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Food for Thought Friday: the most perfect (super easy) spring soup 🍋
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Hello there!
I felt a little head cold coming on this past week and remembered my favorite unique and delicious soup for spring! It's super simple, fast, and easy to make, and really hits the spot for a light, veggie dinner when you want something warm but not too heavy for springtime.
It uses one of my favorite humble veggies - leeks! - and the pairing of leeks + coconut milk + lemon is simply delightful. A little cauliflower and beans for some heft, and then fresh dill and hazelnuts on top for a bit of elegance and freshness and BOOM you've got a quick, comforting spring dinner for those evenings when it's still a little chilly or you are feeling under the weather. (Even my meat-loving husband said this one really hit the spot on Sunday night!)
Read all about leeks here if you're not friendly with them yet :)
Recipe below (including what to do if you want to make this but don't have coconut milk)! Hope you try it and enjoy!
Love,
Jess
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A quick note - when I made this on Sunday night, I realized - to my dismay - that I was out of coconut milk! I only had some random coconut butter (about 3 Tbsp) which I never really know what to do with. I was really nervous that this soup would not taste as good as I remembered without coconut milk, but I decided to give it a go. I threw in the coconut butter (because I'm aggressively trying to use up my pantry before our move!) and then used about 1.5 cups of unsweetened almond milk instead of the coconut milk. It looked a little weird as it was cooking (browner than usual and a bit more grainy) but it actually tasted great! It still had a tiny bit of coconut flavor from the coconut butter, but otherwise just had a light creaminess from the almond milk, which is similar to what the coconut milk does for this soup. SO - coconut milk is best, but if you don't have it, I think you could sub any other nut-milk/alternative milk (as long as it's plain/unflavored) or dairy milk. See below for a photo of my not-as-pretty but still very delicious(!) almond-milk version.
Lemony Leek Coconut Soup
recipe adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Near & Far
takes about 30 minutes, serves 3 as a light dinner or 4-6 as a side
Ingredients:
- 1-2 large leeks
- 1 medium head of cauliflower
- 1 can chickpeas or white beans
- 1 can (~15 oz) coconut milk
- 1-2 lemons
- 32oz broth (veggie or chicken broth), or water; more as needed
- olive oil and/or coconut oil, salt and pepper
- about 3/4 cup hazelnuts (or sub almonds, walnuts), toasted
- fresh dill (or sub cilantro, chives, or parsley)
- optional additions: tofu or leftover roasted chicken if you want more protein, or rice/pasta if you want more carbs
Instructions:
- Clean the leeks and chop into ribbons. (See here for how-to and photos of the way I like to clean and chop leeks.)
- Chop cauliflower into small florets (the smaller you chop it, the faster it will cook, but really up to you).
- Get out beans and other ingredients, and wash the lemon.
- In a medium soup pot, heat oil or butter. (I like to use coconut oil for this to add to the coconut flavor, but any fat will work.) When hot, add the leek ribbons and stir to coat. Turn down to medium heat and allow to cook/soften for about 5 minutes. While this happens, you can zest 1 full lemon over the pot, and stir in when done. A little browning of the leeks is fine/great.
- Add cauliflower florets and about a teaspoon of kosher salt, stir to coat. Allow to cook while you open + drain the beans and the coconut milk.
- Add coconut milk and drained beans to the pot and stir again. Turn up to high. Add 32oz broth/water, or more as needed. Bring everything to a light simmer.
- While the soup comes up to a simmer, toast the hazelnuts. You can do it in the oven (about 5-10 mins on 350) or in a pan on the stove, and you can chop them before or afterwards depending on your preference (or leave whole if you're feeling lazy).
- Chop the fresh dill/herbs for the top. Check on the soup. Use a wooden spoon to feel if the cauliflower is fully cooked - a floret should break easily with the spoon, but not be too mushy. Take out a small taste of the soup, and allow to cool before you taste. Adjust flavors - adding more salt if needed.
- When cauliflower is just cooked, turn off the heat. After you've tasted and adjusted for salt, serve the soup in large bowls, topped with plenty of fresh dill and the hazelnuts. Add a generous squeeze of lemon over each bowl, and a drizzle of olive oil/some fresh ground pepper if you like.
- Serve and enjoy!!
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All photos are taken by me and recipes written by me, unless otherwise noted.
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Hi, I'm Jess! I help health-conscious, busy people transform their cooking from chore to lifestyle through intuitive cooking, which I teach through online classes, free content, coaching and more. This is my newsletter, Food for Thought Fridays, where I share highly actionable tips and inspiration to help you cook more intuitively (which makes cooking feel easier and SO much more fun!). Once a month, I share a recipe that's really worth making, and I only share those with my email subscribers. Sometimes the text above may include affiliate links, meaning (at no additional cost to you) I get a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me to continue to share free content, so I would love it if you buy through my link! Thank you for supporting Garlic Press Jess!
I currently work + live on land that is the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone. And I can't wait to eat at Cafe Ohlone! Check out this article about them.
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