What We Ate Wednesday--Rice, Corn and Ginger Soup

Hello lovelies! I had the pleasure to make this soup yesterday for a dear friend. We had a fab day where she came for lunch, watched a film (the musical RENT if you are curious) and then stayed for dinner.

It's all about eatin' in the Spider household.

Dinner was followed by HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER CUP BARS. It was meant to be cake but there was a cakecident (a cake accident) where my cake didn't go as planned. *Something happened* and the cake collapsed and didn't cook properly in the middle. Not sure why it failed, but Spiderman and I hoovered up the edible bits. Waste not, want not and all that cliche rot. But it was not nice enough to serve for company.

But I digress.

Back to the soup. This is a lovely Asian inspired soup that is light and perfect to feed  people for lunch. If you want it for a dinner, you'll need to add some bread.

Normally, I make this soup with onion. But as my friend can't do onions (several of my friends have onion issues, so I always have recipes that can be adapted on hand) I made it with a yellow pepper instead. Either way is good.

This soup contains quite a lot of lemon juice and so is really bright and cheerful feeling. It goes well with the ginger and garlic. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper and it is a perfect meal to eat when you have a cold.

Rice, Corn and Ginger Soup
1.5 cups frozen sweetcorn, defrosted in boiling water and then drained
1 onion, finely diced (or a pepper if you are lucky enough to have an onion averse friend coming over)
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 heaping TB fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped really small
1/4 tsp turmeric (optional)
600ml  hot vegetable stock (2.5 cups)
1/3 cup white rice
juice and zest of one lemon (or scant 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook your onion or pepper in a splash of oil or water until softened. Add in your garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.
2. Add your sweetcorn and rice. Add your turmeric and stir to coat.
3. Add the hot stock and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the rice is done.
4. Add in the lemon and zest (if using) and the sesame oil.
5. Taste for salt and add a generous grinding of pepper.

That's it. A nice, light satisfying lunch made in about 15 minutes.

Perfect for sharing with a friend.

Thanks friend!