Tempeh, Red Pepper + Millet Soup

This won’t be for everyone. When I was first cooking with tempeh I had no idea what to do with it. It is made from fermented soy bean, which makes it so much easier to digest than tofu for example (although you can buy some brands of tofu that are made from fermented soy bean now). It is more textured than tofu, and most people find it unpleasant, well the idea of it anyway. The fact that it often has black bits on it, which look like mould (and in fact I believe are mould), doesn’t help. On searching for recipes when I initially started to use it I came across the recipe this recipe below was inspired by. It was on a totally random website, which was dedicated solely to tempeh. It is a completely seemingly random mix of ingredients, but we loved it so much it ended up in my handwritten recipe book that I keep in my kitchen. I am intrigued what you think when you try it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup millet (no this is not just for birds!) (pre-soaked with a little dash of apple cider vinegar)

• 1 small onion

• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled (or you can use dried)

• 3-4 cloves of garlic

• 2 large red peppers

• 200g tempeh, cut into small cubes

• 4 cups of vegetable stock

• fresh basil (about 8-10 leaves)

• 500ml coconut milk

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• 2 cups of frozen peas

• Sea salt + black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cook the millet by first draining + rinsing it, and then adding to a pan with 1 cup of water. Bring the water to the boil without a lid on, then turn to a gentle simmer, put on the lid, and cook until all the water has gone. DO NOT STIR whilst cooking as it will make it go to mush. Leave the lid on until you need it later; this will allow it to cook a little more in the steam.

2. Meanwhile blend the onion, garlic + red peppers into a smooth liquid in your blender.

3. Gently heat a very small amount of extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan, and add in the red pepper mixture, and cook through for 5 minutes or so (you want to do this properly because otherwise the taste of the onion + garlic is very strong).

4. Add the tempeh, vegetable stock + peas, and heat until warm. Add in the coconut milk + lime juice, and again heat to get to appropriate temperature to eat.

5. Add in the fresh basil + millet at the last minute.

6. Add sea salt + pepper to taste.

7. Enjoy!

Tag me @rochelle.a.hubbard on Instagram if you make it! I would love to know what you think. You can also join me on Telegram here.