Winter green soup (cruciferous vegetables soup)
A low-carb soup packed with winter vegetables that is healthy and easy to make. Freezer-friendly too!
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 - 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 large leek; trimmed, halved, white parts thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 12 oz (350g) Brussels sprouts; ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed, sliced into small disks
- 12oz (350g) broccoli florets (from 1 medium-to-large broccoli)
- 27oz (750g) cauliflower florets (from 1 large cauliflower)
- 5 1/2 cups (1.3 L) vegetable stock
- 1 small bunch parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 1/3 cups (5.3oz | 150g) raw cashews (optional)
- pepper, to taste
For serving
- sour cream or creme fraiche
- cashews, roughly chopped
- fresh herbs, such as parsley and chives
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Then stir in leeks, salt and thyme and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the leeks soften.
- Add brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower florets. Mix with the leeks and let vegetables cook and sizzle for about a minute. Pour over the vegetable stock, just until all the vegetables are almost completely covered. Set temperature to high heat to bring soup to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cover saucepan with a lid.
- Cook (maintain a simmer) until the vegetables are tender, around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat, toss in the parsley and cashews and keep covered for a few minutes.
- Working in 2-4 batches, transfer soup to your food processor or blender (you can also use an immersion blender) and puree soup until smooth. Transfer soup back to saucepan, taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, cashews and chopped herbs. Serve.
Notes
Use a 4-quart (4-liter) saucepan at a minimum. With soups like this one it’s better to go bigger.
Use all the vegetables: Because you are pureeing this soup, you can use parts of vegetables that you otherwise might not use if you were making a stir fry or similar. IF your cauliflower or broccoli have nice, fresh looking outer leaves chop them and throw them in the saucepan along with the florets.
As you trim the cauliflower or broccoli stalks, only remove the very ends and any weird looking parts and chop up the rest for the soup. The stalks add a nice creamy texture to the soup.
Alternately, you can also chop the leaves and stalks and freeze them to use whenever you’re making vegetable stock.
While I give pretty exact measurements for all the vegetables, feel free to adjust the quantities, depending on what is available to you. This is a great soup to use up leftover greens and other vegetables.
Cashews are completely optional, but add such a creamy texture that you should definitely try adding them, in case you’re not allergic or have a sensitivity to nuts.
Alternatives that make the soup extra creamy: sour cream, soy creamer, coconut milk.
Store leftover soup covered in the fridge for 1-2 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Find it online: https://www.sugarsalted.com/winter-green-soup/
