Broccoli and spinach soup

A little bit of something extra makes all the difference. Our soup was green today. Another family winner of a dish. This broccoli and spinach soup is definitely a green super soup! And what’s best, I just needed a fresh onion and leek and all the rest came out of the freezer and staples. ????????????

I usually make big pots of soup and we all slurp away for a couple of days. When I make other soups, I make enough to freeze a couple of portions, but as we are using frozen ingredients in our broccoli and spinach soup, freeing the ready cooked soup is not an option. But I love eating ‘leftovers’ the next day. There’s nothing better than enjoying good home-cooked food and not having to cook it that day!

You might think its a little odd to add the red split lentils, but I love them in most of my soups. You won’t taste them but they add a great creaminess and a wonderful addition of plant-based protein.

But, adding some home made croutons really makes all the difference. That crunch with the creaminess of the soup and a little bit of spice coming through from the ginger. Oh oh oh. Delicious! Beautiful ????in my tummy.

 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 leek

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled

7 balls of frozen spinach (or fresh works well too)

4 handfuls of frozen peas

1/2 Head of broccoli florets, in small pieces

1 tsp mixed herbs

a sprinkle of turmeric

1 tsp dried coriander

1 handful of red split lentils

1.5lt veggie stock

sourdough bread for home-made croutons

lemon juice (and chilli flakes) to serve

Recipe:

Heat oil in a large pan. Sauté 1 onion for a good 5 minutes. Add 3 cloves of garlic, minced. Add 1 leek and 1 inch slice of ginger cut into small pieces. Mix really well and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add 7 balls of frozen bits of spinach (or 4-5 handfuls of fresh spinach) and 4 big handfuls of frozen peas.

Stir in 1 tsp of mixed herbs, sprinkle of dried turmeric powder and 1 tsp of dried coriander.

Add a handful of red split lentils. Season well. Stir well and cook for a few more minutes. 

Add 1.5lt of veggie stock, bring to boil and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Take off the heat & purée. If the soup is too thick, just add a bit more water! Easy. Before serving squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the soup – it’ll add so much flavour, it’s just wonderful.

I toasted sourdough slices of bread really well and then just cut it into cubes for our croutons. And that’s it!

 

January 30, 2019Tags: broccoli and spinach soup, broccoli soup, creamy soup, green soup, healthy soup, spinach soup, super soup