Soup for Spring

by Laura Donnelly — April 9, 2007

Passover and Easter have come and gone, the longer days are giving us more time outdoors, and spring flowers are peeping out of the ground. I am just itching to start a kitchen garden. This is also a good time to start lightening our diets with spring vegetable soups.

The French fervently celebrate the first appearance of spring vegetables and have mastered the art of elevating even lettuce, sorrel, and other unexpected greens into gorgeous velvety soups--some creamy, some lemony--or herb-infused broths. Fresh young beets, sweet peas, mint, asparagus, and spinach are the stars at this time of year.

Soup is a perfect one-dish meal. In hotter climates, like brutally humid Singapore, a healthy light broth is served with bits of vegetables, seafood, and light golden chips of fried garlic. It is spicy and light, with minimal cooking time to reduce heating up the kitchen.

Start your soup with a well made mild stock, either chicken or vegetable. A cream of asparagus soup can utilize the less attractive stems, along with some leeks, and can be puréed for the final product. Fresh pea soup benefits from a touch of fresh mint or dill. Spinach is one of the first greens we can plant in early spring. Notorious (along with sorrel) for its shrinking ability when cooked, it makes the most beautiful green soup, earning its Persian title as "the prince of vegetables." Peas are a good example of frozen being just as good as fresh, especially for soups. Peas begin to deteriorate as soon as picked, so unless you grow your own, or know a reputable farm stand, by all means use the frozen petit pois.

If you are serving soup as a first course, keep it simple and pretty. If soup is your main course, feel free to enrich it with a touch of cream, some homemade croutons, a big salad, and a compatible wine. A perfect springtime Sunday lunch!

Vegetable Stock

Every great soup begins with a flavorful base, but sometimes a strong meat stock is too overpowering for the flavor of delicate vegetables. Try this homemade vegetable stock as an alternative. Don't add the wine until toward the end of cooking; otherwise, you'll prevent the vegetables from releasing their flavor.

Makes 2 quarts

2 carrots, sliced
2 leeks, white and green parts, cleaned and sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
2 turnips, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
1 bunch parsley
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup mushroom stems
1 cup dry white wine

Combine all ingredients except wine in large stockpot. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to boil, then turn heat down, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add wine and simmer 10 minutes more. Strain through medium mesh sieve, then refrigerate.