How would you define the onset of winter? The sun is rising late and setting early, people wearing hoodies in the North, and the farmer’s market is getting flooded with seasonal green vegetables. You will also start craving hot beverages and will want to indulge in lightweight recipes like soups and stews.
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With green vegetables taking over the markets, it is the best time to include them in your diet and make your meals healthy and nutritious. The easiest way to make them a part of your routine is to convert them into a bowl of comforting soup. Here are some recipes.
Spinach Soup
While you can make palak paneer and palak paratha with greens, you should also try making spinach soup. Use garlic and onion to add earthy notes and smokiness, vegetable broth for intense flavours, fresh cream for richness, and salt to balance out everything. These recipes will give you a smooth blend of ingredients that will load your body with iron and other essential nutrients.
Pea & Mint Soup
Peas are available fresh in the market in winter making them a perfect ingredient to stock your fridge. Saute onions and peas in a saucepan with butter, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, half a chopped green chilli, and salt. Once the peas are done, blend the mixture smoothly and pass it through a sieve. Now cook the concoction in vegetable broth and season it with chopped mint leaves and fresh cream.
Broccoli & Kale Soup
This soup might cost a little more than other options because broccoli and kale are expensive. However, you will not complain of experiencing cravings in the middle of the night after consuming it. Saute onion and garlicwith broccoli and kale. Blend them smooth and cook again in vegetable stock, salt, lemon juice, and pepper. Enjoy it with garlic bread on the side.
Detox Cabbage Soup
You would wonder why you don’t have to detox in winter. But the truth cannot be farther from this. With Christmas, New Year, and holidays, people tend to indulge in a lot of fried foods and baked goods. Hence, relishing cabbage and spinach detox soup can be helpful. Add shredded cabbage, ginger, carrots, and celery to the blend of vegetable stock and spinach. Cook it for 25 minutes to get the right texture and consistency.
Zucchini And Basil Soup
If you enjoy the fresh flavours of zucchini and basil, this soup is a must-try for you. After sauteing onions and garlic in a saucepan, cook zucchini and a few leaves of basil. Once you blend these ingredients, let them simmer with vegetable broth for 15 minutes. Garnish the soup with coriander leaves, chopped basil, and fresh black pepper.
Green Lentil Soup
For this recipe, you will need green lentils, ginger, Swiss chard, carrots, garlic, and vegetable broth. Once you cook all the ingredients together, use a hand blender to grind them so that the consistency of the soup is thick. You can add more vegetable broth and cook the soup for another 10 minutes. Add Swiss chard and garnish with coriander leaves.