One of the most fun foods to eat during the winter is the chowder.
Many like to take out a big pot and prepare the eternal food that we all love, but what really happens inside the pot during cooking, what is recommended to be added to it - and what nutrients are in them?
Over the years, the dish that warms all of our hearts and stomachs has gained quite a few different ingredients and additions.
It can arrive on our plate as a meat, vegetarian or vegan dish, but each of them has an excellent combination of legumes and grains, which will add vegetable protein, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.
When you choose the right recipe, the chowder is a dish rich in nutritional values with proteins, carbohydrates, dietary fibers, vitamins and minerals, so you can enjoy a varied, balanced, satisfying and tasty meal in one bowl.
Shani Arad, director of nutrition at the Strauss group, told us what is recommended to add to the chowder - and which ingredients can be omitted.
Stew that includes beef and eggs, photo: Liron Moldovan
proteins
Vegetable protein: Legumes such as white beans, lentils and chickpeas also provide us with dietary fiber and minerals such as iron, calcium and zinc.
It is recommended to soak the legumes before cooking in order to contribute to the availability of the nutrients in them and easier digestion.
If you want to shorten the time and give up the soaking, you can use the cooked legumes.
The unique combination of protein and dietary fiber in legumes makes them a satisfying food for a long time.
Animal protein: it is recommended to combine pieces of lean beef, chicken and hard-boiled eggs in the dish.
Beef provides, among other things, iron and vitamin B12, chicken also provides us with vitamin B12 and an egg provides protein, a host of vitamins and minerals.
carbohydrates
To our bowl of chowder you should also add whole grains or pseudo grains such as wheat grains, whole rice, quinoa and buckwheat.
These provide dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.
You can also add potato and sweet potato, which contains more dietary fiber than potato, and is therefore nutritionally superior.
fat
Fat plays an important role in the taste and texture of the chowder.
When you use broth with lean meat or chicken, you should add a good amount of high-quality oil to the dish, such as olive oil, which is known as a significant component of the Mediterranean diet recommended by health organizations in Israel and around the world.
In summary: when you choose the right recipe, the chowder is a dish rich in nutritional values with proteins, carbohydrates, dietary fibers, vitamins and minerals, and thus you can enjoy a varied, balanced, satisfying and delicious meal in one bowl.
Vegetarian soup, photo: Liron Almog
Vegetarians can also enjoy
If this article has whetted your appetite, get a recipe for a quick vegetarian soup from the "Taste of Nature" (Strauss Group) that you can make in an hour.
Without soaking the beans, without a pressure cooker and without complicated steps.
how do you say?
enjoy your meal.
Ingredients (for 8 servings):
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 peeled onions
4 peeled garlic cloves
2 cans of cooked beans (black, red, white, brown or a mix of all)
1 box of cooked chickpeas
3/4 cup of pearl barley
4-5 peeled potatoes
1 box of tomato puree
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 tablespoon bhart or ras al khana
3 tablespoons of silan or maple syrup
Instructions:
Cut the onion into cubes and slice the garlic into thin slices.
Heat olive oil in a large pot and fry the onion until golden.
Add garlic and fry for another minute.
Cut the potatoes into thick slices or halves, and place in the bottom of the pot with the flat part facing down.
Place chickpeas on top of the potatoes.
Add the beans and pearl barley.
In a separate large bowl, put 2 cups of boiling water, all the spices, the can of tomato puree and the silan.
mix well.
Pour the liquid over the ingredients in the pot and check the water level.
If they are about 5 cm above the ingredients, that's great; if not, add a little more water.
Cook for about an hour on medium heat with the lid closed until the pearl grains are ready.
It is important to check from time to time that there is no fluid.
If the curd dries out a little, add some boiling water.
When the pearl grits are ready, turn off the heat and serve.
Notes:
The vegetarian chowder can be transferred to cook overnight in the oven at a temperature of 100 degrees.
In this case it is very important to make sure that the water is twice as high as the ingredients.
You can also add sweet potato quarters, chopped carrots, wheat and other favorite additions to the vegetarian soup.
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