Aubergine And Basil Soup And A Mint And Matcha Choc Chunk Ice Cream (Both Vegan And Gluten Free)

It’s time for a couple more recipes using fresh herbs picked from the garden. Now the weather has cooled just a tad, a soup using a glut of aubergines makes for a perfect light lunch or tea. Served with a chunk of crusty bread that’s been rubbed with tomato and drizzled with olive oil, you have the perfect meal for this time of year.

The thought of having a hot bowl of soup a couple of weeks ago would have made me come out in a hot sweat just contemplating it. But once the first end-of-summer storms arrive, the body starts to crave more warming foods. I begin fancying everything pumpkin-y once September comes, a definite sign we need to fuel ourselves with food that will help us transition from one season to the next.

Although summer is coming to an end we are still harvesting large amounts of aubergines, peppers and courgettes, the latter not quite as abundant. Recipes to use up a few (dozen) are few and far between. Espencat (post and recipe here) is a very tasty way to consume aubergines and peppers but you don’t want to be eating it every day.

This soup came from a recipe book I had a few years back. I’m not sure but it might have been Middle-Eastern cookery, or something of that nature. The original recipe called for thyme to flavour the dish. I have made it with that herb and also others but my favourite, especially while the weather is still warmish, is basil.

Basil is one of my favourite herbs (you’ve probably realised that by now) and it’s planted all over our land. We have 3 or 4 different types, one with bright green leaves and purple flowers, another with purple leaves, a small leaf variety and the more common sweet basil.

Here’s a link to a page listing 15 different types along with some info on each one. I also drink Holy Basil tea (also known as Tulsi tea) every day. It’s an adaptogen (helps the body resist stressors of all kinds, whether they be physical, chemical or biological) and has a myriad of health benefits. I’m hoping to grow my own soon too. Check out holy basil here.

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Back to the soup. It’s very easy to prepare, the oven does most of the work. First, you’ll need to roast the whole aubergines until they’re tender and soft. For two people I would say to use 6 aubergines. Our aubergines aren’t quite as big now so I used a few more. But use as many as you want, it keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days. It’s even nice cold. Ignore the red peppers, I was roasting them for use in another dish.

Once they’re cooked, allow to cool until you can easily handle them. Peel off the skins and roughly chop. In the meantime, chop a medium onion and fry in olive oil with a pinch of salt, in a large saucepan over a low to medium heat for 5 minutes or so. Add a few chopped garlic cloves and continue to cook.

When the onion is tender add the chopped cooked aubergine and some fresh basil leaves. I used roughly 15 of the thai basil variety. Stir to incorporate, cover with water and add another pinch of salt. Bring to the boil then simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat.

You can either use a hand blender for this next step or a normal blender, but because the mixture is boiling I prefer the hand blender. I don’t want soup exploding all over my ceiling. It’s also less hassle and less washing up.

Blitz the soup until it’s completely smooth and creamy. Test for salt and serve straight away or allow to cool a bit, it’s delicious either way. The first time I made this soup I couldn’t believe just how thick and creamy it is, it’s hard to believe it’s made from just a few basic ingredients.

Now I always find soup to be quite a light meal so it has to be followed by pudding, in this case, vegan ice cream. After you’ve eaten the soup you’ll no doubt need something to cool you down a bit!! And by now, you’ve probably gathered that we’re addicted to the stuff.

As a kid in the UK my most loved ice cream was mint choc chip. I used to adore Cornettos (or anything for that matter) in the delicious flavour. When we came to Spain in 1986 it was extremely hard to find.

When I was 11 or 12, on a school outing there was a little ice cream stall with various different flavours. I almost fainted when I saw that amongst them was my absolute favourite. My friends stood back in disgust when I ordered a cornet filled with it, they’d all ordered the usual vanilla, strawberry or chocolate (I thought these all pretty boring). Then they all tried mine and in no time at all it had gone, they thought it was delicious. I had to order another one and ran off somewhere to eat it in peace!

Most ice cream parlours in this area stock mint choc chip now but, seeing as I don’t eat dairy products, I wanted to come up with a vegan version using the fresh peppermint (not spearmint) in my garden . There had to be a way!! (A link to an old post of mine explaining a bit about the two different mints, as well as lemon verbena).

After a quick look around the internet I’ve taken some ideas from a few different sites and, along with my basic ice cream base, have come up with a vegan version that will more than satisfy my cravings.

To give the ice cream a slightly greener colour, and to add a few antioxidants, I used 1 teaspoon of matcha tea powder. I didn’t want to use too much so as not to overpower the mint flavour. For me 1 teaspoon worked perfectly but feel free to add more or less. It’s not an absolute must so if you’d sooner just leave it out the ice cream will still be delicious, it will just be paler in colour.

