Soup is an absolute staple in our home—and this definitely isn’t season specific. Give me spring, summer, fall or winter, and I’ll give you a soup I love! Over the past few years I’ve perfected the base recipe, which can be used to make ANY vegetable soup (I will caveat this with: just make sure you like the base taste of the veggie, because that will remain!)
This is a superpower to have on hand because as long as you keep a few key ingredients in your kitchen, you can make this at any time.
Here’s what you need:
Essentials To Make A Creamy Soup From Any Veggie
—Extra Virgin Olive Oil
—Butter
—Onion
—Garlic
—Spices (you can keep this as simple as sea salt and pepper, or get creative with cumin and curry powder—it really is up to you!)
—Veggie Broth OR enough seasoning to add to your water to give the soup flavor (for example, I often skip the broth and just use water flavored with Vegeta, which is a spice blend made out of dehydrated vegetables)
—Any Veggie You Enjoy
—A Pot
—A Blender
Here’s The Step-By-Step Guide (With Pictures!)
Start by warming your EVOO and butter into the pot. Chop some onion and garlic (I usually use a quarter of an onion and two garlic cloves) and stir until fragrant. Add in your chopped veggies (for reference, I’d use 2 zucchinis for a zucchini soup, a carton of baby tomatoes for tomato soup, etc.), and stir them around for a few minutes. Add any spices to the mix, and then top with either veggie broth or water (enough to cover the top of the veggies by an inch or two.) Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, and let cook until veggies are nice and soft. Take off the stove, and once cooled a bit, blend it all into a beautiful, creamy soup.
I’m demoing this process using zucchinis, below!
And A Few Ways To Get Creative
As a minimalist cook (ha!), this base soup is one I use MOST often. I can most always count on having EVOO, butter, onion, garlic, a veggie, and spices hanging out in my kitchen. But sometimes I have extras on hand, and these are a few ways to razzle dazzle it up!
—add a can of coconut cream or coconut milk (this gives a delicious creaminess!)
—throw in a splash of acidity, such as tomatoes, lemon, lime, or apple cider vinegar
—add fresh herbs either during the blending process or on top of the final soup as garnish
—give a protein kick by adding in white beans or lentils (these blend beautifully and add thickness to the soup)
—add a splash of half and half for a real creamy factor
—top with seeds for some crunch
What is your favorite soup these days, yogis?
Sending light and love,
Jess (Your Ayurvedic Health Counselor, Making Holistic Health Cozy, Not Clinical)
p.s. in case you missed it, here’s an Ayurvedic Meal Hack.
p.p.s. Interested in booking an Ayurveda Health Counseling session? (Creating easy and nurturing meals is something we can definitely discuss together!) You can sign up here, and will have me as your holistic health guru and cheerleader for the entire month!