Spicy Tomato Coconut Soup by Celia Wakefield

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Once again, Sunday means our own Celia Wakefield, here with a tale of her brush with royalty, and a delicious, warming soup for a cold February night.

 

Here I am on Valentine’s Day thinking of all the delicious things that can be made from chocolate. My hope is that you haven’t finished your lovely box of chocs yet. As I age I find that stretching out the pleasure becomes a pleasure in itself, so I shall be miserly with my box and enjoy its delights very slowly. 

Having tempted your taste buds, I need to confess I have not made a chocolate recipe this time; but while we are on the subject of chocolate, did you know that Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa-producing country? (Côte d'Ivoire is the largest).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was sixteen when the Duke of Edinburgh (married to Queen Elizabeth II) came to visit Ghana and declare open the University of Ghana where my father worked. The University had been open for many years, but had been accredited to the University of London for the degrees bestowed. Now London had accepted their academic standards were comparable to London University and therefore Ghana could grant their own degrees. The buzz in town was HRH’s visit and the Convocation in the new hall atop Lagon Hill. I was very excited, as my father had a ticket for me as well as for my mum. I had a new dress and a hat, of course. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in the forecourt to see several Chiefs, dressed in kente cloth robes, seated on their ‘stools’ with their courts around them. We found our seats in the hall and waited. Finally the academic procession with HRH arrived with ceremony and after the usual introductions the Duke rose to address us. He cast a careful and deliberate look around the new hall, and said, “Isn’t it a good thing that the world loves chocolate.” 

 

 

Much applause. I have no photos from the event unfortunately. Imagine how his remark would be received today with everyone reporting on Social Media.

Now before I go further, I have a book to give away. Decluttering is one of my goals for 2024, and I have started. Slowly but determined is me. Finding I have two copies of Ruth Reichl’s memoir of her time at Gourmet magazine, Save Me the Plums, it seemed the right thing to offer it to you all. If you missed it, the title alone makes one want to open the book, and the poem in the frontispiece by William Carlos Williams draws one further in. I have loved Ruth Rechl’s writing ever since I picked up Tender at the Bone, and was fascinated by her stories of her mother. Ruth’s tenure as Editor at Gourmet ran the gamut from great successes, through witnessing the collapse of the Twin Towers to the unexpected closure of Gourmet Magazine. It’s a great story. The copy that’s up for grabs is signed by Ruth. I didn’t mention that did I?

But what about the recipe you cry. Where’s my soup? Soup has certainly been our go to as the recent temperature in Maine fluctuates greatly. This is another grab what you have and cook with very few weights and measures. A few weeks ago I found Roma tomatoes in the local supermarket. I know they are wonderful for sauce so I bought a dozen home and thought, now what? I hope you will try my tomato, coconut soup with shrimp, or chicken or whatever takes your fancy.

Ingredients and Directions for my tomato, coconut soup with shrimp:

Preliminary directions:

I cut the tomatoes in half, drizzled them with olive oil fairly liberally and roasted with sliced onions and garlic in a low oven, 325F degrees for about an hour and a half till they were jammy in texture. 

I left the veggies to cool then put them through a food mill. See the photo of the amount of lovely tomato left on the underside of the plate to be scraped off into a measuring bowl.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion chopped in small pieces

 

Seasonings: I know several of you have spoken about my recipes which use curry spices. So does this one, but I see no reason to use other seasoning that is enjoyed by your family. Taco or barbecue seasonings, Old Bay or other mixes. Use and adjust to your preferred taste.

I am using a Patak Tikkka Masala Spice Mixture which contains: turmeric, paprika, canola oil, salt, corn flour, tamarind paste, cumin, fenugreek, cilantro. But for the future and my very low salt eating, I shall make up my own masala mix as I have all the spices in house, but the spice mix 

is convenient which is what the soup is all about.

 

2 Tbsp Masala spice mix

1 Tbsp pink garlic powder

1 Tbsp spanish paprika

 

1 cup tomato mix, see above or use a cup of drained canned pureed chopped tomatoes

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp red miso mixed into 3 Cups of water or salt free stock

1 can unsweetened Coconut cream (I bought sweetened coconut cream in error it tasted really good and Julia loved it. But if one is trying to watch calories unsweetened would be best).

1 can Coconut milk

 

1-2 Cups small frozen shrimp or cooked chicken, tofu, whatever protein you enjoy

2 Tbsp Oil, Canola or Safflower 

Directions:

Heat the oil in your soup pan to medium (I use a Le Creuset dutch oven)

 

Add spices including the garlic powder and saute gently

 

Add onion pieces and cook till translucent

 

With the heat on low add the tomatoes and saute mixing everything well

 

Add the tomato paste and taste to see if more seasoning is needed

 

Add the water and miso paste and cook gently

 

Add the Coconut cream and milk and stir to mix well

 

As it comes to a gentle boil, cook for a couple of minutes

 

Taste for seasonings again

 

Add the shrimp and bring to a gentle boil checking that the shrimp are cooked

Serve to appreciative guests with some bread for mopping up.