Before I expound on the virtues of this incredible soup, I need to thank my friend and food mentor Skya, of Ola Loa Wellness, for introducing me to the basics of this recipe.
It’s difficult to say enough about this soup but I’m going to give it a try:
It’s fantastically good for you. It’s packed with all the nutrients from the veggies that go into it, and when blended, the soup has a velvety and luscious texture.
Green soup is delicious beyond the sum of it’s simple parts. It’s really just a bunch of vegetables and broth, but somehow, when it’s done, it tastes like a gourmet creation.
It’s simple to make. The prep time is about 15 minutes, it cooks largely unattended for 30 minutes, and the blending time is another 6 minutes or so. And the recipe makes a lot of soup which keeps in the fridge for about 5 days, assuming it doesn’t get eaten first.
Very little cooking experience is required. Everything gets blended so there’s no need to chop things in little pieces. The cooking time is very forgiving…if the vegetables cook for a little longer it really doesn’t matter. Only 1 pot is required and everything gets put in almost at the same time.
This soup is great for any meal and never gets boring. We often eat this, reheated, for a quick and nourishing breakfast. Serve it with a salad and some cooked sausage or bacon on top and you have dinner. Pack it in a thermos and you have a great hot lunch. It’s also a go-to comfort soup for anyone in my family that isn’t feeling well. We almost always have a pot of this on hand in the fridge.
If you make this with homemade broth (see my recipes for Chicken or Beef Bone Broth) then you’ve just seriously upped the health value of the soup because you’ve added many vital minerals to your diet. Don’t get nervous. Homemade broth is not a difficult thing.
Do you have vegetables in your refrigerator that you intended to cook and never got around to doing it? You enthusiastically bought them with the best of intentions and now they’re past their prime and a little wilted but you feel bad throwing them out, wasting all that money, and not eating them? No problem. Chuck them in the pot. Green soup doesn’t require pretty vegetables. Just make sure they’re not moldy or rotten. Wilted is OK.
And one last thing – the vegetables can be varied and the soup will still come out well. So if you have something that needs using up, just put it in there. Here are some other vegetables that will work besides the ones in the recipe: asparagus, brussel sprouts, cabbage (any kind), corn, fennel, garlic (just a clove or two), jerusalem artichoke, kohlrabi, leek, lima beans, okra, parsnip, potato, pumpkin, radish, rutabaga, sweet potato, turnip, and winter squash.
Once you get the hang of the recipe, have fun and experiment. Here’s a picture of all the vegetables you’ll be eating:
- 4 tablespoons butter or coconut oil if you are dairy-free and paleo
- 2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped into 1" pieces
- 3 medium carrots, unpeeled cut into 2 inch long rounds
- 8 cups chicken stock, homemade or organic canned
- 2 stalks celery, cut into 2" long pieces
- 3 zucchini, about 11/4 pounds total, cut into 2 inch long rounds
- 3/4 lb string beans, stem end removed and left whole
- 1 1/2-2 pounds of any type of kale, stemmed and unchopped (note: instead of all kale, you may use any mixture of greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens, swiss chard, and/or beet greens)
- 2 cups frozen peas, no need to thaw
- Salt, 3 teaspoons or to taste
- Optional Additional Vegetables: add to pot at the same time as the other vegetables, see bottom of post for more vegetable suggestions.
- 1 large head of broccoli, cut into big florets
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, about 1 pound, core removed cut into big florets
- 1-2 yellow squash, cut into 2" rounds
- Melt butter in a large stock pot. Saute onion and carrots until a little softened, for about 5-7 minutes.
- Add chicken stock and all other vegetables. The vegetables will almost fill the pot. Don't worry that you've added too many. They reduce a lot.
- Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer, covered, until all vegetables feel soft when stuck with a fork, about 30 minutes or so. Stir from time to time, pushing leaves into broth with a long-handled spoon, to make sure they're mostly submerged.
- Blend soup in batches in a Vitamix or blender on high speed until soup is a very smooth, velvety consistency. Pour blended batches into a large bowl or another pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Reheat on low.
- Soup may be made a day ahead of time, covered and refrigerated. Heat gently when ready to serve.
- For dinner I serve Green Soup with pan fried cut-up chicken sausages. My favorite are Aidells Chicken Apple Sausages, Costco sells them. Put cut-up sausages in a pan with a little butter or oil and toss until heated and lightly browned. They're already fully cooked when you buy them, so you're just heating them.
