How does one convey how deeply delicious a recipe is that you have concocted yourself without sounded vain and over-the-top? …I’m stumped, because this dish is really delicious and I want the world to know it!
If I could stick a spoonful of this soup topped with potato cubes into your mouth, I would just to try and convince you.
The flavours just hit every note perfectly. Combined with the opposite textures of smooth and crunchy, I’m in love… no, REALLY. A foodie falls in love with food, and it just happened to me with this dish.
(Recipe at end of post).
I used my much loved thai crinkly knife here. The only issue I have with this model is that I end up holding it half on the handle and half on top of the blade. I have however spotted this one on Amazon which has a handle over the blade which I think would work perfectly. Just a note on the crinkle knives… If you have never used one, you’d be surprised to know that they are really nice to cut with. As soon as there’s grip into the vegetable that it’s cutting, it sort of splits and cuts at the same time and seems to be less effort than a regular knife. I found that when using one that looks like mine (handle on back not top with high blade), for some reason it’s easier to use than the same kind that has a short blade. Also the pieces you cut interlock like a puzzle, so when cutting, you’ll instantly feel how easy it is to cut without pieces slipping out of place. It also gives great visual interest to your meal, and in the case of this dish, there’s more surface area to bake into a crispy delight.
Here’s a little tip to season the potatoes perfectly. Get two identical bowls and place together like shown in the photo above (left) with the ingredients inside. Hold the bowls firmly together and shake and swish and in 20 seconds you’ll have perfectly coated potatoes.
I simple love my Phillips Air Fryer! There are some negative reviews on Amazon which I was surprised about. It’s almost like people spent all this money without knowing what they were buying. A quick glance at it and you would realise it’s basically a grill with a strong fan forcing the hot air all over your food! I love this! I’ve always baked and used my grill instead of deep frying (or for that matter, shallow frying). So this device is a beloved contraption I use a few times a week.
How do you chop your garlic? I cut the hard end off, then use the side of my chopping knife to smash and flatted the cloves. The skin then easily peels off and a quarter of the chopping is already done! Though you don’t need to finely chop the garlic for this dish. The garlic will be blended in well at the end.
I love cooking in glass. So safe, no complaints.
Going through the photos on this post, I’ve just realised how many favourite kitchen tools I’ve used to make this dish. Now introducing my much loved Ninja Blender. For the price, it’s an absolute steal. I use the Ninja Blender almost every day. No joke. From dips, smoothies, desserts, slurpees, dressings, vegetable prep, soups, etc – I use my Ninja! (And not to mention the difference sized containers so you’re not limited to one container like most blenders and processors).
Notice the wire mess at the bottom of the Air Fryers container? Any excess oil or grease from whatever you’re cooking drips off into the tray underneath.
2
This tomato and basil soup with crunchy potato cubes is sure to please anyone's taste buds.
7 min
25 min
32 min
Ingredients
- 1kg (approx 35 oz or 5 small to med size) Potatoes
- 1/2 tsp Hot Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 tbs Rice Bran Oil (or other oil with high smoking point)
- 1 400g (approx. 14 oz) Tin of Tomatoes (whole, chopped or crushed)
- 1 small brown onion
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Vegetable Stock Cube
- +/- 20 Fresh Sweet Basil Leaves
Instructions
- Wash, peel and cut potatoes into small cubes.
- Place cubed potatoes into a bowl. Add rice bran oil, paprika and salt.
- Place same size bowl up-side-down on top of the bowl with the potatoes and shake and swirl to evenly coat the potatoes with the oil and seasoning.
- Place potatoes in Phillips Air Fryer for 25 minutes, at 200ºC (the highest setting). Take tray out every five minutes and shake until potatoes are loose to prevent cooking one solid mass.*
- *Don't have an Air Fryer? That's okay, just use your grill. I think grills are like stubborn people who don't cooperate, so make sure you keep a close eye on the potatoes and stir frequently to ensure the cubes evenly cooked.
- Dice one onion and saute on low-med heat in pot with rice bran oil.
- Roughly chop garlic cloves and add to onions when onions have become translucent.
- Stir until you smell the garlic's aroma, or before garlic browns.
- Add tin of tomatoes, vegetable stock cube, and fresh basil leaves (save some leaves to garnish). There is no need to chop basil leaves or mix the vegetable stock thoroughly as all will be blended in the next step.
- When soup mixture is hot, blend soup either in a blender or with a stick blender until smooth.
- At this stage the potatoes should be just about ready. Pour soup into a shallow soup bowl and top with the potatoes just before serving. (Must be served fresh otherwise potatoes will go soggy).
- Sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh basil leaves.
Are you hungry?
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