Delicious Vegan Recipe
Soups can be great in the summer even when you’re hot and wanting something light. This lemon vegetable and quinoa soup is the perfect light meal to savor as the warm weather takes over. No eggs or dairy are used in this recipe, but a creamy consistency is created using blended parsnips (or carrots). With the vibrant zest of citrus and the refreshing blend of seasonal vegetables, this can be a wonderful light lunch or a savory first course to a hearty salad or a meal of poached salmon or roasted chicken.
Creamy Lemon Vegetable & Quinoa Soup Ingredients:
- ½ cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- 6 medium parsnips (or carrots), peeled
- 1 clove of fresh garlic, peeled and minced
- 3 cups of vegetable broth
- Salt to taste (broth may have plenty of salt)
- 1 stalk of celery chopped
- 1 leek (slice whites only)
- 2 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup of sliced crimini (or shite button) mushrooms
- ½ cup of sweet peas (frozen is fine)
- ½ teaspoon of fresh or dried thyme
- ¼ cup of quinoa
Directions:
Bring vegetable broth to a boil and add chopped parsnips (or carrots), cooking through until they are soft. Add the vegetables to a blender and blend until smooth, adding broth as needed to blend. Place the blended mixture back in the pot with the remaining broth and combine thoroughly with lemon juice. Add in the quinoa and thyme and simmer for 20 minutes. Add in the remaining vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes.
Optional:
May serve with sliced chicken breast or shrimp as a protein. Add or subtract vegetables to your particular taste.