23 Jan 2024
Elena Hogg, founder of local culinary company FOOD by Elena, is boiling up some satisfying broths to help keep the winter chills at bay…
Somehow we’re halfway through January. Winter days on this side of New Year feel grimmer, with no festivities to help us ignore the grey skies and freezing temperatures. Food-wise, now that the business of eating ourselves into the next size up is done, we need meals to nourish and cleanse, yet still cuddle us through the cold weather.
The answer? Broth. As humble as it might be, its ability to transport me bodily to an altogether happier place is profound.
It comes in various forms, from the fine consommés and bouillons of classic French cuisine to the Japanese dashi, and right the way along to the slightly lower-brow Knorr dissolved in hot water, as is my weeknight preference when time pressures abound.
The beauty of broth as a basis for a meal is that, no matter what direction you go in, it’s almost impossible to finish up with something unhealthy or non- comforting. Its versatility is huge: for starch you can pop in noodles, pearl barley, ravioli, rice – so many store cupboard ingredients go well in broth.
For the health-conscious looking to minimise refined carbohydrates (my favourite kind), a steaming bowl of umami-rich broth more than makes up for their absence. In fact, it’s possibly the only dish where I truly don’t notice if I’m not having any, especially if I’ve loaded my bowl up with filling and tasty morsels like prawns or lentils, or perhaps some gently poached chicken thighs, which add great flavour if their poaching liquid becomes your broth.
Even though there’s something unavoidably pedestrian about the notion of broth for dinner, there’s actually huge scope for experimentation. Start with a basic vegetable broth. You can either spend time making it from scratch (it can be therapeutic to take time chopping celery, carrot and onion, and tying up a little bouquet garni of thyme, bay and parsley), or you can cheat and use a bought variety (no judgement here).
Next comes the fun bit – choose your flavours. You might like to go down the Mediterranean route, which will lead to a sort of minestrone, especially if you made your own stock and keep the onions, celery and carrot as part of the final dish. Add tomato purée and tinned beans (any kind at all) and, if you have any chorizo or bacon knocking about, you can add that too (just a little or the cleansing aspect gets a bit muddied). Add baby macaroni or orzo and some sage leaves and you are essentially in tomatoey, herby, hearty heaven (but healthy too – all the aitches).
You might prefer something cleaner still. My personal favourite is an aromatic, Asian-inspired broth flavoured with the likes of lemongrass, garlic, kaffir lime leaf (I have a little potted kaffir lime tree in my kitchen, but you can buy the leaves or use some peeled lime rind instead) and chilli (fresh, powder, flakes –whatever’s closest to hand).
You can use jarred lemongrass and garlic – there’s so much tasty stuff that’s been made more user-friendly in the shops these days.
I also add soy, lime juice, mirin and fish sauce, but you can choose whatever you fancy – some rice wine vinegar instead of lime, or some agave syrup instead of mirin, or add a spoonful of Thai curry paste for a whack of flavour.
I usually stir in a good tablespoon of coconut paste, which leaves a cloudy swirl as the broth settles. It’s quite mesmerising, though it often goes unobserved in my rush to consume.
A note on coconut: I buy hard blocks of coconut paste because they keep a long while and you can add just the right amount for the quantity you’re making, rather than opening a whole can of coconut milk and only needing half, say.
Throw in some fresh coriander stalks for zing, if you have any, and save the leaves for garnish.
Canned water chestnuts add a satisfying crunch, as do baby sweetcorn and beansprouts. Any seafood at all works fabulously with this broth, or try some low-carb shirataki noodles, some mung beans and a handful of frozen edamame.
Finally, I have recently discovered the addictive quality of what I can only describe as a pudding-broth – a sweet infusion as opposed to a savoury one.
Sometimes, after a meal, or between meals, even though you’re attempting a January detox, you really want something sweet. Try this warming, vitamin-rich, steaming cup of comfort.
Squeeze a whole orange and half a lemon into a jug or teapot and throw in the squeezed-out fruit skin.
Add a couple of cardamom pods if you have any and some slices of root ginger. Add hot water, sweeten with honey and allow to infuse for five zen-filled minutes before pouring yourself a mug of citrusy, gingery hydration.
I mean, it doesn’t get more cleansing than that without turning you see-through. Happy January, everyone.
