By Asa, Vegan Pledge Buddy 2012!
One of my favourite easy vegan meals is the general ‘soup’. Unfortunately it is a bit tricky to offer soup at the two Pledge days – even more dishes! – so we don’t. For that reason it seems appropriate to say something about this magically quick meal.
Soups are easy to make and are perfect for old tired vegetables. My most basic recipe would be ‘fry some onion (in pieces or rings) in oil, perhaps with some garlic, and/or ginger, and/or cumin, caraway/cinnamon/cardamom/curry powder/paprika – basically any spices you like on low heat. If you leave it for a while it will caramelise – nice! If you want herbs, I normally add them later on.
Rinse/peel/cut other vegetables in pieces – you could use any root vegetables, courgettes, peppers, spring onions (they can also be added from the start), cauliflower, leek, broccoli, spinach, potatoes, red lentils, split peas, green or yellow, beans from cans...
Add stock (boil water in your kettle and add to the stock before adding to the pot – even quicker), then add vegetables in or
The beauty of this is that you can finish off by blending it all, in which case it does not matter if the vegetables are overcooked :-) Normally I really don’t like overcooked broccoli e.g., but when blended it all comes together... Blend as long as you like or just for a minute and leave chunks. Then season with salt and pepper and perhaps more spices. Enjoy with a piece of bread!
This web site has many other recipes for vegan soups, all with pictures:
Thanks Asa, this has inspired me to do more soups with the stuff in my weekly veg bag :)
ReplyDeleteThe photo is actually of my own soba noodle soup, which is also nice and simple. Here's how to make it:
1. Sautee 1 chopped onion with some garlic, chilli and ginger in olive oil for about 5 minutes
2. Stir in several generous handfulls of chopped greens (e.g. cabbage, broccoli)
3. Put on some egg-free soba noodles to boil (e.g. these ones from King Soba, found in lots of health food shops http://www.kingsoba.com/organic-noodles-udon.php
4. In a separate cup, mix 2-4 teaspoons of organic brown rice miso with a cup of boiling water
5. Drain the noodles once cooked (they only take 4-5 mins)
6. Combine the noodles, veg, miso & water to make the soup, and add some cubed tofu if you like
7. Add a few splashes of tamari to taste