You’ll love sipping this green goodness. You could have it anytime of the day as this soup is perfect for a nutritious start to a cold winter morning to even a starter for a lovely dinner treat. Rich in greens and packed with flavours, this is a must try recipe. How I developed this recipe- The only soups kids usually have are the creamy ones, which uses a mix of flour-butter-milk— which makes the white sauce base. Even though I like how cream of vegetable soups taste,I never found the use of white sauce or dairy cream as a very healthy thing in these soups. As many of the kids today are lactose intolerant, including myself, I really tried my best to make this recipe creamy, yet almost dairy free (used ghee- make it completely lactose free) and with nutritiously better dairy substitutes. Not only that, unlike many other vegetable soup recipes, this one uses a variety of greens which adds to the nutritive value of this recipe. What’s special about this recipe- . Lots of greens- Even though the main veggies used in this recipe are broccoli and spinach, I’ve incorporated more veggies like zucchinis, brussel sprouts, onions, cellery, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, leeks & tomatoes in recipe, packing it with folate and lots of vitamins. . Dairy free substitutes- I’ve used cashew cream/coconut cream substitutes instead of flour-butter-milk white sauce and milk cream in this recipe. This not only makes this recipe simply lactose free, but also, makes it more nutritious. . Poached egg – The addition of a perfectly poached egg not only adds more protein and good fats into this recipe, but also, makes it extra delicious. Whatyou’ll need- . 2 cups broccoli florets. 2 cups spinach leaves . Half cup roughly chopped carrots. Half cup roughly chopped brussel sprouts . Half cup roughly chopped white onions . Half cup roughly chopped tomatoes . Half cup roughly chopped leeks. Half cup roughly chopped cellery . Half cup roughly chopped zucchini . Half cup roughly chopped button mushrooms . 4 cups vegetable stock . 5 garlic cloves . 2 teaspoons ghee or olive oil. Salt & Pepper to taste . Half teaspoon oregano . 1 teaspoon white vinegar . 2 tablespoons cashew cream or coconut cream . 1 poached egg ( per bowl of soup). A pinch of red chilli flakes.. Bread croutons . Chopped parsley How to make-
- Heat oil/ghee & sauté onion & garlic until garlic starts browning.
- Now add rest of the veggies-reserving half cup of broccoli & spinach and sauté it adding few pinches of salt, until lightly browned and mushy.
- Blend this sautéed veggie mix with a little of the broth until well puréed.
- Pour it back to the pan and heat to a boil added rest of the broth.
- Lower the flame and stir in the cashew/coconut cream.
- Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the oregano too.
- Boil the soup down to a desired thicker consistency.
- In another pan heat a little olive olive and sauté the broccoli and spinach with a pinch of salt, until broccoli is tender.
- Serve hot soup topped with sautéed broccoli & spinach, bread croutons, chopped parsley & poached eggs sprinkled with chilli flakes and salt.
Notes, tips and suggestions- . You could make this recipe gluten-free by just omitting the bread croutons or substituting it with gluten-free ones. . You could go for crumbled or pan fried tofu instead of poached eggs, if you are a vegan. . Directions for perfectly poached eggs are given in detail with my Egg Benedict & Egg Florentine recipe.