I haven't found a healthy tasty soup. Usually, those words don't even belong together. Meet this soup recipe, with potassium to boost your nervous system, vitamin A, important for your vision, and unsaturated fat, good for your heart.
This recipe has squash. It wasn't mentioned in the title, because the soup is green, but it is required; the fiber and carbohydrates give the soup some body and creaminess.
Recipe:
2 leeks, sliced
2 fennel bulbs, sliced
1 shallot, minced,
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 scallion, sliced
1 tsp fennel fronds
2 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2/3 cup vegetable stock or water
1 butternut squash, peeled and largely diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp nutmeg (Optional)
Dash of cream (Optional)
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Sauté green onion, shallot, fennel, garlic, and leek in 2 tsp of olive oil over medium heat. Cook until soft and translucent (4-5 minutes).
Drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil over the squash and roast for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly browned and fork tender.
Add all ingredients to a blender along with salt, red pepper, and water and blend until fully combined. You may need more water to get your blender going.
Optionally, garnish with cream, fennel fronds and nutmeg. Serve warm or cold.
Enjoy!
The sweetness from the squash counteracts the bitterness and harshness from the leek. Because of the squash, the soup gets a creamy consistency and a beautiful light green color.
Mistakes I made:
Go easy on the scallion. Because you're cooking the scallion, use a little less scallion. The scallion tends to add a bit of sharp bitter flavor. If you like that, use the whole scallion, if not, maybe you want to skip this step.
Go conservative with the water/stock. You can always add more water, but never more vegetables. If your soup is too thin, you may have to restart. Remember to add water/stock gradually, so you don't mess up the consistency of the soup.
Strain the soup. If you are presenting this at a formal occasion, I recommend you strain the soup. The leek tends to be a bit lumpy if not blended properly, so strain out the soup to achieve a smoother mouth feel.
