Summer Green Soup with Parsley and Almond Pesto
Just because it’s summer, it doesn’t mean I don’t want soup, especially when that soup is packed with summer produce. With a house full of newly dug potatoes, courgettes and broad beans, I took inspiration from a Nigella recipe for Summer Minestrone in the September 2004 issue of Delicious.
The soup recipe included green beans and asparagus, neither of which I had. It did strike me as an odd combination; asparagus is picked in the late spring / early summer and green beans later on. It’s unlikely the two could be harvested together if using local seasonal produce. However, I had some spinach to hand and an abundance of the other ingredients, so I used these instead. I decided against adding pasta and just used lots of potatoes instead. I doubled the amount of garlic and created a parsley and almond pesto rather than a basil one, which in any case didn’t contain nuts. A little more protein would not go amiss, I thought.
The soup was delicious and didn’t seem at all out of keeping with the weather, which admittedly wasn’t that hot. Simple to make and using up lots of odds and ends, it kept us going for several meals.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion - finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic - finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery - sliced
- 750g new potatoes - scrubbed and roughly chopped
- 2 litres of water or vegetable stock if preferred
- 3 courgettes - sliced
- 1 kg broad beans - podded and shelled
- 100g shelled or frozen peas
- large handfull spinach - roughly chopped
- 1 tsp tamari or salt to taste
- 1 plump clove garlic
- 25g parsley
- 25g almonds - whole or blanched
- 25g Parmesan cheese
- 50g extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat the oil in a large pan over a moderate heat and fry the onions for a couple of minutes.
- Add the celery and fry for another couple of minutes.
- Add the potatoes and garlic and fry, stirring occasionally for five minutes or so.
- Add the water (or stock if using) and tamari / salt and bring to the boil.
- Cover and simmer for five minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables and continue to cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
- Place all ingredients in a mini food-processor and blitz until a paste has formed.
- Stir 1 tbsp into the soup and add a teaspoonful to each bowl served.
I am sending this off to Jac over at Tinned Tomatoes for Meat Free Mondays.
The parsley pesto in and on the soup also makes it eligible for Cooking with Herbs with Karen at Lavender and Lovage.
Packed with veg as it is, the soup has to go to Extra Veg which is being hosted over at Jen’s Food this month on behalf of Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy.
I’m also sending it off to Jac over at Tinned Tomatoes for No Croutons Required.
Other summer soup recipes you might like
- Caramelised courgette soup – Fab Food 4 All
- Chilled picante summer soup – Fab Food 4 All
- Courgette & blue cheese soup – Kavey Eats
- Courgette, pea and lovage soup – Lancashire Food
- Creamy sweetcorn soup – The Foodie Couple Blog
- Pea, potato and parsley soup with blue cheese breadcrumbs – The Veg Space
- Spicy tomato soup – The Foodie Couple Blog
- Tomato, courgette and sweet potato soup – Lancashire Food
Kavey
7th August 2015 at 11:53 amI admit I have to be in the not for soup and don’t often think of it in summer but that looks lovely and fresh!
Choclette
7th August 2015 at 12:01 pmWell it was a bit of an unusual departure for me too Kavey, but I’m not quite sure why as we eat plenty of other “hot’ foods in summer.
Roz
7th August 2015 at 12:04 pmLike the idea of the pesto to add something extra 🙂
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:24 amYes it’s a fun idea Roz. I think I could have been a little more elegant with drizzling it, but I know you’d make it look beautiful.
Kate | The Veg Space
7th August 2015 at 1:40 pmWow this looks delicious Choclette, so summery and bright green. I have way too much parsley in the garden at the moment so will give this a try! Thanks for linking to my pea soup too!
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:25 amIt makes a nice pesto Kate. We used the remainder on pasta which was delicious.
Lucy @SupergoldenBakes
7th August 2015 at 1:48 pmI love eating soup in the summer. And stew. I guess I am a tad weird. But this looks so green and fresh and the pesto sounds yum. Another to add to my healthy diet (starting after I go on holiday).
