Soup with Mint Leaves

Ginger-Scented Tomato and Cabbage Soup with Fresh Mint

4 ounces small pasta, such as alphabets
1/4 Cabbage chopped
2 onions, coarsely chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 small carrot, diced
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
10-15 fresh mint leavessalt,
black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

Cook the pasta, drain and set aside.

Lightly sauté the onion and garlic in butter until softened. Stir in the ginger and carrot and cook for a few moments; add tomatoes, broth and cabbage. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender (15-20 minutes). Adjust seasoning.

Ladle the soup over several spoonfuls of pasta per person. Season each portion with a sprinkling of fresh mint and serve immediately.

I couldn't find alphabet pasta, so I just served the soup as is. I also made some revisions, instead of vegetable broth I used shrimp cubes (hehe). I thought I have cayenne pepper too, but I was mistaken so I used paprika. I was so worried what it might taste like with all the unusual substitutes I used but was surprised that my kids like it!

Fresh Mint Leaves

Since my tita gave me mint plant, I started searching for recipe's that makes use of this herb. And I found two that I've already tried and tested.

Here is one minty sauce for your roasted eggplants. My mom and househelp tried it too on fish and it tastes good too.

Ingredients:
3 slender purple Asian eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh hot chilies
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh mint
Directions:
First, roast the eggplants. Prick each one all around with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife to discourage it from bursting as it roasts. Then place the eggplants on a hot grill. Or place an eggplant right on the burner of a gas or electric stove, over low to medium-low heat. Turn the eggplant as it browns and puffs, roasting it as evenly as possible, until it is fairly soft and blistery brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool, and cook the remaining ones the same way.

When the eggplants are cool enough to touch, peel them gently, holding them under cool running water, when necessary, to get the job done. You can leave them whole with the stem attached, or discard the stem and chop the eggplants into big pieces. Place the eggplants in a small, shallow serving bowl and set aside.

Prepare the sauce, combining the fish sauce, lime juice, water, and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the garlic and chilies, and then pour this sauce over the eggplant. Scatter the green onion and mint over the dressed eggplant and serve at room temperature.
Serves 4

I did a little revisions in the recipe, since I only have bagoong as fish sauce, I was worried that it might be too strong to the vietnamese fish sauce the recipe is referring to, so I only used one tablespoon. In replace of lime juice, I used calamansi, our local lemon. Do your own revisions, to what ever fits your taste.