Allison - Fresh and easy soups and spectacular smoothies for good health

Dry stores and packets

• Rice: fragrant Thai, brown or white basmati, brown rice flakes, imperial red
• Nuts: macadamia, almonds including flaked (slivered), pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts
• Pasta: rice noodles, quick-cook macaroni
• Grains and pulses: tapioca, barley, porridge oats, couscous, puy lentils, orange lentils, yellow split peas, butter (lima) beans
• Gelatine
• Stock (bouillon) powder or cubes: fish, chicken, beef, vegetable
• Sugar: white and brown
• Dried fruits: sultanas (golden raisins), raisins, apricots
• Flours: plain (all-purpose), potato flour (farina), cornflour (cornstarch)
• Seasonings: white and black pepper, salt

• Fish sauce
• Coconut milk
• Oils: olive, sunflower, sesame, groundnut (peanut)
• Alcohol: red, ros and white wines, Campari, amaretto di saronno, apricot brandy, orange-flavoured liqueur, crme de cassis, crme de menthe, sparkling perry, sweet cider, medium sherry, Pernod or Ricard
• Fruit juices: passion, tropical, orange, apple, pineapple, peach, mango, custard apple, pink grapefruit, cranberry, sparkling red and white grape juice, tomato, carrot
• Cold drinks: lemonade, orangeade, dry ginger ale
• Crunchy peanut butter
• Beef consomm
• Pulses: red kidney beans, chick peas (garbanzos), mushy peas
• Preserves: orange marmalade, clear honey, set honey, caramel-
• flavoured syrup
• Vegetables: artichoke hearts, pimientos, tomatoes
• Tuna in brine
• Fruit: mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail, grapefruit segments, pears, assorted fruit fillings
• Pickled beetroot (red beet)

• Spices: mild curry powder, Madras curry powder, turmeric, saffron, tandoori spice mix, chilli powder, cinnamon, bay leaves, five-spice powder, garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander (cilantro), ground cardamom, whole and ground allspice, mustard powder, nutmeg
• Cordials: ginger and lemon grass, elderflower, grenadine syrup
• Herbs: tarragon, thyme, sage, basil
• Flower waters: rose and orange
• Flavourings: anchovy essence (extract), mushroom ketchup (catsup), soy sauce, chilli sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce (green and red), Angostura bitters, brown ketchup, creamed horseradish, English mustard, wholegrain mustard, Dijon mustard, juniper berries, pesto, mango chutney, redcurrant jelly (clear conserve), tahini, capers
• Vinegars: cider, sherry, malt, chilli, balsamic
• Dried vegetables: red chillies, sun-dried tomatoes, porcini mushrooms
• Pures (pastes): tomato, sun-dried tomato, chilli

• Dairy: buttermilk, crme frache, soured (dairy sour) cream, full cream milk, skimmed milk, plain yoghurt, butter, custard sauce
• Herbs: red and green fresh chillies, fresh root ginger, garlic
• Juices: fresh lemon and lime
• Fruits: lemons, limes
• White bread

• Prawns (shrimp)
• Lemon grass stalks
• Lime leaves
• Vanilla ice cream
• Sorbets
• Chestnuts
• Peas

• Do not mix metric, imperial and American measures. Follow one set only.
• All spoon measures are level unless otherwise stated: 1 tsp = 5 ml; 1 tbsp = 15 ml.
• Eggs are medium.
• Thoroughly wash all vegetables and fruit before use and, to remove pesticides from citrus fruit skins, scrub well with a brush under running water. Scrub, scrape or peel vegetables as appropriate.
• Fish, poultry and meat should be rinsed before using in recipes and cooked and raw items must be kept well apart to prevent contamination and possible food poisoning.
• Fresh and frozen herbs have the most authentic flavours but, if unavailable, use half the quantity given of dried. There is no substitute for fresh parsley, coriander (cilantro) and dill (dill weed).
• Always use the oil specified in the recipe.
• Margarine may be substituted for butter, but check the packet to ensure it is suitable for the particular use.
• Preparation and cooking times are approximate.
• Use labour-saving kitchen appliances for speed, such as a food processor for slicing, chopping and grinding. A mandolin also works well.
• You can adjust the texture of soups by blending coarsely or finely, or by leaving some or all of the ingredients simply chopped.
• When adding crme frache to soup, do not allow it to boil. The soup may be brought just up to boiling point, then quickly taken away from the heat.
• It is better for your health to reduce your overall salt intake.

  Season soups with herbs and pepper to taste, bearing in mind that flavours intensify after the soup has been made, then taste and add a little salt if you wish. You may find that chilled soups need more generous seasoning than hot soups.

Middle Eastern Tahini Soup with Chick Peas and Lemon A lightly spiced flavour of the exotic with a twist the soup is poured over ice cubes to give it a cooling effect, making this gentle-tasting soup a fabulous summer starter. Serve it before a barbecue or a selection of cold meats. SERVES 68 450 ml/ pt/2 cups tahini 600 ml/1 pt/2 cups vegetable stock or water Juice of 3 large lemons 2 garlic cloves, crushed 15 ml/1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint A pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper Ice cubes 100 g/4 oz/generous cup canned chick peas (garbanzos), rinsed and drained A few sprigs of fresh parsley Blend together the tahini, stock or water, lemon juice and garlic. Stir in the mint and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into bowls over ice cubes. Divide the chick peas between the bowls, add a few parsley sprigs to each one and serve.