Curry Noodle Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays & Presto Pasta Nights

This week's recipe for Curry Soup comes from "Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook", relatively new to my collection. I like Reno's books and recipes as they are healthy, simple, and usually taste great and I have been craving this soup ever since I bought the book. With rice noodles, chicken, cashews and curry as the starring ingredients, it is exotic, hearty and full of flavor.

Reno says: "This is a traditional Indonesian soup recipe that combines the flavors of curry and chicken in a satisfying dish."

Curry Soup

"Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook"

(Makes 8 One-cup Servings)

Prep Time: 15 Minutes / Cook Time: 30 Minutes

1/2 lb / 227 g flat rice noodles

1 Tbsp / 15 ml coconut butter or best-quality olive oil

2 small sweet onions, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup / 60 ml cashews, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups / 1 liter chicken stock

2 small chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1/2 tsp / 2.5 ml sambal oelek or other chili paste

1 Tbsp / 15 ml Javanese curry powder or regular if you can't find this

1 tsp / 5 ml ground ginger

1 tsp / 5 ml laos--also known as galangal*

unrefined sea salt to taste

juice of one fresh lemon

Set noodles in a owl and cover with cold water. Set aside while you prepare soup. Place coconut butter in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat. Saute onion, cashews and garlic. Add a little stock if the pan gets too hot. Stir frequently. Cook until the onions become soft.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a Dutch oven, soup pot or stock pot. Add remaining chicken stock. Add cooked chicken, sambal oelek, curry powder, laos or galangal and ginger. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat. Add sea salt to taste.

Pour water off noodles. Rinse under cold water and drain. Add to soup and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes. Ladle into soup bowls and drizzle each bowl with a squirt of fresh lemon juice.

*Other common names for Laos: Java Root, Galangal, Laos Powder. Description and use: Similar in appearance to ginger, galangal has a pervading perfume and pungency associated with Asian cuisine. It gives Thai food its characteristic flavor and goes well in all Asian curries.

Nutritional Value for 1-Cup Serving: Calories: 322, Calories from Fat: 113, Protein: 11g, Carbs: 39g, Total Fat: 12g, Sat. Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0g, Fiber: 1 g, Sodium: 413mg, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sugar: 4g.

Notes/Results: Really good, lightly spicy with great curry flavor--a nice warming bowl of soup. I looked for Javanese or Indonesian curry but didn't make it to the Asian grocery store and none of the regular stores nearby had it. Instead I used a regular curry blend and added a bit more cumin, coriander and turmeric and a touch of cinnamon. Maybe not authentic but it was delicious. You can adjust the spice level with the chili paste--I would say mine ended up fairly mild so I added a bit more to get it to a medium level. I tried some coconut butter/oil that was sent to me from Tropical Traditions to review (more on that next week), and I liked the slight coconut flavor it added to the soup. The lemon is essential, as it really brightens the soup and gives it a great acidic note. I just had whole galangal, so I bruised a couple of pieces and threw them into the broth as it was cooking. Regarding leftovers, the rice noodles soak up a lot of the liquid so if you want it more "brothy" the next day you will need to add more stock. I actually left it "noodley" and heated it up with a handful of baby spinach which was really good and changed it up a bit. I liked this soup a lot and will make it again.

Since the soup features rice noodles and rice noodles = pasta, it is a perfect dish for Presto Pasta Nights and even more perfect, guess who the host is for PPN #141 this week?! Yep, it's me! After popping in and out of Ruth's wonderful weekly event, I thought it was time I hosted a round. I will be posting the round-up this Friday so I hope to see some of you there. It is a busy week for many with Thanksgiving on Thursday, but what better time for a quick and easy pasta dinner? If you need the details for joining in Presto Pasta Nights you can find them at the site here. Otherwise just email me with your entry information and photo at debinhawaii@gmail.com. (Don't forget to cc Ruth at Ruth@4everykitchen.com). I'm looking forward to seeing some wonderful pasta creations.

Let's see who made it into the Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays kitchen this week!

Kait from Pots and Plots is here with a Cheeseburger Soup, made with some leftover ground beef meant for cheeseburgers. She says, "I opted for soup–a healthier version (I hope) of the cheeseburgers we WOULD have made with the ground beef originally. And this definitely fits the bill at 4 servings for 425 calories and 12.4 grams of fat–considerably healthier than a cheeseburger! Although I will say that this doesn’t exactly taste like a cheeseburger. More like a cheesy potato soup with ground beef."

Harvest Creamy Corn and Potato Soup is on the menu for Donna at My Tasty Treasures who says, "I just wanted to jot down this creamy corn 'choup' as Rachael Ray calls it, but I am renaming it chowder soup as I can't bring myself to use the word choup, it reminds me of the word chump. Takes less than 40 minutes (with prep) and you have a nice tasty bowl of chowder soup."

My good friend Kat from Our Adventures in Japan is here with a warming bowl of Tomato Miso Soup. Kat says, "One morning, I was watching a program and they mentioned that the "trend" nabe (hot pot) this season was tomato. Awhile back it was tonyu (soy milk) and then it was curry, but this year it is tomato. The way they cooked the hot pot on the program was closer to an Italian based soup with cheese topping the dish. I on the other hand, envisioned the tomato miso ramen at Hanamichi that I like. I didn't have any meat in my fridge, just a lot of veggies, so I ad-libbed and came up with this soup..."

Even recovering from dental surgery can't keep Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies away from her perfect Souper Sunday attendance record! This week she has a creamy, mouth friendly Roasted Apple and Acorn Squash Soup. Natashya says, "This was a delicious autumn soup, I love the sweetness that the roasted apples give to the squash, and how smooth they are when blended. I added a splash of brandy too, just for fun!" (Check out the gorgeous Pumpkin Pie Brioche she served with the soup on her site!)

Debs from Deb Cooks is back with a holiday-feeling Christmas Panini. She says, "Like most of us I guess, I've been thinking about Christmas lately. It was nearly lunchtime and I decided to try a little experiment. I love panini, usually with a filling of tomato, basil & mozzarella; but today I fancied a festive sandwich and having cranberry sauce & brie cheese in the fridge, what could be better? Brilliant. The cheese was perfectly melted and gooey, the cranberry tasted sweet against the brie and if I shut my eyes, it felt just like Christmas."

Joanne from Eats Well with Others has a seasonal sandwich and some deep thoughts on deconstruction (see her post) to share this week. She says, "So I bring you this Deconstructed Peanut Butter and "Jelly" Sandwich. Cranberry chutney instead of your traditional grape or raspberry jelly. Whole wheat pumpkin pie brioche because cranberries signify Thanksgiving and you can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. (Pumpkin pie brioche thus becomes pumpkin pie deconstructed.) And peanut butter because, well, old habits die hard. All assembled into a somewhat cohesive whole and then eaten open-faced. Piece by piece."

Mmm... I am feeling all cozy and festive with the wonderful hearty soups and sandwiches this week. Thanks to everyone who joined in. If you have a soup, salad or sandwich you would like to share, just click on the logo on the side bar to find out how to join in the fun. Maybe a wonderful creation from your Turkey-Day leftovers if you are celebrating this week.

Don't forget to join in Presto Pasta Nights this week too!

Have a wonderful week!