‘Flavour, colour and crunch’: Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for vegan soup – The Guardian
Truth be told, I’m not brilliant at either New Year’s resolutions or giving things up. If pushed to choose, however, I’d far sooner not eat meat for January than refuse the odd glass of wine, which at this time of the year is frankly medicinal. And not eating meat or fish is the most brilliant way of having to ramp up flavour, colour and crunch: vibrant green peas, bright orange squash, palate-wakening aromatics, crunchy seeds and nuts, fresh herbs, chilli heat … The food we eat in January, and beyond, can be as much about dialling things up as it is about giving things up.
Green pea and coconut soup with soy sunflower seeds (pictured above)
This is everything I want in the depths of winter, but it’s also one to earmark for summer, when it works just as well chilled. It’s delicious with a slice of toasted ciabatta or some cooked rice noodles.
Prep 30 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 4
3 tbsp olive oil
2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped (140g)
2 leeks, trimmed and finely chopped (170g)
3 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped (110g)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Fine sea salt and black pepper
2 makrut lime leaves
2 sticks lemongrass, bashed
1 x 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk
500g frozen peas, defrosted
For the soy seeds
40g sunflower seeds
40g olive oil
20g piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
¼ tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp soy sauce
Put a large saucepan on a medium-high heat, add the oil, celery, leeks, shallots, garlic and a half-teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, for 10-12 minutes, until the vegetables are soft but not coloured.
Stir in the lime leaves, lemongrass and plenty of ground black pepper, and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mix catching, for two minutes more. Stir in the coconut milk and 1.2 litres of water, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium and leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, make the soy seeds. Put the sunflower seeds, oil, ginger and chilli in …….