Recipe: Mixed Vegetable And Walnut Soup

Mixed Vegetable or Hidden Vegetable And Walnut Soup is for those who are not too fond of their vegetables. Or are scared of them.

When a selection of veegtables are fried up with onion and garlic, spiced with herbs and pureed with walnuts, even the most avid veggie hater will not refuse this lovely, warming zuppa, as the Italians call soup, well, because it's delicious.

You might want to add additional seasonal vegetables, like spinach, mushrooms or cauliflower and herbs -- basil, parseley -- and a dash of cream or a little grated cheese, if you feel like being adventurous and have it with freshly-made garlic rolls or buttered warm sourdough bread.

Hidden Vegetable And Walnut Soup

Recipe and Image courtesy: California Walnuts

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled, diced
• 1 courgette or zucchini, diced, skin on
• 2 potatoes, peeled, diced
• 2 sticks celery, finely diced
• 2 pods garlic, finely chopped
• 150 gm walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 litre vegetable stock (please see the note below)
• 1 tsp dried rosemary

Method

• Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat, and fry the onion, carrot, courgette, potatoes and the celery for 10 minutes until soft.
  Add the garlic and ½ of the walnuts.
  Then add the stock, simmer, covered for 10 minutes.
  Take off heat.
  Puree with a stick or hand-held blender or in a liquidizser and serve, divided, between 3 to 4 soup bowls
• Meanwhile beforehand, heat the remaining olive oil in a small frying pan over low heat and fry the remaining walnuts and the rosemary for 2 minutes until golden.
  Sprinkle over the top of the soup in each bowl and serve hot with some crusty bread or toast or a salad or sandwiches.

Editor's Note: Liquid broth is available in some gourmet food stores. Or substitute the vegetable broth by combining 2 vegetable soup cubes or 2 vegetable /bouillon cubes or 2 vegetable/bouillon powder with 4 cups or 1 litre boiling water.

Or make vegetable broth from scratch by boiling 4 to 5 cups water with 1 to 2 large roughly chopped carrots, 3 stalks roughly chopped celery with leaves, 2 medium onions chopped in chunks, 5 to 6 whole black peppercorns, 2 tsp salt, 4 tbsp chopped parsley with stems, 2 laung or cloves, 5 pods garlic, 2 tej patta or bay leaves till vegetables are tender and the water is steeped with the flavour of the vegetables and spices.
Strain and use 4 cups or 1 litre for the recipe. Freeze the rest for future use.

Serve 1 to 2 portions of the soup straight away and cool and freeze the rest in individual portions for quick lunches and defrost before reheating.

• REDIFF FOOD