Who is Deliciously Miss V? I’m a 30-something aspiring novelist (one day I will get there!) and I live in London. I’ve been a vegetarian for 10 years but vegan for three months. For some reason going vegan has inspired me to be more adventurous with food. I have tried things I never knew existed, like tempeh, nutritional yeast flakes (they sound horrible but have a lovely savory flavour) and I’ve even come across some vegan cheese that tastes pretty good – once upon a time that would’ve been no mean feat!
Current food obsessions: smoked paprika and garlic salt – these may feature a lot in my upcoming recipes!
THIS WEEK’S DELISH VEGAN RECIPE
Cold Spanish Orange, Raspberry and Tomato soup (Sopa Frî – a de Tomate, Naranja y Frambuesa)
I first tried this soup in Barcelona, (a day I won’t forget having been bitten by a sea spider – my leg doubled in size and was bright yellow thanks to the iodine applied by the life guards) and absolutely loved it. I’ve made it every summer since and have even tried it warm in winter and it’s still delicious. This soup is hard to beat.
Preparation: 30 minutes
Chill: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Serves: 4-6 Servings
Ingredients:
• 1 kilo ripe tomatoes
• 500g fresh raspberries
• 1/2 large red pepper
• 450 ml orange juice
• 225 ml water
• 50 ml sherry vinegar
• 150 ml cup extra virgin Spanish olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt (I used garlic salt which worked quite well)
• Handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
• Half a tsp of paprika
Method
Place the tomatoes in a bowl – I used small cherry tomatoes and didn’t feel the need to peel these first – maybe this would be a good idea if using a larger tomato.
Coarsely chop and de-seed the pepper and add to the bowl.
Set aside a few of the raspberries for presentation if you wish. Place the raspberries, orange juice, oil, vinegar and salt into the bowl and stir.
Pour mixture into food processor or blender and puree. You may need to do this in batches. Once each batch is pureed, pour into another large bowl.
Gradually pour pureed mixture through a sieve into a large bowl. Cover and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
Remove soup from refrigerator and stir thoroughly. Ladle soup into serving bowls, garnish with raspberries (perhaps half a teaspoon of paprika!) and serve cold.
The Health Benefits
The saltiness of the tomatoes perfectly complements the sweetness of the orange juice and the raspberries so you’re not left with some sickly sweet smoothie flavour. In fact the balance of flavours is what makes this soup a good source of vitamins A and C. They also contain folic acid, alpha-lipoic acid, lycopene, choline, beta-carotene and lutein. The Vitamin C in orange juice is wonderful for the immune system and wards off nasty colds and flu. It also contains flavonoids such as naringenin and hesperidin, which work as anti-inflammatories. Lastly raspberries are very high in dietary fibre. They’re also a good source of vitamin C, B vitamins, folic acid, manganese, copper, magnesium and iron. Lastly we all know the benefits of olive oil, especially extra virgin. The phytonutrient in olive oil, oleocanthal, mimics the effect of ibuprofen in reducing inflammation, which can decrease the risk of breast cancer. Studies have shown that olive oil also helps lower levels of cholesterol, helping to prevent heart disease.
BON APPETIT!
