Spring is upon us! What a better way to celebrate the happy new growth of Spring than with a bright green soup! I found this recipe from this great site called 101 Cookbooks. It's a site that focuses on whole, healthy food recipes, and has a big selection of vegan friendly dishes as well. I had a hard time deciding which recipe to try first, but this one caught my eye so I went with it!! While it is a soup, it has really fresh, light flavors, so it doesn't feel heavy or wintery. It might even be good served cold too!
Spinach and Zucchini Soup
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped*
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
big pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups potatoes (2 medium) cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 1/2 cups zucchini (2 medium), loosely chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
4 cups fresh spinach leaves, loosely packed
1 cup cilantro, loosely chopped
one lemon
In a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes along with a pinch of salt- just until they soften up a bit. Stir in the potatoes and zucchini. Add the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft throughout, roughly 10-15 minutes.
Stir in the spinach, and wait for it to wilt, just ten seconds or so. Now stir in the cilantro. Pure with a hand blender (or if you don't have one, ladle batches into a blender and blend a bit at a time) until smooth.
Whisk in a big squeeze of lemon juice. Now taste, and add more salt if needed. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve!
*I am really terrible at following directions exactly (I'm of the -rules are made to be broken-mind set), so I mostly just eyeballed the amounts. I left out the garlic, I didn't measure anything, and it still turned out great! Moral of the story is don't be afraid to substitute or leave things out if you don't like them! If you have someone who wants dairy, you can add a dollop of yogurt or sour cream at the end. Also, This recipe makes A LOT of soup, so if you don't want left overs, just cut everything in half.
YUM! Even my boyfriend Phil who hates anything healthy (especially if it's green) liked this soup! Give it a try and let me know how you like it!
Happy Spring!
Love,
Melissa
Looks delicious. Happy spring to you, too!
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good - I definitely want to make it! Here is a soup I found in real simple that also happens to be vegan - try it out!
ReplyDeletehttp://emmanemhandmade.blogspot.com/2011/03/spicy-soup.html
Also have you tried to cook spaghetti squash? So good! And, also, vegan!