How's about we all have a beautiful bowl of piping hot soup tonight?
That would be a nice change of pace, wouldn't it? It sure would feel much more like a good, comforting winter dish than all these cold, refreshing salads that I've been serving you lately, that's for sure!
I thought you'd appreciate the break… but don't get your hopes too high, though: I've got more salads coming this way. Quite a few more, in fact. And yes, of course, more "orange" things, and more Asian inspiration.
But hey, let's all forget about my little salad obsession of the late and appreciate this little break tonight, shall we?
This soup I had seen on Natalie's site, Perry's Plate, quite a few months ago, when she had originally posted it, and I'd been obsessed with it since. The post stayed in my inbox for the longest time, because I just wanted to look at the picture every now and then, dreaming of the day when I'd finally be eating a full bowl of that gorgeous soup.
Now what took me so long to actually make it, I have no idea. I'm just weird like that, sometimes. But hey, you already know that, don't you?
Now that I've made it though, I can guarantee you that I'll be making it on a regular basis. This is one seriously GOOD chowder. It's just exploding with TONS of different flavors and textures. It's got to be one of the best soups that I've ever had.
Although I have to admit that I truly wasn't convinced about the carrots at first and thought that I might want to give the soup a quick spin in the food processor to puree them next time I was going to make this, I finally came to the conclusion that they do add a lot of crunch to the soup, as well as a good touch of sweetness. So they will not be getting the processor treatment after all.
In fact, I would and will not change one thing about this soup. Everything just blends together nicely and it seems like every ingredient complements the next perfectly.
This, is an absolute winner.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions are tender.
Add the remaining ingredients (except for the shrimp, peas and parsley). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 then add the shrimp and peas and cook until shrimp are pink and opaque; Stir in parsley.
Serve piping hot and garnish with a slice of lime, more fresh parsley, roasted pumpkin seeds, coconut milk, shredded coconut and balsamic vinegar pearls.
Yum! This looks so good. My kind of dish!
This sounds delicious! I am going grocery shopping tonight so I'm going to get the ingredients I don't have. For the coconut milk is that the canned coconut milk or the drink that comes in the carton?
GORGEOUS, girl!! I love what you did with this. Especially those balsamic pearls. I've never heard of them and had to skim the recipe to figure out what they were! Where do you get them?
Thanks so much Natalie! Glad you like it! 😀 The balsamic pearls I get at the grocery store, we are lucky enough to have them available here… but from what I understand, they are fairly easy to make at home. I will definitely try it, someday. Looks like it's a lot of fun too. Check it out here!
I love the concept of your website. Your photos have beautiful colors. I visited Montreal and Quebec City last year and loved those cities, especially the farmers markets in the summer. Good luck with your journey. Your transformation is inspiring.
I stumbled upon your site a while ago searching for a recipe for a healthy dessert. (i cant remember exactly whAt it was). I have since tried a few of your recipes as I eat pretty much exactly the way you do.
Yesterday I tried the pumpkin coconut shrimp soup. OMG it is absolutely delicious! So different!!!
Your recipes are great and I love your photos. Your descriptions are so funny too. Your enthusiasm gets you psyched to try the recipe.
Made this tonight…it was so delicious! I had to drive all over to find the agar powder to make the balsamic vinegar pearls, but it was totally worth it. I will use those all the time!
Haha – I'm envious that you didn't have to make them! How much was the jar and how big is it? I'm wondering if it is more cost effective to buy them, because it does seem like a waste of the olive oil. It was messy at first and I did not have the right supplies. I actually bought a syringe at the natural food store where I bought the agar, but I think it got overlooked by the cashier because it wasn't in my bag or on my receipt. So I had to just use a spoon and try to dribble the vinegar into the olive oil. The earlier ones were not spherical at all…they came out flat and bigger. But I started to get a little better as I kept going. It was already late and I wanted to get the soup started so I didn't do the whole batch of vinegar. If I had the syringe I probably would have. I'd like to find something like they used in the video but a syringe would definitely have made it easier. Some of the later ones turned out spherical and I think next time I will do a better job. I also have white balsamic vinegar and may make some white ones next time too. It is such a neat idea and tasted fabulous in the soup. Thanks again for being such an inspiration!
Ooof, you make it sound like quite an adventure! A jar of these beauties here sells for around $7.50 to $9.00 and contains 160g of pearls, which is about… half a cup maybe? Pricey, when you think about it… balsamic vinegar and agar agar don't cost much, really. There's always the matter of the olive oil, but I'm thinking surely you can reuse it after? It doesn't go to waste, does it?
I LOOOOVE the idea of making some white ones also. I guess white wine or rice vinegar would do the trick… OK, I definitely have to get me a syringe, and make sure the cashier actually puts it in my bag!!!
Sonia – tried this soup last night and it was DELICIOUS!!!! Love the addition of coconut water to make it a perfect consistency. My husband says this is a keeper and we will be making it often. He had it for lunch today again and he said it was even better then last night. THANK YOU!
I am trying some more today. I was at Target last night and bought a chefmate flavor injector. It was only $1.99 and looks kind of similar to what they use in the video. It's really for meat and has a little metal attachment that goes on the end which I will just leave off. I'll let you know how it goes. Also, weirdest thing…my white balsamic vinegar turned dark so I won't be doing white until I get some more. I'll let you know if it is easier for me the second time around.