I have a confession to make…I’ve been in a bit of a food rut lately. It’s been a cold, windy and wet week in Melbourne—like winter all over again. Mother Nature just can’t seem to make up her mind! I’ve been excited at the emergence of all things Spring and preparing lighter fare for the warmer weather, so perhaps I’m feeling a bit caught between seasons. As you’ve seen from previous posts, I have wonderfully generous neighbours who share their organic bounty, so my fridge is overflowing with green goodness, but a cooling salad just hasn’t had its normal appeal. Despite today’s blue skies and warming sun, I was still a bit slow off the mark from the previous dreary days.
I thought back to a conversation with my dear friend Nicole (an absolute wiz in the kitchen) who described a soup she had made over the weekend from whatever she had in the fridge. I really envy my friends who can just throw ingredients together (you know who you are) and it always tastes amazing! A lot of my cooking requires careful consideration, planning and testing…or at least that’s what I tell myself. I had loads of garden-fresh veggies in the test kitchen, so I thought I’d try a “between the seasons” green soup for lunch using my earlier chat with Nicole as inspiration. The result: a delectable dish that could be served hot or cold, depending on your own weather mood! While I made mine in a Thermomix, I have adapted the posted recipe for the stovetop and blending using a stick blender. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves organic garlic, finely chopped
- ½ brown onion, chopped
- 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium organic zucchini, chopped
- 1.5 cups mixed greens (I used spinach, purple kale and Tuscan cabbage)
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or water if you were lacking like I was today)
- 1 cup organic coconut milk
- A pinch of cayenne pepper and nutmeg
- 1 splash high quality Worcestershire Sauce (optional, but I used Bereenberg to lift the flavour)
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Murray River Pink Salt or Himalayan pink salt, to taste
- Coconut milk or coconut yoghurt to serve
Heat a olive oil in a dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until sweating and soft, about 2 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for another 4 minutes. Add greens and continue stirring just until they begin to wilt. Add the stock and coconut milk, cayenne, nutmeg and black pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally until warmed through (about 10 minutes). Season with salt, add worcestershire and remove from heat. Blend to desired consistency. Ladle into bowls, add a swirl of coconut milk and serve…but most of all, enjoy!