Recipe My experimental soup recipe

Amateur1

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This recipe is based (but not limited to) vegetables which are listed as better cooked than raw in a book "The science of cooking" by Dr Stuart Farrimond on p.150.
Please let me have your thoughts eg on timings, ordering of adding vegetables and anything else you can think of.

Mixed Vegetable Soup 1 – Alistair’s recipe

Ingredients

2 onion
340g courgette
1 swede. Keep on as much skin as possible as this is healthy
500g tomatoes
230g asparagus
225g spinach
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp each of cumin and turmeric
2 tsp mixed herbs

Instructions

Saute onions in olive oil for 5 minutes
Add swede and some water. Cook for 15 minutes
Add tomatoes, courgette, asparagus, spinach. Cook for further 10 minutes
Add salt and spices
Taste.
Pulverise to make it into soup
Serve
 
It's a puree (pulverized) which won't allow for the nuance your asking. A soup where the vegetables are served to a specific doneness based on density, type and size, then consumed allows for those critiques.
 
Thanks very much. Any suggestions for a protein? One way would be to simply dip some nuts into the soup when eating it.
 
Thanks very much. Any suggestions for a protein? One way would be to simply dip some nuts into the soup when eating it.
I've never dipped my nuts in my soup, but each to their own.

I'm not an expert on veg protein, but I guess you could throw some frozen edemame beans in if you wanted.
 
What am I trying to accomplish? Good question. Just brainstorming at the moment trying to come up with a healthy balanced soup that tastes nice.
 
What am I trying to accomplish? Good question. Just brainstorming at the moment trying to come up with a healthy balanced soup that tastes nice.
Ok, cool. I think your overthink the "healthy balanced" part of a recipe and that can really throw a spanner into the works. It's our overall diet that should be healthy and not every single recipe. I've seen quite a few recipes from you that have that theme running through them. Also nothing should be considered unhealthy even a Big Mack or oreo's have nutrition in them that would benefit someone somewhere. Personally I blame the food and health industry for spreading the unhealthy diatribe. I eat mostly a whole food diet from mostly local sources and consume a diet that is higher in protein and fat, with fewer carbs than widely recommended and no 2 people will consume the same proportions of macronutrients which is perfectly fine. You can literally combine just about any products to make a soup and would be considered healthy. You have to start thinking about context and dosage before health is even brought up in a conversation. Cheers.
 
Last edited:
2 onion
340g courgette
1 swede. Keep on as much skin as possible as this is healthy
500g tomatoes
230g asparagus
225g spinach
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp each of cumin and turmeric
2 tsp mixed herbs
I too was a bit mystified by your post, but let me give you my thoughts, since I´ve been (mostly) vegetarian for over 55 years and know something about balancing up a veggie diet.
Cooking times for each vegetable is irrelevant because you´re going to blitz the ingredients into a purée - no texture.
Your pulverised soup is going to taste a bit unusual, I think, because there are lots of contrasting flavours there. The courgette and, I feel, the asparagus are going to be lost. Swede is a fairly imposing flavour and I think it might just clash with the tomatoes. I´ve never cooked swede and tomato together, but that´s not a reason NOT to do so. The spinach, to be honest - I don´t see the point. Yes, it´s "nutritious" and full of iron,minerals and certain vitamins, but it´s going to mask the courgettes and the asparagus, IMHO.
What would I use instead? I´d sub the swede for potatoes, to start with. The spuds will thicken the soup but will not impose on the rest of the ingredients. I´d cut out the asparagus and use carrots instead, and I´d eliminate the spinach and use celery. OK with the turmeric and cumin, but I´d use (a) parsley (b) coriander leaf (c)basil or oregano instead of "mixed herbs". Then, instead of frying the ingredients, I´d splash them with the olive oil, use a tsp of the salt and roast them in the oven first , before blending.
Protein? Lentils, peas, and beans could provide that, rather than nuts (which seem a bit incongruous).
Hope that helps.
 
I too was a bit mystified by your post, but let me give you my thoughts, since I´ve been (mostly) vegetarian for over 55 years and know something about balancing up a veggie diet.
Cooking times for each vegetable is irrelevant because you´re going to blitz the ingredients into a purée - no texture.
Your pulverised soup is going to taste a bit unusual, I think, because there are lots of contrasting flavours there. The courgette and, I feel, the asparagus are going to be lost. Swede is a fairly imposing flavour and I think it might just clash with the tomatoes. I´ve never cooked swede and tomato together, but that´s not a reason NOT to do so. The spinach, to be honest - I don´t see the point. Yes, it´s "nutritious" and full of iron,minerals and certain vitamins, but it´s going to mask the courgettes and the asparagus, IMHO.
What would I use instead? I´d sub the swede for potatoes, to start with. The spuds will thicken the soup but will not impose on the rest of the ingredients. I´d cut out the asparagus and use carrots instead, and I´d eliminate the spinach and use celery. OK with the turmeric and cumin, but I´d use (a) parsley (b) coriander leaf (c)basil or oregano instead of "mixed herbs". Then, instead of frying the ingredients, I´d splash them with the olive oil, use a tsp of the salt and roast them in the oven first , before blending.
Protein? Lentils, peas, and beans could provide that, rather than nuts (which seem a bit incongruous).
Hope that helps.
Talking about the specific recipe I agree that swede is a very dominant flavor and using subtle veg is pretty much futile for adding any additional flavor. Sauteing in bacon fat can and would compete and compliment with swede very well for example if not vegetarian or vegan. I love a good swede puree, with lots of butter lol. I as well use baby spinach in my spring asparagus soup recipe near the end for color, it adds a vibrant green without adding any flavor for the most part. Cheers.
 
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