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:27 amHopefully your diet will start after you come back from holiday Lucy! Well our British summer is a bit weird, so it’s not surprising we have strange eating habits 😉
Galina V
7th August 2015 at 3:41 pmFab summery soup, full of flavours! I do prefer pine nuts in pesto, but almonds could be an inspired alternative
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:28 amThanks Galina. Pine nuts are my favourite too, but they are expensive and it’s always good to ring the changes.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
7th August 2015 at 4:00 pmI love summer soups, they can be so refreshing. I just love the colour of this one too.
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:29 amThanks Dannii, it made a nice change to have a bowl of food with lots of varying shades of one colour.
Dom
7th August 2015 at 6:01 pmyou know I adore a soup! this looks so wonderfully healthy and tasty and then with the added pesto! Wow. And Almond pesto too. Win Win… big bowl please?
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:31 amHealthy, nourishing and delicious Dom. As you say – win win win 🙂
torviewtoronto
7th August 2015 at 7:03 pmlovely combination of flavours
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:33 amThank you, the vegetables were all good, but it was the pesto that really made it.
jenna @ butter loves company
7th August 2015 at 7:10 pmLove the site! And this soup looks so pretty and nourishing!
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:35 amThanks Jenna, that’s kind of you to say.
Nayna Kanabar
7th August 2015 at 9:31 pmWhat a delicious and tasty looking soup. I love the vibrant colour.
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:37 amThanks Nayna. I really enjoyed all the different shades of green.
Riz @ Chocolates & Chai
7th August 2015 at 9:36 pmI usually avoid warm soups in the summer, but I’ve had a little tickle in my throat recently. So maybe I should try out a lovely warm soup like yours 🙂
Riz
Chocolates & Chai
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 9:37 amAh Riz, it sounds this soup is just what you need, summer or no summer 🙂
Homemade & Yummy
8th August 2015 at 4:33 pmHello. I really love the sound of this soup!! It is so GREEN!! All the flavours sound so wonderful…will have to give it a try!!
Choclette
8th August 2015 at 6:33 pmHaha, yes it is indeed green and so many shades of it too 🙂
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
9th August 2015 at 7:35 amI am totally up for soup in the summer especially with a large dollop of pesto.
Choclette
9th August 2015 at 5:14 pmPesto just makes everything better Bintu 🙂
Nadia's Healthy Kitchen
9th August 2015 at 5:55 pmMmm sounds gorgeous! And you’ve managed to fit so many veggies in there! Love the idea of adding pesto to soup! Need to try it soon 😀
Choclette
10th August 2015 at 1:06 pmThanks Nadia, the pesto is the only seasoning needed for this soup being in it and on it AND it’s delicious 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
9th August 2015 at 6:15 pmI love soup all year round and just had cauliflower soup for the dinner. Your green soup looks so delicious with pesto.
Choclette
10th August 2015 at 1:07 pmThanks Angie, glad I’m not the only one to venture into soup in the summer. I’m a big fan of opus and cauliflower soup is delicious too.
Ness
9th August 2015 at 8:45 pmI love soup at any time of year and the addition of a pesto in it is always going to be a winner with me!
Choclette
10th August 2015 at 1:09 pmThanks Ness. I don’t quite know how we managed before pesto came along.
Heidi Roberts
9th August 2015 at 10:29 pmI love getting so much produce and coming up with ideas to use it!!
Choclette
10th August 2015 at 1:10 pmHow’s your allotment going Heidi? I expect you are well ahead of us.
Jen
11th August 2015 at 8:13 pmA very vibrant green soup, good idea to switch to a more seasonal selection of veggies too. Thanks for sharing with #ExtraVeg 🙂
Choclette
12th August 2015 at 8:30 amThanks Jen. Suddenly there are lots of very nice seasonal green vegetables about, so I think this soup may become a regular for us over the next few weeks.
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours
23rd August 2015 at 12:26 pmSoup topped with pesto is just wonderful, as are all those lovely herbs. Thanks for linking up to #extraveg
Choclette
24th August 2015 at 8:20 amWith all the rain we’ve been having down here Helen, pretty much any sort of soup feels welcome at the moment 😉