Six Soups to Beat the Cooking Grind (including a Recipe for Celery Soup w/ Spicy Red Pepper Flakes)

Cook, Eat, Repeat* is a mantra for how some of us are feeling these days. But recently I've stumbled on a system that is helping to cut back on the time spent in the kitchen. With a bit of prep work and a freezer, in one hour you can make enough vegetable broth to prepare one soup recipe right away and freeze enough broth to make two other recipes at later times. Each soup recipe takes under an hour and yields 4 servings. Eat a bowl now, freeze 3. Then all you have to do is Thaw, Heat, and Eat for up to 9 times!

For variety, add leftovers (such as spicy Indian veggies), or mix and match 1/2 containers of compatible soups, or even serve them cold. The soups are easy to make, easy on the food budget, and easy on planet earth.

Below are six soup recipes to try (including the Celery Soup Recipe):

1. Cauliflower, Carrots,
Whole Roasted Garlic
& Turmeric Soup (V)

2. Butternut & Acorn 
Squash Soup w/ 
Croutons Three Ways

3. French Country
Celery Root Soup

4. Vegan Fennel Soup
w/ Maple Syrup Swirl

5. Coconut Curry
 Mushroom Soup

6. RECIPE FOR CELERY SOUP w/ SPICY RED PEPPER FLAKES 

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4 Persimmons**

Ingredients:

 For the Vegetable Broth:

1 onion, skin on, sliced in half

2-3 carrots, sliced horizontally

3-4 celery stalks

Leftover veggies such as green parts of leeks 

8 sprigs fresh thyme

1-2 bay leaves

1 small bunch fresh parsley

12 whole black peppercorns

Water to cover the vegetables +2"

For the Celery Soup:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter (use non-dairy butter or 2 tablespoons of olive oil for vegan)

2 leeks, white part chopped horizontally (or 1 medium yellow onion)

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 large head of celery including leaves, stalks sliced horizontally (about 5-6 cups)

1 Hannah sweet potato (about 1 lb), peeled and chopped into 1/2" cubes

Generous pinch of fine sea salt

4 cups vegetable broth or water

1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, or personal preference

1/4 cup fresh dill, optional

1/2 cup parsley, optional

Fine sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

For the Vegetable Broth:

1. In a large soup pot, add the prepared ingredients and water. Over medium high heat, bring everything to a point just when bubbles appear around the edges and steam rises from the top. Turn down heat and simmer gently for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir occassionally. When cool enough to handle, strain into another pot. Set aside 4 cups of stock for the soup and freeze the extra in quart containers for future uses. 

For the Celery Soup:

1. In a dutch oven or soup pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and stir for about a minute. Add the garlic, celery, sweet potato and a generous pinch of salt. Saute for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Add the broth to just cover the vegetables and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cover the pot. Cook the vegetables until they have softened and a fork can pierce the potatoes, about 20 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat. Add the red pepper flakes, black pepper and herbs of choice. Stir. Taste for seasonings. 

4. Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or when cooled, in a food processor or with a potato masher until creamy. 

Leftover soup will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in covered containers, or freeze in appropriate pint containers or baggies for up to 2 months.

#paleo #soup #celery #sweetpotato #Hanna #vegetables #recipes #vegetarian #vegan #healthyeats #instarecipes #glutenfree #dairyfree #antiinflammatory #butternut #acorn #croutons #wholefoods  #goodeats #cheapeats #chilipowder #redpepperflakes #beets #coconut #curry #borsht #pumpkin 

Recipe adapted from The Simple Veganista here.

*Cook, Eat, Repeat is the catchy title of Nigella Lawson’s cookbook available here.

**My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.