The recent outbreak of coronavirus has created a worldwide panic. While quarantine and social distancing is an effective way, prevention is always better than cure. The best way apart from washing hands frequently, is boosting our body’s natural defence mechanism, the immune system. This virus is highly contagious and attacks people mostly with a low immunity system due to underlying conditions or aging. The ingredients that are immunity boosting are garlic, ginger, star-anise, turmeric, yogurt among other ingredients. Cooking with these ingredients is a good idea even to fight general cold and flu. Use good quality olive oil, coconut oil for cooking. Del Monte offers the best quality olive oil in India. Check out our list of specially curated soup recipe ideas to improve your immunity levels:
Asian Style Chicken Soup
Start with roasting some chicken breast in Del Monte virgin olive oil, salt, pepper. In a pan, sauté garlic, ginger, green-chillies, raw turmeric, and lemongrass stalks. Add some cumin seeds and star-anise. Add chopped onions, celery, carrots and sauté until the vegetables are tender. Shred the roasted chicken and add in the pan. Add 500 ml of chicken broth and a bay leaf. Add some fresh coriander leaves and set it to gentle simmer.
Herbed Italian Minestrone Soup
Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil. Add chopped carrot, celery, zucchini, bell peppers, cannellini beans, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and tomato paste. Cook for 15 minutes and add orzo pasta. Add vegetable stock and bring it to a gentle simmer. Cook for 30 minutes on low heat. Add a handful of fresh basil leaves. Ladle the soup in a bowl and finish with a handful of fresh parsley. This delicious Italian soup makes for a hearty meal with a slice of crusty garlic bread.
Lentils Stew
In a pot, sauté some garlic in Del Monte olive oil. Add cooked red lentils and pinto beans. Add tomato paste, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes and add the veggie stock. Gently simmer the soup for 30 minutes. Add some baby spinach leaves just before removing from heat. Ladle the soup into a bowl. To make the guacamole, add some ripe avocados in a bowl along with lemon juice, chopped onions, raw turmeric, coriander, green chili, and mix well with a fork. Add a dollop of guacamole on the soup and top with some freshly chopped coriander. Garnish with crushed pepper and serve warm.
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Start with grilling tomatoes and red bell peppers with salt, pepper and olive oil. In a separate pan, sauté garlic in olive oil with a handful of basil. Remove the skins of the charred tomato and bell pepper. Add everything into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour the soup mix in a pot and simmer it on low heat for ten minutes. To make crunchy croutons, cut multigrain bread into small squares and sauté it in olive oil with a bit of oregano. Pour a ladle of hot soup in a bowl and top it with crunchy croutons. Garnish with a few chopped basil leaves and serve warm.
If you make a bigger batch of these soup recipes, you can store it in airtight containers. These soups and stews will boost your immune system to help you fight this pandemic virus.
