This colorful and refreshing soup from Jakarta, Indonesia is rich in vegetables with more than a hint of sharpness.

Tamarind Soup with Peanuts and Vegetables Ingredients

For the Spice Paste:

5 shallots or 1 medium red onion, sliced
1/4 cup raw peanuts
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 in cube shrimp paste, prepared
1 in galangal, peeled and sliced
1-2 fresh red chillies, seeded and sliced
1-2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2-3/4 cup salted peanuts, crushed lightly
5 cups well-flavored stock
1 tsp tamarind pulp, soaked in 5 tbsp warm water for 15 minutes
salt

For the Vegetables:

3/4 cup green beans, trimmed and sliced finely
1 chayote, peeled thinly, seeded, and flesh finely sliced
1/3 cup corn kernels (optional)
a handful of either watercress, rocket (aragula) or Chinese leaves (Chinese cabbage), shredded finely
1 fresh green chilli, sliced for garnish

Tamarind Soup with Peanuts and Vegetables Cooking Instructions:

1. Prepare the spice paste by grinding the shallots or onion, garlic, galangal, chillies, raw peanuts and shrimp paste to a paste in a food processor or with mortar and pestle.

2. Pour in some of the stock to moisten. Pour the mixture into a pan or wok, adding the rest of the stock. Cook for 15 minutes with the lightly crushed peanuts and sugar.

3. Strain the tamarind. Discard the seeds and reserve the juice.

4. About 5 minutes before serving, add the chayote slices, beans and corn, if using, to the soup and cook fairly rapidly. Add the green leaves and salt to taste at the last minute.

5. Add the tamarind juice and taste for seasoning. Serve, garnished with slices of green chilli.

Taste this delicious gazpacho with the addition of chilli and tabasco. Its flavors are echoed in the salsa.

Serves 4

Gazpacho with Avocado Salsa Ingredients:

1 cucumber
2 slices of day-old bread
1 red (bell) pepper, seeded and chopped
1 kg tomatoes
2 1/2 cups chilled water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 fresh green chilli, seeded and chopped
8 ice cubes, to serve
salt
ground black pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon
a few drops of Tabasco sauce
basil leaves, to ganish

For the croutons

2 slices of day-old bread, remove crusts
1 clove of garlic, halved
1 tbsp olive oil

For the avocado salsa

1 ripe avocado
1 in piece of diced cucumber
1/2 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp lemon juice

Gazpacho with Avocado Salsa Preparation Procedure:

1. Soak the bread in a 2/3 cup of the chilled water for 5 minutes. Place the tomatoes in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for about 30 seconds then peel, seed and chop the flesh.

2. Peel the cucumber thinly then cut into half lengthwise then scoop out the seeds using a teaspoon. Discard seeds and chop the flesh.

3. Drain the bread and place it in a food processor or blender. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, chilli, garlic, olive oil, citrus juices and Tabasco the pour in the remaining scant 2 cups of chilled water. Blend until well combined but still chunky. Season to taste. Pour into a bowl and chill in for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.

4. For the croutons. Rub the slices of bread with the garlic clove then cut the bread into cubes and place in a plastic bag with the olive oil. Seal the bag and shake until the bread cubes are evenly coated. Heat a large non-stick frying pan and fry the croutons over a medium heat until crisp and golden.

5. Make the salsa before serving by cutting the avocado in half, remove the stone (pit), then peel and dice the flesh. In a small bowl, put the diced avocado and add the lemon juice. Toss to prevent browning then mix with the cucumber and chilli.

6. Ladle the soup into chilled bowls and add the ice cubes. Top each portion with a spoonful of the avocado salsa. Garnish with the basil leaves and hand round the croutons separately.

Chicken Inasal Ingredients:

1 kilo chicken, quartered
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp calamansi juice
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp achuete (annato oil)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper

Chicken Inasal Cooking Instructions:

1. Mix garlic, vinegar, calamansi juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt and achuete oil. Add the quartered chicken and marinade for at least 1 hour.

2. Drain and set aside marinade. Skewer chicken pieces on bamboo sticks.

3. Grill or roast over live coals while basting all sides occasionally with the marinade.

4. Serve with a concoction of soy sauce, vinegar, hot chilli pepper, and calamansi juice as sauce.