Amidst these uncertain times I thought I’d share with you some international get well soon recipes that I’ve been drawn to. I know a lot of us might be getting ill at the moment, as well as needing some comfort – so I thought this would be a good time to share some much loved get well soon recipes from around the world! They are also dishes that you can eat at any time, they’re not just for when you’re sick.

Recipes

Starting off with my family favourite congee. It is so simple to make the base is literally rice, salt and water, slices of ginger and the topping is traditionally spring onion. We usually eat it plain if we are unwell but it’s optional to add toppings such as lotus root, mushrooms, chicken, pork, bok choy, soft boiled egg, crushed peanuts – you can add anything you like really.

Fun fact – Improves bowel regularity.

Recipe 1: My Family’s Conjee (China)

Ingredients:

•Rice (1 cup)
•Ginger
•Water
•Salt
•Mushrooms
•Spring onion (garnish)

In this version I’ve added mixed mushrooms for additional flavour. To start pour the washed jasmine rice into the pan (it can be any type of rice) and 6 cups of water, add salt (you can opt to put meat into the pan at this point) once the rice is boiling reduce the temperature so it’s simmering, occasionally stir as you don’t want the rice to stick to the bottom. When the rice splits, add in the mushrooms (the cooking time can take up to an hour), once you’re happy with your consistency take it off the stove, and garnish with spring onions.

Recently Claire made her Nonna’s get well soon soup (pastina soup cooked in broth). Claire made it for me for the first time a few months ago as my wisdom tooth was in agony. Instead of tiny pasta she cooked it with rice as I couldn’t really chew my food. It was delicious and so warming, it’s exactly what you want when you’re not feeling good – and I’m excited to share her recipe with you!

Fun fact – you can feed pastina to babies starting from 6-7 months but in vegetable broth.

Recipe 2: Claire’s Nonna’s Get Well Soon Soup (Italy)

Ingredients:

•Pastina (1 cup)
•Vegetable stock (add another half if you want a stronger flavour)
•Vegan Cheese (the traditional recipe uses Parmesan but we don’t eat dairy!)
•Pepper (to taste)

Pour water into a pan and let it boil, depending on the taste, pop one and a half vegetable stock into the pan, turn it down to simmer and add a cup full of tiny pasta into the mix. Season with pepper, let it cook and when it’s al dente grate the cheese into the mix, cook for another 5 minutes, then serve – top the bowl with more cheese and pepper.

My third dish is something I’ve never made before but it’s from a blog called HealthWISE, Hiba is a Psychologist + Food Coach. When Hiba caught a cold growing up her mother would quickly whip up her red lentil soup or shorabet ‘adas as it’s called in Arabic. Hiba makes it now whenever she is unwell or for her husband, it can also be eaten any time of the year.

I was fascinated by her get well soon soup as it was similar to the Chinese and Italian dishes but with a different base – red lentils. It’s optional to add toppings if you fancy such as olives, capers, strips of grilled Arabic bread, steamed leafy greens like spinach, swiss chard or kale or fresh spring onion.

Fun fact – Lentils are a healthy fat and a very good source of iron.

Recipe 3: Hiba’s Lentil Soup (Palestine)

Ingredients:

•Red lentils (1 cup)
•Onion
•Lemon
•Water
•Tbsp Ground cumin, salt & pepper to taste

Into a pan pour in some oil and chopped onions, stir and cook until soft and golden. Add your washed red lentils into the mix, and pour in double the amount of lentils of water into your pan. Once it boils reduce the heat and cook it until your lentils are mushy. Add a tbsp of cumin, salt & pepper to taste and cook for a further few minutes. Take the pan off the stove and pour in the lemon juice, and it’s ready to serve. It was very tasty, I’ll certainly be making this in future – I love the tangy taste that bought the flavours together. This would also be good to eat during the winter months – a hot bowl of red lentils soup snuggled up in front of the telly, how cosy!

I hope you enjoyed the 3 get well soon recipes, they are also tasty whenever the weather! I hope you’re all well and staying safe x

I would love to know your childhood get well soon soup or dish – please comment below! 😊