RECIPE: THE PERFECT WINTER SOUP PACKED FULL OF VEGETABLES

THE PERFECT WINTER SOUP RECIPE PACKED FULL OF VEGETABLES

We love this delicious green vegetable soup from Chelsea Winter. While there’s not too much to harvest from your winter garden, herbs are always handy to add flavour and nutrients to winter meals and this recipe calls for a big bunch of them. Read on for Chelsea’s recipe.

Mean Green Vegetable Soup by Chelsea Winter
Serves 8.

INGREDIENTS
400g spinach, rinsed and stalks removed
¼ cup olive oil
50g butter
1 large brown onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 leek, chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh thyme
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups peas, fresh or frozen
1 head of broccoli, chopped
½ head cauliflower, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
200g crème fraîche
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 cup cream
1 cup fresh herbs, chopped (we love parsley and basil in this but chives and dill are lovely too)
3 tsp lemon juice, to taste

METHOD
Over a high heat, add 1 cm of water to a large soup pot. Bring to the boil. Blanch the spinach and add this and ½ tsp salt to the boiling water. Cover and simmer for a few minutes until the spinach is wilted.
Tip the spinach into a colander and run under cold water to refresh and stop it cooking further. Once cool, squeeze out excess water and set aside.
Over a medium heat, add your butter and olive oil to the soup pot. Once melted and frothy, add your chopped onion, shallots, leek, celery, garlic and thyme. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft. Add your remaining vegetables and your stock.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are just cooked.
Add the spinach to the rest of your vegetables.
Blend the soup carefully using a stick blender. Blending hot liquids can be dangerous so wear an apron and cover your arms to be safe.
Once your mixture is blended, add the crème fraîche, cream, parmesan, fresh herbs and lemon juice and simmer for a few minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

You can take a look at Chelsea’s original recipe here and her other delicious recipes. We know what we’ll be making this weekend.

Let us know how you go with it!

Image from Chelsea Winter.