This ice cream is incredibly easy to make and the end result is mouthwateringly creamy and minty, with nice big chunks of dark chocolate mixed in. I’ll share the recipe at the end of this post but here’s the few steps you’ll need to make what is now my most loved vegan ice cream.

The cashews will need soaking so that they blend more easily. To do this, I put them in a glass bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave them to soak for at least 30 minutes.

Place half the mint leaves, along with the plant based milk, in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and infuse for 15 minutes. While it’s infusing, use a cocktail muddler or wooden spoon to bruise the leaves so they release their flavours as much as possible. When the 15 minutes are up, turn off the heat and allow to cool.

When cool, strain the milk, squeezing the mint leaves as much as possible to release all the flavour. Tip the milk into a blender along with the rest of the mint leaves, the raw cane sugar, the maple syrup (or whatever sweetener you’re using), the soaked cashews, the matcha powder and the olive oil. Blend until completely smooth. In my blender it takes approximately 3-5 minutes (I should time it really but always forget).

Put the mixture in the fridge until cold, then pour into the ice cream maker and freeze. When the mixture is frozen but still soft, tip it into a bowl along with the chunks (or chips if you prefer) of chocolate. Mix it all together, place in an airtight tub and freeze. If you freeze until solid you’ll need to remove from the freezer about 20 minutes before serving.

And voilà, vegan mint and matcha choc chunk (or chip) ice cream. Pep was never keen on this flavour from the ice cream parlours, he says it always tasted artificial. He’s now changed his mind, saying that he would go into depression when the tub ran out! No doubt I’ll whip up another batch soon, it really doesn’t take long at all and is well worth the effort.

You should be able to make this ice cream without an ice cream maker, just follow the instructions from my other ice cream recipes here (carajillo), here (pumpkin), or here (rhubarb sorbet).

Right, that’s enough rambling for today. I hope you try one of these recipes. If you do, please let me know what you think, I’d love to hear from you. If you have any suggestions or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can do so in the comment section below or on the contact us page here.

I’ll be back on Valley FM this Saturday between 12pm and 2pm. If you’d like to have a listen to last week’s programme, here’s the link. Thanks for reading. See you soon. Love Georgie and Pep xxx

Mint And Matcha Choc Chunk Ice Cream. Vegan And Gluten Free

A divinely creamy, minty vegan ice cream with chunks of dark chocolate

5 from 2 votes

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Course Dessert

Cuisine Gluten free, Vegan

Ingredients

  

• 200 grams raw cashews
• 400 ml plant based milk I use rice
• 1/2 cup fresh peppermint leaves
• 50 grams raw cane sugar or sweetener of choice (coconut sugar, etc)
• 60 ml maple syrup or liquid sweetener of choice (agave syrup, etc)
• 45 ml olive oil
• 1 tsp matcha tea powder optional
• 50-100 grams dark chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips

Instructions

 

• Soak cashews in boiling water for at least 30 minutes
• Put plant milk and half the peppermint leaves in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer then turn heat to low to infuse.
• While infusing, bruise the mint leaves with a cocktail muddler or wooden spoon to release the flavour. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Strain through a fine sieve.
• Put the infused plant milk along with all the other ingredients, except the dark chocolate chunks or chips, in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Place the mixture in the fridge and allow to get as cold as possible.
• Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze. When frozen but still soft, tip into a bowl along with the dark chocolate chunks or chips and stir to combine thoroughly.
• Transfer to an airtight tub and freeze for an hour or so and serve. If you freeze for longer and it's solid, remove from the freezer 20 minutes before you want to eat it. Enjoy!!

Aubergine And Basil Soup

A quick, creamy aubergine and basil soup. Vegan and gluten free

5 from 2 votes

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Course Soup

Ingredients

  

• 1250 grams aubergines
• olive oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic chopped
• 10-12 basil leaves
• water to cover
• salt to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 180º centigrad and bake the whole aubergines in the oven. I cut off the stem end previously so they don't explode! Once soft and cooked through, allow to cool and remove the skins. Chop roughly
• Fry the onion in a good glug of olive oil and a couple of pinches of salt over a low to medium heat. After 5 minutes, add the chopped garlic and continue to cook until both are tender.
• Add the chopped, baked aubergine and continue to fry for a couple of minutes then add the basil leaves.
• Add water till it's just covering the vegetables. The more you add the thinner the soup will be.
• Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and blend with an immersion blender till it's smooth and creamy. Test for salt, adding more if necessary. Serve and enjoy

Keyword Gluten Free,, soup, Vegan