Broccoli & Quinoa Soup with Ginger and Tumeric
I go though stages of either making soups all the time or leaving them of the menu for absolute ages. When I was little, my mum used to cook soups almost daily, either as a starter, or simply as a quick replacement for a big meal, especially when she was short of time but wanted us to still have something hot and healthy.
HEALTH BENEFITS
I love soups for soooo many reasons! Soups can be truly healthy and full of nutritional benefits. Since they are mostly liquid, they are also a great way to stay hydrated. They fill you up and provide a great boost to our immune system, especially when you’re fighting cold or flu.
Soups can be truly healthy and full of nutritional benefits. I often come across people who don’t necessarily enjoy raw vegetables but they will happily eat a soup, so having a soup is a great way of getting some veggies into your tummy, even if you aren’t that keen, especially when it comes to kids.
SOUPS ARE FOR EVERYONE
You can make endless amounts of varieties of soups and even the most inexperienced cooks can easily create a basic recipe. They are cheap to make and therefore great for those on a budget. You don’t need a lot to make a soup either and that’s an added bonus. Often, all you need is as little as 4 to 5 ingredients and as long as you have an onion and water, you are pretty much good to go. Soups are also a great way of using up any old vegetables, and perfect for batch cooking and freezing.
I N G R E D I E N T S :
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 whole broccoli (both stalks and florets)
- 2 celery stalks
- a thumb of finely chopped fresh ginger
- 1 tsp of tumeric powder
- 1 litre of vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (1/2 cup uncooked weight)
- 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
- juice of 1/2 lime
- Salt and pepper
- a drizzle of coconut cream (or dairy-free creme fraiche or yogurt)
M E T H O D :
Start with separating the broccoli florets from the stalk and set the florets aside for later. Finely chop the broccoli stalk, the onion and celery and add all into a large saucepan with 1 heaped table spoon of coconut oil, then fry for about 8 minutes. Stir occasionally until softened and lightly coloured, then stir in the ginger and tumeric. If needed, use a splash of water to prevent the veggies from burning.
Add the broccoli florets to the other vegetables and cook for a further few minutes. Pour in the stock, cover with a lid, bring to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for further 5 minutes.
Quinoa:
Use twice as much water as quinoa (1 part of quinoa to 2 parts of water), then cook uncovered until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. Once the water is all absorbed, remove the pot from the heat, cover with a lid and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. To add a bit of flavour, stir in a table spoon of soy sauce. Set aside.
Transfer the soup content into a food processor and blend for a few seconds, still to retain slight texture. Return into the saucepan, mix in the cooked quinoa, squeeze in the lime juice and season to your liking with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Add an additional spoon of quinoa and drizzle with a coconut cream or yogurt.
Enjoy x L x
