Bright, Light Spring Vegetable Soups
We still have cold nights, but spring is clearly on the cusp, and Daylight Savings Time is upon us. It’s just the right time to be making spring soups. They’re lighter – mostly broth and possibly milk – and filled with spring vegetables. Keep an eye out for seasonal sproutings. Those vegetables are starting to populate local farmers’ markets: spinach, asparagus, peas, radishes, arugula, and rhubarb. With bright colors and vibrant flavor, the soups themselves are just the right antidote to the cold, rainy days and the wait for warm summer sun. Not only are these soups ideal for a nutritious meal, they’re also a fantastic way to use up those extra vegetables and day-old bread so that you’re cutting down on food waste – and saving money in the process.
That’s what happened this past week when we had a plethora of extra celery after a weekend dinner party. What resulted was a refreshing celery soup that vacuumed up the extra vegetables and provided us with a delicious meal with leftovers for later in the week. Like many of these recipes, it lends itself to substituting ingredients. The celery soup recipe I used called for onions, but I had a leek to use up; in it went instead. I also made use of some extra potatoes that probably resulted in a creamier, more full-bodied soup.
That’s the beauty of these spring vegetable soups. Just substitute a similar vegetable that you like or have on hand. Don’t have (or like) kale? Add chopped spinach or Swiss chard. Have some extra carrots, parsnips, or other root vegetables? Add them early in the preparation with your aromatics, and make sure to cut them into small pieces. Some recipes call for water alone, but I prefer chicken or vegetable broth. And don’t forget those bags of vegetables that have been sitting in the freezer just a little too long.
Once you have your basic vegetable base, consider what you might add to either improve or enhance flavor – or to improve nutrition. When it comes to flavoring, there are so many options: turmeric, ginger, coconut milk, garlic, or a bit of your other favorite herbs and spices. Maybe add a little bulk with carbohydrates such as ramen, egg noodles, orzo, or other pastas. A healthier approach may be to add some grains such as barley.
Finally, think about adding some protein. Consider some leftover beef, chicken (or a grocery-store rotisserie chicken), or some chunks cut from a ham steak. (I usually keep a small one in the freezer.) Or how about crumbled cooked sausage? Vegetarians could add some beans or tofu.
To give you some ideas, I sought out a few recipes for a starting point. Here’s a simple asparagus vichyssoise. I like peas, and here’s a simple spring pea soup, the kind that I’d likely enhance with ham. Have some extra carrots and leeks in the fridge? Here’s a mixed spring vegetable soup. And if you have an assortment of extra vegetables and chicken from Sunday dinner, here’s a chicken-vegetable-orzo soup.
You get the idea. It’s spring, it’s still cool and rainy – just the kind of weather that would welcome a light, bright vegetable soup.
