Description
Girl Soup is a flexible recipe guideline for a customizable, make-ahead blended soup made from veggies, legumes, and simple ingredients, meant to be a nourishing lunch you can sip straight from a mug. Use this as a starting point, and build the soup that tastes good to you!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-2 cups finely diced aromatics (such as onions, green onions, leeks, garlic)
- coarse kosher salt
- 4-6 cups diced veggies (such as hard squash, root veggies or cruciferous veggies)
- 2-3 teaspoons dried spice (such as italian seasoning, curry powder or any blend that will go well with veggies)
- 6 cups bone broth, or any combination of stock and or water
- 1 (14-ounce) drained and rinsed canned beans (such as chickpeas or white beans)
- 1 cup higher protein dairy (such as cottage cheese, greek yogurt, crème fraîche)
- 1-2 tablespoons acid such as vinegar (apple cider, white wine, red wine) or fresh lime or lemon juice
- 1 small bunch fresh herbs (such as cilantro, dill, basil)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Cook the aromatics with a big pinch of salt until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to brown any of the aromatics.
- Add the veggies and cook until beginning to soften, 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in the spice and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
- Pour in the chicken stock and the beans and turn the heat up to medium-high.
- Bring the soup up to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the veggies are mostly tender, about 15 minutes, adding more broth if the liquid begins to evaporate.
- Shut off the heat, let the soup briefly cool if adding in dairy.
- Add in the herbs and cottage cheese or other dairy, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth, adding additional chicken stock as needed for desired consistency. Strain the soup if desired.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding in additional salt, pepper, chicken broth or lime juice as needed.
- Enjoy immediately, or save for later.
- If freezing, make sure to leave some space between the soup and the lid of the container—especially if you’re using glass—as the soup will expand as it freezes and could cause cracking. To reheat from frozen, it’s best to thaw it in the fridge for 12–24 hours if you can. Then heat it to a simmer either in a saucepan on the stove or in the microwave.
Notes
Seasoning makes or breaks a good soup. Taste as you go, and layer flavor early—especially when sautéing.
You don’t need dairy, but cottage cheese, crème fraîche, or yogurt add protein and creaminess. Just reheat gently so it doesn’t split.
Be careful when blending hot liquids. Crack the lid and tilt it away from you—steam needs an escape route. Straining the final blended soup is optional but makes it velvety.
Add in additional broth as needed. The soup should be pourable, not brothy—thick enough to coat a spoon.