Seattle cafe shares coconut curry soup

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Now that, at long last, the weather’s finally cooled down a tad – almost enough to make survival a real possibility – it’s time to simmer some soup.

As you should all know by now, we hardcore soupers never say no to either eating a bowlful or building a batch.

So, thanks to a request from Everett reader Donna R. McMahon, here we go again, this time with a spanking new veggie-studded concoction. “I have a granddaughter who has several food allergies, including dairy and wheat,” she says. “A friend took her to Cloud City Coffee in Seattle where she said she had a very good soup she is hoping you could get the recipe for.

“It’s called vegan coconut curry soup, and I hope Cloud City Coffee will share this recipe.”

Happily, Elthea Farr, chef Cloud City Coffee owner and chef, is perfectly willing to divulge the secret for duplicating this specialty of the house and tells us, “I developed this recipe as a way to use all those wonderful vegetables I bought at the farmers’ market, and then didn’t have time to cook! I have been making the soup again, so I can record the recipe accurately and also have it broken down to a manageable size for Forum cooks.”

Elthea adds, “Thank you and your reader for your interest in the following Cloud City recipe.”

1/2large onion (red or yellow), diced

1inch fresh ginger, peeled and diced

1tablespoon chopped fresh garlic

2tablespoons olive oil

2cups chopped (rough-diced) potatoes, preferably red or Yukon gold

1large carrot, sliced in medallions

2ribs celery, cut on the bias

1/4cup dried coconut, sweetened or unsweetened

1/2teaspoon cornstarch

2cans coconut milk, plus enough water to measure 1 quart

1tablespoon bottled fish sauce

2tablespoons Mae Ploy green curry paste (available in your market’s Asian section or at Cash &Carry stores)

1teaspoon salt (optional)

1teaspoon ground black pepper

Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

1cup chopped broccoli

1/2cup zucchini or yellow squash slices

1/2cup baby corn or bamboo shoots

1cup finely sliced cabbage

1red bell pepper, chopped in large pieces

1/2large onion, sliced

1/2cup fresh basil leaves, whole or chopped

Hot cooked rice (optional)

In a large stockpot, saute diced onion, ginger and garlic in the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the garlic begins to brown, add potatoes, carrot, celery and coconut. Stir vegetables to coat, and stir occasionally while preparing your liquid.

Dissolve cornstarch in the coconut milk and water mixture; set aside.

When the potatoes begin to get soft, add the fish sauce, curry paste, salt, pepper and, if desired, red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir the coconut mixture to make sure cornstarch is fully dissolved, then add to stockpot. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli, zucchini or yellow squash slices, corn or bamboo shoots, cabbage, bell pepper and sliced onion and simmer for another 10 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls (some like to serve this over rice) and garnish with the fresh basil.

Makes 8 servings.

It’s easy to request a recipe from a restaurant here in the Pacific Northwest. Just jot down the name and description of the recipe, name and location of the restaurant, along with any comments you’d like to make, and then send this information to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

Please remember that all letters and all e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@ heraldnet.com.

The next Forum will appear in Friday’s Time Out section.