The only thing missing from this First Night In equation is the story of what was nestled in the bowl in my lap during said television watching. (Which also, for the record, included some Kath & Kim. Hot diggity I’d forgotten how funny that show is*.) In other words, what was the delightful dinner that kept my hands and tummy warm (at least until I moved onto post-dinner chocolate and, after that, post-chocolate oatmeal and, after that, post-oatmeal strange-vegan-protein-bar-from-the-US-with-30%-of-my-daily-calcium-booyah)?
Read on, Macduff.
- Smurf Kitchen Soup!
Moroccan(ish) Kangaroo and Quinoa Soup
The “Moroccan(ish)” of the title emerges from the fact that I adapted this from a recipe for Moroccan Chicken and Couscous Soup, and upon writing the dish up realised that kangaroo isn’t particularly Moroccan. Or, indeed, any country/ethnicity/cuisine other than Australian.
For a vegan/vegetarian version of this dish, I would (and plan to) sub in crumbled tempeh for the mince, or perhaps TVP. Seeing as I’ve never cooked with TVP, though, I’m less comfortable vouching for it. Kindof like how I can’t really vouch that almond butter tastes as good mixed with maple syrup and eaten with a spoon as does peanut butter, but I’m fairly certain it would.
- 1 tb olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 500g kangaroo mince (substitute with crumbled tempeh or reconstituted TVP for a vegan version)
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 4 cups (1L) reduced salt vegetable/chicken stock (or homemade, if you’re more organised than I am)
- ½ c (90g) quinoa
- 200g frozen spinach, defrosted (I defrosted mine in the microwave until it was less block-like)
- as much coriander as you like, to serve
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan (or whatever you liked to cook soup in) over medium-high heat, and sauté the onion with the spices until the onion has softened.
- Add the mince and cook until browned, breaking up with a wooden spoon to avoid clumping. (You know what? “Clumped meat” sounds really unappealing… although I do acknowledge that, for many reading this, even “meat” sounds unappealing.)
- Stir in the tomatoes, stock, quinoa, and spinach. Bring to the boil and then simmer for around 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked to your liking. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve, garnished with coriander. (And, if you’re me, a bucketload more cracked black pepper and a healthy dose of Tabasco.)
* Note for my American readers: don’t you dare even mention the American version of Kath & Kim. That travesty was almost enough to make me renounce my love for your country. I would like to hunt down whoever thought Americanising Kath & Kim would work and pour curdled milk over his/her head.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Let’s talk Kath and Kim…just kidding.
That soup looks good. I’ve never really made soup before, but I’m trying to learn.
I like hearing about your smurf kitchen.
How interesting! I do love quinoa, though of course the kangaroo isn’t exactly my style :] BUT I do think tempeh would work beautifully! TVP, not so much, as it’s just dehydrated fake-meat crumbles, basically, which absorb most of their weight in water, and would sadly suck up far too much of the delicious broth.
I guess kangaroo is fairly common in Australia, given the apparent ease of acquiring kangaroo mince? I was sure that was going to be some kind of metaphor, but no, you used real kangaroo. I’m a card-carrying meat-eater, but I might hesitate at kangaroo. I bet this would be good with lamb, though!
(Funny, I have no compunctions about eating a cute woolly lamb…)
Yay for the Smurf kitchen!
Love how coolly you include Kangaroo as an ingredient. I’ve never seen it written down in a recipe before so was a little taken aback…I suppose there are plenty of them in Australia. What does it taste like? (The other ingredients in the soup sound delicious!)
a nice recipe to cook quinoa. I never tried to eat it in soups… sounds delicious!
Yikes…kangaroo? I’m scared but also intrigued!
I had to be tricked into eating Kangaroo the first time, but now I’m glad I was, it’s really good!
hahaha I am the BIGGEST fan of Kath and Kim and was also shocked at the US version….it was like the writers just missed the point completely ?!
God wasn’t the US K&K terrible? I don’t know why we didn’t just export the original!
Who’d have thought of Morocco – and Kangaroo – merging together so successfully? I guess she can fit a fair few spices in that pouch….
TheHungryScholar: The only thing I hope you say about the American Kath & Kim is that you never, ever watched it!
I’m a big fan of soup but, of course, it’s winter here, so ’tis the season!
Amber: Wow, you do know how to make TVP sound… appealing
I’m wearing my crankypants right now because I just discovered that the tempeh I bought two days ago expired on May 10. Grr. There goes my tempeh soup idea!
Camille: Teehee, somehow I didn’t realise kangaroo was going to get such a reaction! I wouldn’t say kangaroo is popular exactly, but it’s becoming more so – it’s available in all supermarkets. I’d say it’s most like venison – personally I’d rather get kangaroo than beef/lamb because it’s native to Australia, the feet don’t cause soil erosion as do imported animals’ hooves, and it doesn’t produce much methane, so it’s kinda “ethical”, insofar as meat can be?!
Hungryandfrozen: Wow, I feel kinda trail-blazing and suave right now
In terms of taste, I’ve heard others say it’s a bit gamey, but in all honesty I can’t really tell it apart from beef. However, I almost never eat beef, so that’s not saying much! 
Laetitia: Thanks! I love using quinoa in soup, it’s so easy that way.
Sadako: If you ever see it, you should give it a go! It’s really not scary
Amy: Teehee, who tricked you? We’ve been eating so regularly for a few years now that I’d forgotten people get funny about it.
Lisa: I think they did miss the point entirely – they made the show into this big caricature of over-the-topness with America’s oft-characteristic lack of subtlety, and just missed the honesty of the real one. Does that make any sense?? My friend and I were trying to work out what it is that makes the Aussie one work and the US one not!
Lorraine: My guess is that someone decided that Americans wouldn’t be able to understand the Aussie-specific references. I’m pretty sure some of my US friends would’ve been clever enough to appreciate it, though. And seriously, Selma Blair?!
Kath: Hahahaha! Nice one
I can’t say I understand kangaroo as a food but I daresay I understand it more than the Americans understood kath and kim – it was painful to watch their attempts to emulate! Have enjoyed moroccan cous cous soups but never thought to use quinoa – sounds excellent
oh wow, this soup looks amazing!
Johanna: I think I watched part of one episode – honestly, I seem to have blocked it from my memory. It makes me cry inside! And thanks for overlooking the kangaroo in order to appreciate the quinoa
Simply Life: Are you going to be searching out kangaroo then?