Sunday, March 29, 2009

Spring Vegetable Soup


So I promise to put up another breakfast post SOON! In the meantime, here's a non breakfast recipe for you to enjoy!

It is the season of transition between winter and summer, the last of the winter root crops are being harvested, and the new spring veggies are starting to ripen. Here's a lovely, rich tasting, vegetable soup for a light evening meal.

1 qt chicken broth, salted
1 tbsp Garum (or asian fish sauce) Note: This is salty, do not add extra salt.
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp summer savory
1 tsp sage leaf
1 tsp dill
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
pepper to taste

1/2 fennel bulb, sliced
3 small carrots, sliced
1 c snap peas
2 cups fresh nettles ( use dried if needed, or substitute another mild green like spinach or chard)
3 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 yellow summer squash, sliced in half moons
1 bunch green onions, diced
1 c cooked chick peas (or cannellini)

lemon wedges ( garnish)
olive oil (garnish)

In a large sauce pan, combine broth, herbs, and fish sauce. Add diced carrots, fennel, garlic, nettles, squash and mushrooms to the broth. Simmer 5 or 10 min till veggies are cooked through. Add the beans and warm (5 min). Remove from heat. Add green onions and snap peas. Serve immediately.
Garnish bowls of soup with fresh squeezed lemon juice and olive oil.

Perfect light spring supper. If you want something less substantial remove the beans, feel like you need more protein, use chicken in addition to or instead of beans.

3 comments:

Robyn said...

Oh what perfect timing! I had planned to make a vegetable soup for dinner tonight! This recipe sounds delicious!

Alyss said...

Do you buy or make garum? I have Thai fish sauce, but are you using something different? Yummy recipe... I love soup for breakfast :)

Darcey Blue said...

you can buy it for 30 dollars a bottle. my sweetie and I are researching the best way to produce our own. In the meantime, I've been using the Thai Kitchen fish sauce. It isn't quite the same, but close, and the flavor is good.

"The mother of us all, the oldest of us all, Hard, splendid as rock, Let the beauty you love, be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth"~ Rumi ~