Soups

If I tried to serve my family soup a year ago for dinner, it probably would have been thrown back in my face. Justin always said that it is not a main course and by no means satisfying. One of the benefits of eating less protein as a whole means, when you do have soup for dinner you are totally satisfied. Oh how the tides have turned!!! I've made some really great soups that I am excited to share. I am going to start with my favorite. The best part is my kids are really into soups. I can load 4-5 different powerhouses in a soup and puree it up and they will have two bowls a piece.

Last October, we went to Paris. Surprisingly of all the food I ate, I was most inspired by the vegetable soups. They were incredible and deeply satisfying. They were gorgeous, smooth, silky soups.  A beautiful orange color with flecks of green....Each restaurant had their own version and each one had one thing in common, they were pureed. I love this idea for vegan soups. It creates the illusion of cream and richness. I use an immersion blender and find you can control how smooth your soup gets a bit better than a blender.

The base of the soup is butternut squash. However you can easily achieve the same color with carrots.Together with carrots, the soup is a really pretty color. I always try to add a dark leafy green too. I've learned that when eating vegan, you should add it into everything since they are a good protein and calcium source. I find zucchini and potatoes give the soup the right consistency and leeks are just awesome in anything!! If you don't want a smooth soup, take out some of the vegetables before you use the emulsion blender and then add them back in after. You will still have a thick and rich soup but with some more texture.
Served with a light salad and baguette.

So here is my interpretation of the Parisian Vegetable Soup.

2-3 leeks, washed and sliced
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic (optional)
2 carrots diced
1 celery diced
1 zucchini diced
1 small butternut squash peeled and diced
2 small to medium potatoes peeled and diced
2 handfuls of greens (fresh spinach, kale, chard)
2 tablespoons of fresh herbs

Add leeks, onion, carrots and celery to a large stockpot with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper so the moisture comes out of the vegetables. Saute for about 10 minutes until soft and then add the garlic and herbs. Thyme, parsley or rosemary all work really well. After another minute add zucchini and butternut squash. Cook another few minutes then add potatoes and cover vegetables with water. The water should be about an inch over the vegetables.
Cover pot and bring to a boil. Crack the lid and simmer soup for about 30 minutes until the squash and potatoes are soft. Add the greens and let them get soft and wilt into the soup. Using the immersion blender, off the heat, blend soup to the consistency you want. Check seasoning. This is the point where I might add some vegetable bouillon if its not tasty enough, salt would be fine too. If the soup is too thin, simmer until its thick enough for you.
When you serve the soup, a drizzle of olive oil and a couple grates of pepper are a great addition.