Leftover veggie and coconut soup
I often end up with small bits of pieces of all kinds of different veggies and leafy greens in my fridge. That's the life of a food creator who spends her days test cooking all sorts of different foods and tries out new combinations and vegetables all the time...But, I suppose, that the whole thing about ending up with a bit of this and a bit of that is the case for a few more out there! SO, what do you do with a couple of tomatoes, one small piece of fennel, 1/4 of a butternut squash and some garlic? You mix it into a soup!! Since this is a leftover soup I don't have any exact measurements, but I do have a trick which makes this recipe foolproof anyway. Scroll down and you'll see!
Something I really like about this kind of recipes, where you don't have an exact recipe when it comes to measurements but only a list of the actual ingredients, is that even if you use the same veggies to make the same soup a couple of week after it will most likely taste a bit different because you will most likely use another amount of the components, without even thinking of it! Voilá, you have a new soup. It's like magic. Kind of anyway! And, to calm you down, soup is one of the best go-with-the-flow-foods I can think of. If you mix a bunch of yummy things in to a soup it can hardly go wrong. Just start out with a little amount of water, or whatever liquid you're using, and maybe add more later on - then you can be sure will get a creamy and delicious brunch, lunch or dinner soup in not too long at all!
PS. Of course you can make the soup using more of everything, instead of waiting until you only have small bits an pieces left!
Leftover veggie soup
Serves 2-4 (depending on how much leftovers you find in the fridge!)
Ingredients
1 onion
1 garlic clove
1/2-1 tsp each of ground turmeric and ground paprika powder (depending on how much veggies you use. Start with the smaller amount and add more to taste when mixing the soup together)
2-4 big tomatoes
butternut squash
fennel
water
full fat coconut milk
1/2-1 tsp pure maple syrup (optional, but a tiny natural sweet touch develops all of the other flavours in a nice way. You could also use the same amount of honey, note that it won't be vegan though)
a pinch chili flakes
a handfull of fresh parsley
cold pressed coconut oil
Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Topping
toasted coconut flakes
hemp seeds
pomegranate seeds
fresh parsley
How to
Peel and finely cut the onion and garlic. Fry in a saucepan, in some coconut oil, until soft. Add the turmeric and paprika powder and stir around.
Wash and chop the rest of the vegetables in similar size pieces. Add to the onion. Fill up the saucepan with water so everything is just about covered (this is the foolproof part! No measurements needed. If you make a bigger batch just add more water!). Bring everything to a boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until veggies are soft. Remove from heat, add a big splash of coconut milk (about 1/2 dl for every portion, at least) and mix until smooth using a immersion blender. Add more water and/or coconut milk and mix until smooth and creamy. Add the parsley and chili flakes and pulse a few times. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup with a few toppings that bring crunchiness (toasted coconut flakes), nuttiness (hemp seeds) fruitiness (pomegranate seeds), freshness (fresh parsley) - that will satisfy both the eyes and the tummy!
Let me know how your soup turned out! Maybe you added some extra veggies, or some other toppings? I'd love to hear from you!
Love, Therese
