Roasted Eggplant Soup

After spending a week in Chiangmai and Pai, where fresh fruits, delicious smoothies and flavourful sandwiches are more the norm than green curry, tom yam goon and pad thai, I'm inspired to try and have more healthy meals at home. The meals at Xhale showed me that my stomach is really happy with the dose of fruits/veg and my usual bloating was minimised. Importantly,  it dawned on me that I should not just rely on bread for breakfast. The soup breakfast served fills up our tummies and gives us sufficient energy to get through a morning of hatha yoga, very well.

There are no pictures of meals in the morning as mornings are silent where we are advised to stay with our own thoughts; no talking, no social media and no usage of electronics. Frequently, we will ask Peach, the chef, on the recipe combinations later in the afternoon. For our own trials, below is the yummy combinations that I can recall :

Juice/Smoothie Recipes:
- Pineapple, Toasted Sesame, Celery, Banana
- Papaya, Parsley, Mulberry, Toasted Sesame, Coconut
- Avocado, Parsley, Coconut, Cashews
- Kale and Morning Glory
- Lemon grass and ginger
- Carrot and Ginger

Soup Combi (Onions, Garlic, some herbs and black pepper is the backbone of each recipe):
- Beetroot, Carrots and Sweet Potato (1Beetroot to 3 carrots and 3 sweet potato)
- Pumpkin, Carrots
- Roasted Tomato, Carrots

There were others but alas, my memory don't serve me altogether very well. Thankfully for Pinterest and many generous bloggers who share their recipe, I did bookmark many and started on 1 which feature one of our favourite ingredients immediately when back. This is a really easy and yummy recipe. Cooked and served in 30 minutes, it is going to be a frequent meal on our tables from now on.

Ta Da! Roasted Eggplant Soup, served with toasted walnuts, wholemeal tortilla shreds and coriander.

Ingredients: (adapted from www.thestonesoup.com)
4 small eggplants (I bought the Sakura Brinjal from FairPrice)
1 big onion, sliced
Half bulb Garlic, skin removed
1 can of Cannelloni beans, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup water

Steps:
1. Roast Eggplants at 200C for 30 minutes until eggplant is very soft. I kept the skin on.
2. Sautee onions and garlic in a small amount of olive oil for 15 minutes, until they are very small and lightly browned.
3. Add the beans, water and roasted eggplants, simmer for around 15 minutes.
4. Add lemon juice to taste and blend. I used a Philips handheld blender.
5. Serve with a small portion of toasted bread of choice (it was always 4 teeny weeny shreds of french toast at Xhale which added a satisfying crunch!) and I like to add some self-roasted nuts and coriander.

The above serves 3 portions of around 5 spatula scoops, which is good for breakfast portion. If served for lunch or dinner mains, it probably serves 2 portions only.