Sicilian Food, Raw Food, Soups and Recipe for Classic Tomato Soup

During the past few weeks, I have taken time to look through cookbooks and get inspired to make a variety of food. We checked out three DK books - Raw Food, The Sicily Cookbook, and The Soup Book.

Raw Food by Anat Fritz is all about eating raw vegan food. This cookbook has 65 recipes of quick, inventive meals that are vitamin rich. The dishes are made without using canned, refined, or chemically processed food, or heating anything above 118°F (48°C), which allows the ingredients to retain key nutrients that can be otherwise lost during the cooking process.  

The recipes are for preparing hearty main meals, sumptuous desserts, and smoothies that use well-known, easily available ingredients. Recipes are inspired by cuisines from around the world, with everything from the luscious lassi made with almond milk to making tahini, and sweet and sour wild rice to Key lime pie. Preparation techniques are simple, so the recipes can generally be made quickly without needing expensive or complicated equipment. I also discovered a few ingredients that are new to me such as ume vinegar and tiger nuts. We try to include raw food into our meals like salads and dips, and found the recipes inspiring for us to include more raw food meals into our diet.

The Sicily Cookbook is more than just food, it is about the Sicilian culture and its people. We learned about the history of the island, and the influences that history has had in its cuisine. Cettina Vicenzino shares more than 70 authentic recipes from this unique Mediterranean island. While only a few miles from Italy, Sicily's heritage is distinct from that of the mainland, favouring dishes packed with spices, citrus fruits, cheeses, olives, tomatoes, eggplants, and seafood.  

Featuring three strands of Sicilian cooking--Cucina Povera (peasant food), Cibo di Strada (street food), and Cucina dei Monsù (sophisticated food) alongside profiles on local chefs and food producers, The Sicily Cookbook invites us to discover the island's culinary culture and let our summer cooking burst with Mediterranean sunshine.

We enjoyed going over 200 homemade soup recipes organized by season in The Soup Book. We can make the most of fresh produce all year round by making winter warmers such as parsnip and apple soup or French onion soup, enjoy a light summer lunch of chilled cucumber soup with dill, and make a hearty borscht or pumpkin soup in autumn. The recipes are organized first by season, and then by ingredient, so we can easily find the ideal soup to suit the fresh ingredients we have to hand.

There are recipes from Raymond Blanc, Dan Barber, Alice Waters, and other supporters of The Soil Association, The Soup Book offers plenty of recipe ideas and inspiration. Each recipe is accompanied by freezing times so we can prepare our favourite recipes to enjoy later. This updated edition features brand-new and updated photography to accompany the book's refreshed design. I have made different stocks and a few of the soups and love how they turned out, it is also easy to adapt with the ingredients we have. The book also includes a few bread recipes.

Here is a classic tomato soup recipe from this book made using canned tomatoes.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 garlic clove sliced

2 celery ribs sliced

1 carrot sliced

1 potato chopped

2 tomato cans each 400g or 14 1/2 oz

3 1/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 tsp sugar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium low heat and add onions, garlic, and celery and cook until softened but not coloured.

Add the carrot and potato and stir for 1 minute then add the tomatoes with their juices, the stock, bay leaf, and sugar. Season to taste and bring to a boil then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes until the vegetables rare soft. 

Remove from the heat and cool slightly then process in a blender or food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then reheat and serve.

Giveaway:
If you live in Canada and would like to enter to win a copy of The Sicily Cookbook enter the giveaway using the giveaway tool below. This giveaway ends on June 8th. Please leave comments and follow my social media network to be eligible to win.
Update: The winner is Kal

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Disclosure: This post is in partnership with DK Canada. Please note that all opinions and thoughts expressed are my own. All rights reserved on photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2010 - 2020. Please Ask First