Orka and Brussels Sprouts
My dear friend Seda introduced this vegetable called orka to me about 8 years ago! That’s how long our friendship has been too! :) I did not know what it was and I was interested to find out what kind of food we can make out of it. She taught me how to make a Turkish orka stew…mmmmh boy was it yummy. So today I am making an orka soup with some homemade chicken stock I have. Being pregnant I have been having all sorts of cravings, SAVORY foods is definitely on the top of my list. But I have also realized my fingers have gotten a bit swollen and numb. That usually happens during pregnancy, but eating too much salty food will cause hands/feet extra swollen. So I have decided to cut my salt intake and incorporate more vegetables into my diet. That’s when I decided on the orka mixed vegetable soup with roasted brussel sprouts and apricot. Now that combination will not go wrong. Filling yet healthy!
Ingredients:
1 medium size white onion, diced 1 package of fresh orka (you can purchase these at the Asian market, or buy them loose at your local super market), cut into cubes 1 8 oz can diced tomatoes 1 medium size shallot, diced 2 celery stalks, chopped 1 qt of homemade chicken stock (store bought works just fine) 1 carrot, chopped ½ tsp of dried thyme ½ tsp dried parsley
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp extra vigin olive oil (evoo)
Directions:

1. In a dutch oven (or a medium size pot) add in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), and 2 tablespoons of butter (to keep it somewhat healthy, I used half and half, evoo and butter).

2. Add in the onion, shallots and the dried herbs. Let that saute for about 5 – 10 minutes to sweat out the aromas.

3. Add in the celery and carrots, and let that cook for another 5 – 10 minutes.

4. Add in the tomatoes.

5. Put ½ c of water into the empty tomato can to swish the remaining sauces from the inside and pour that into the pot.

6. Add the chicken stock and 2 cups of water and stir.[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"></v:path> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"></o:lock> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_9" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:468pt;height:351pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CHEEKS~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg" o:title=""></v:imagedata> </v:shape><![endif][if !vml][endif]
