This week we craved a Spring soup, hearty without being heavy. The soup we made had bright, herby flavors with a kick of lemon.
Pictured below are some of our favorite spring vegetables and herbs that made this soup to-die-for.
Below we outline how we made this Spring Soup. As with so many of our “recipes” this is just a template that can be customized.
Cut cauliflower and asparagus into smallish pieces. Roast with a few swirls of olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt and pepper in an oven heated to 425 degrees. Put the cauliflower in first and roast for about 35 minutes. Once it’s beginning to brown, add the asparagus and roast for about 15 minutes more.
While the vegetables are roasting, clean and chop 2 small onions. We found beautiful Spring knob onions, but any type of onion will work.
Peel and smash 4 or 5 garlic cloves. Put chopped onions in a heated soup pot with a swirl of olive oil and a big pinch of kosher salt. After onions begin to soften, add the garlic and chopped basil and thyme. Add 4-5 cups of your favorite stock. Cook at medium heat until soup begins to simmer.
Remove the greens from 3 medium beets (or use kale) and rinse. Chop the greens.
After the broth has simmered for about 5 minutes purée with a stick blender. Add another clove of garlic, sliced thinly and chopped greens.
Take two big handfuls of spinach and place in a bowl. Add the juice from half a lemon and a big pinch of kosher salt.
Chiffonade basil and slide leaves off two or three sprigs of thyme right onto your cutting board. Add about 1 tablespoon lemon zest. This only takes an extra minute or two, but the payoff is BIG. To serve soup, put the spinach you prepared in a soup bowl. Add the broth and roasted vegetables. Top the soup with a big pinch of the basil/thyme/lemon zest.