Until last week, I had never owned a blender in my life. Blenders just weren't my priority when doling out limited kitchen cabinet space. I've used my immersion blender and mini food processor to get around, and I always thought it was fine.
And then I went to culinary school.
Their industrial-strength Magi-Mixes would whip up the most silky, delicate soups and perfectly creamy purees, putting my poor 12-year old immersion blender to shame.
So you can imagine my delight when the fine people at Ninja sent me a spanking new Nutri-Ninja blender, FREE, after I met them at a conference. It's like getting a Maserati as your first car! This thing is swank.
First off, the blades look like jaws of ice-crushing, fiber-busting death. When you press puree, it starts slow, then gradually gears up to a ferocious tornado so strong it has suction cups to hold it to the counter. And it turns off automatically after a minute, so you never have that "are we there yet" moment. On the smoothie function, it slows down automatically at intervals to allow the chunks to fall back down, so you never have to scrape down the sides. The blender claims to have "Auto IQ" technology, which sounds like a total crock, but it's not! The Ninja would totally be friends with Rosie from the Jetsons.
Disclaimer - these guys gave me a free blender, so yeah, I'm gushing about it, but I swear I'm gushing because it is truly a marvel of modern blender technology.
I developed a super-healthy spin on tomato soup to test out the Ninja. Instead of butter and cream, we're cooking with coconut oil and coconut milk, and the flavor is amped up with freshly ground coriander and a hit of spicy ginger. Even better, it takes less than 30 minutes, including cleanup.
Thanks Ninja!
Quick Tomato Ginger Soup
Yield: 4
Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 20 min Total Time: 30 min
Ingredients
1 Tbs coconut oil
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1.5 cups)
2" piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
28 oz / 800 g can San Marzano tomatoes
8 oz / 235 mL vegetable stock
8 oz / 235 mL coconut milk
Salt
Cilantro leaves for garnish
Heat coconut oil over medium-low heat in a soup pot. Stir in onions and ginger plus a pinch of salt. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes til onion is translucent but not browned, stirring occasionally. Add coriander and cook for another minute.
Add tomatoes and stock. Transfer to a blender and puree til totally smooth, about 1 minute.
Return soup to pot and stir in coconut milk. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Heat until warmed through.
To serve, garnish with cilantro and a swirl of coconut milk if you have extra. Great as a light lunch or a starting course for a seafood dinner.
