantro.

Back to the dosai.

The most important thing about making dosais is to have your pan at the right heat and your batter the right consistency. Heat a skillet to almost but not quite high and add just enough oil to lightly coat the pan. Stir your batter, and when you think the pan is ready, spoon a small amount onto the griddle. It should immediately make a lacy round. If it runs everywhere, your heat is too low. If it sticks and doesn't have holes, then the heat is too high. Another problem can be your batter. If the pan seems hot enough, but holes are still not forming, then add water to the batter.

When you think you are ready for a real dosai: quickly ladle one spoon of batter (we use a 1/2 cup measure) onto the griddle to make a circle.  It doesn't matter what shape your dosai is really, as long as the dosai is thin and crispy and delicious.

Add a little extra oil to the dosai as it cooks for extra crispiness. Swirl the pan around so the oil coasts all the edges, and even spread to the inner holes of the dosai.

When it has fried for about 2 minutes, or the edges are easy to lift from the griddle, flip it over. This is mostly to admire your handiwork. What had been the bottom should be a deliciously golden brown lacework of yumminess. After a minute flip it over again. Place a spoonful of the potato curry in the middle of the dosai, flip one side of the dosai over it, and serve with a bowl of hot sambhar.

Keep making dosais, about 12 in all. Keep stirring the batter as it will separate.

The batter keeps well, better than cooked dosais.

I wish I had some now...

 

* some words on sambhar powder.  Ours is ground for us at my family's mill in Chidambaram.  If you can't stop by Veeraraghavanaickan Street for some, I suggest MTR brand.  It's from Tamil Nadu, unlike other spices.  Or 777, I think, makes some powders.  Otherwise, this very nice blog has a recipe for sambhar powder.  Some friends and I made some recently, not according to this recipe, but a similar one, and it came out beautifully!

Corn Chowder

This might be my last post for awhile as I leave for London tomorrow.   Soon I will be hungry for Halifax!

I was really impressed by Kevin from Top Chef's Quickfire "deconstructed green bean casserole" from two weeks ago.  He made a corn pudding, topped with a confit of tomatoes and green peas that looked delicious.  So I thought I would make a corn chowder with a little tomato salad to go on top.  It was sooo good.  The soup was really creamy and simple.  And the tomato salad and the red peppers we had on the side, were perfect complements.

Vegan Corn Chowdah

Takes 30 minutes

Makes 4 big bowls of soup

1/2 large onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, sliced

1 very large potato, cubed

2 ears corn, shucked (not really sure if this is the right word.  get the kernels off the ears people)

4 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

In a pot on medium high heat, add some olive oil.  Saute the onions and garlic until translucent.  Add the potatoes and black pepper and saute for a couple of minutes.  Add the water and a 1/2 tsp. of salt.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer.  After about 5 minutes, add the corn, and cook for about 5 minutes more.

Puree with a hand blender, or in batches in a regular blender.  Check for salt.

Tomato Confit

Takes 30 minutes

Makes 4 soup toppings

10 tomatoes, small yellow ones

salt

pepper

olive oil

basil or parsley or any herbs you want

Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut tomatoes into quarters.  Toss with some olive oil, the salt and pepper and herbs.  Put into an oven-proof pan and "confit" for 20 minutes.

This would be so good on toast!

We ate the soup with roasted peppers--red and long skinny green one that was a little spicy.

I also made a new loaf of bread.  More on that experiment gone wrong later.  Wasn't it the cutest little dough ball though?

Dissertation here I come!

baby it's cold outside bread and soup

Brrrrr. It is already cold here in Halifax.

We've been baking a lot of bread this fall, inspired by Bittman's no-knead bread. I like Smitten Kitchen's write-up, that was the one that really inspired me to try the recipe. The boyfriend has particularly loved making bread, and he keeps turning out loaves, each one better than the last.


The only suggestion I can add to this now classic recipe is to use parchment paper instead of the kitchen towels! We've already thrown out two towels because they were irredeemably sticky. We've even tried this recipe with a multi-grain bread flour. Not quite as light and fluffy, but still very good.

It will probably remain our everyday bread, but I must confess, I have a new favorite. And it was because we had all this multi-grain flour that I searched and discovered this recipe from the February Gourmet (R.I.P) for Cracked-Wheat Topknots. Readers, they are delicious. We each ate three yesterday, and the remaining six today! And I have another dozen in the oven now! I made half the recipe, and used only Robin Hood Multi-grain Bread Blend as it already has all-purpose flour in it. Since the boyfriend is lactose intolerant and allergic to eggs, I used lactose free milk, Smart Balance spread, and glazed them with milk instead of eggwash. Next time I'm going to try olive oil, since I don't really like the idea of using margarine, even a glorified one.

The batch in the oven now look even better than the ones for yesterday!


Last night we ate it with a modified version of this soup, a Basque Tuscan fusion soup of kale, potato and white beans. It's for dinner again tonight.



Sorta vegan cracked-wheat top knots
adapted from Ruth Cousineau's recipe from the February 2009 Gourmet (R. I. P)

makes 1 dozen rolls
takes 6 hours

3/4 cup boiling-hot water
1/4 cup medium bulgar (cracked wheat)
1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter (I used Earth Balance)
1 1/8 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. warm water
2 1/4 cups Multi-grain bread flour
Large grain sea salt
All-Purpose flour for kneading

In a small bowl, cover the bulgar with the 3/4 cup boiling hot water and 1/4 tsp. salt and let stand for 40 minutes.

Proof the yeast with the honey and warm water until foamy, 5 minutes.

Heat the milk and butter (or butter substitute), just until the butter (or substitute) is melted.

Once the yeast is proofed, add the flour and the remaining 1 1/4 tsp. salt.

Drain the bulgar, and add it and the liquid mixture to the yeast/flour and stir until it is a sticky mess. Turn it out onto a surface covered with A-P flour and knead for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it is smooth.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, and turn it over until it is all greased. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and leave to rise in a warm place until double, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (nb. I let my bread rise in my oven, which I had heated to 150 (the lowest possible temperature), and then let cool. it worked really well, esp. since my apartment might as well be an ice box)).

Once the dough is risen (like christ on easter), prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Punch down and divide the dough into 12 equal-sized balls. I do this by first dividing the dough in two equal parts, dividing each of those into 2 more parts (for a total of 4), and then dividing each of those quarter balls into three more.

Take each little ball and roll into a 12 inch snake. If you greased the dough properly for its rise, than you won't need additional flour. Tie the dough snake into a knot, tucking the ends around any which way you prefer. (no two of mine look the same). Space each topknot about 2 inches apart, and let rise for another hour to hour and a half.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

Brush rolls with milk and sprinkle with the sea salt.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until your house smells so good you can't stand it anymore.

Cool until they (barely) don't burn your fingers.

 



Tuscan/Basque white bean and kale soup
adapted from a Gourmet (R.I.P) recipe from February 2004

Makes 4 dinner-sized servings
Takes 2 hours

1/2 cup dried white beans
2 cups water
olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 1/2 qts water
3 fresh parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 clove
1/2 pound potatoes, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 pound kale, roughly chopped
1 medium-large tomato, chopped
some basil

Bring beans and 2 cups of water to a boil. Turn heat off, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.

In a heavy pot (I love my le creuset knock off), saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add the smoked paprika and saute until it is fragrant.

Add the water, beans, parsley, clove, and bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes.

Add potatoes and kale, and cook a further 10 to 15 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, and cook another 5 to 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Toss in some fresh basil at the end if you have some.

Serve soup with topknots. Look, mine are out of the oven now.