This quick and easy spring vegetable soup is perfect for this time of the year. It’s warming and filling yet not too heavy and full of green vegetables. This means you get plenty of fibre, folate and antioxidants, which makes it a wonderful meal to include as part of a gentle detox. But you could just serve it as a regular dinner – it’s delicious and appropriate for fertility, during pregnancy and just for general health. You can leave it as a vegetarian dish or add chicken if you prefer. If you are adventurous, see the suggestions below to jazz it up with one of our suggested variations.
The quality of the stock is important for flavour. Buy a good quality one or make your own. You could even use Tina’s delicious chicken broth if you have some in the freezer.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large onion, peeled and diced
- 1 leek – white parts, sliced
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large zucchini, sliced
- 1 bunch of asparagus spears – snap off the woody ends and chop
- 1 large handful of fresh peas, podded
- 1 large handful of broad beans, podded and peeled
- 1 large handful of fresh green beans, and/or snow peas, sliced
- 800ml-1L organic chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 can of tinned organic cannellini beans (BPA-free)
- half a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped
- Himalayan salt to taste
Method
- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat in a large pot. Add the garlic, onion and leek, season with pepper and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the zucchini, asparagus, peas, broad beans and green beans/snow peas, then pour in the stock.
- Bring to a gentle boil until veggies are just cooked (this will take only 5-10 minutes so stay with it – you don’t want mushy veggies).
- Stir through the cannellini beans and basil. Season to taste with salt.
Jazz it up – variations
This soup is delicious with extra herbs stirred through in addition to the basil. Add a big handful of any or all – parsley, dill and tarragon.
Add 3/4 cup of quinoa in the last 10 mins of cooking for a more hearty meal.
Try topping each bowl with some good quality grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
Add sliced poached chicken breasts.
Or add a small, whole organic chicken with the stock before you add the veggies. Cook for 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through and starting to fall apart. Then add the green veggies, cannellini beans and basil as normal.
