Recipes

CHELSEA'S MEAN GREEN VEGETABLE SOUP

To make this soup dairy-free, leave out the Parmesan, swap the butter with coconut oil & replace the crème fraîche & cream with 2 cups of coconut milk &/or coconut cream.

Prep time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 30 minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients:

400g bag spinach, washed, stalks removed
50g butter (or 1/4 cup coconut oil)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 shallots, roughly chopped
1 large leek, roughly chopped
3 sticks celery, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (about 8 sprigs)
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock (check gluten-free if required)
2 cups peas
1 head broccoli, chopped
½ large cauliflower (or 1 small), chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 kumara, peeled & chopped
2 courgettes, chopped
200g crème fraîche
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup cream
1 cup chopped fresh herbs (chives, dill, parsley, basil)
3 tsp lemon juice, or more to taste

DIRECTIONS:

First blanch the spinach to preserve the lovely green colour.

Add 1cm of water to a large soup or stock pot over a high heat & cover with a lid.

Bring to the boil and add 1/2 tsp salt & the spinach leaves.

Cover & simmer for a minute or so until wilted.

Tip the spinach into a colander in the sink & run cold water over it for few minutes to stop it cooking.

When completely cool, squeeze the spinach out & set aside.

To the same stock pot, add the butter & olive oil over a medium heat.

When frothy, add the chopped onion, shallots, leek, celery, garlic & thyme.

Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes until the veges are softened & starting to caramelise.

Add the stock & remaining vegetables.

Cover with the lid, bring to a simmer & continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are just cooked – they shouldn’t have any crunch to them, but they don’t need to be mushy.

Add the spinach back into the pot.

Now you need to blend the soup.

This is best done with a hand held stick-blender in the cooking pot, & can be done carefully while the mixture is still hot.

If you have a blender, cool the mixture to warm before blending the soup in batches.

Blending hot liquids can cause explosions. You can also use a food processor, but again, cool first & do it in batches.

Add the crème fraîche, Parmesan, cream,  fresh herbs & lemon juice to the soup & simmer for a few minutes to melt the cheese & heat through.

Taste, & season with salt, black pepper & white pepper (if you have it) to your liking. Add more lemon juice if you like.

 

Chelsea’s tips

• It’s a pretty forgiving recipe, so you can use up the veges you have lying around.

 

• If it’s too thick, thin it out with more stock or cream.

 

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