Vegan Recipes - Soups

Puree of Spring Greens

By Nava Atlas

For some years, my family has belonged to a community-supported farm. In late spring, there is a plethora of greens of all kinds-Asian greens, spinach, and lettuce. At some point there seems to be more than can be used in a week, even by my veggie-loving family. That's when I turn to this recipe-it has become an annual tradition! If you love greens and have plenty of them, you will find this nourishing recipe useful as well as delicious. Make sure all greens are very well washed.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups water with 2 vegetable bouillon cubes. or other stock option (page 00)
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 bunch Asian greens, any variety, thick midribs trimmed, leaves coarsely chopped (see Note)
8 to 10 ounces spinach, stemmed and well washed
2 heads green lettuce, coarsely chopped
1/2 to 1 cup parsley leaves
1 to 2 cups rice milk, or as needed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Silk creamer for garnish, optional

Directions:
Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to saute until the onion is golden.

Add the water with bouillon cubes and potatoes. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the Asian greens and cover. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the spinach leaves and cover; cook just until they wilt down.

Add the lettuce leaves and parsley and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, or until all the greens are just tender.

Puree the mixture in batches until smooth in a food processor. Return to the soup pot and stir in enough rice milk to give the soup a slightly thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

For an optional, pretty garnish, pour some creamer into a small-spouted pitcher and pour a spiral design onto the top of each serving.

Note: For Asian greens, you can use a small bunch of regular or baby bok choy, tatsoi, or mizuna.

Photo: Theresa Raffetto

Nava Atlas is the author of Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook, Vegan Express, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, and many other cookbooks designed for busy families who want healthful vegan and vegetarian food. She's written many articles for magazines such as Vegetarian Times, Veggie Life, and Cooking Light. She's the creator of the popular Web site In a Vegetarian Kitchen (www.vegkitchen.com) and the vegan blog Veggie Talk (http://blog.vegkitchen.com). She lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York with her husband and two sons.

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