A health boosting, liver loving green soup for Spring.

In keeping with Lent and our 40 day Spring cleanse, we often eat this soup at this time of year. I don’t really have a fixed recipe for it – a lot depends on what’s in the fridge. But here are the bones of it – play around with it as you like. But don’t leave out the fresh herbs or the lemon juice, they’re key elements, as is the black pepper. You could add turmeric for an added boost but it won’t be as green!

Super Green Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 leeks

1 broccoli head

4-6 cloves of garlic

4 sticks of celery

2 courgettes

1 green chili

Handful of fresh basil

Handful of fresh parsley

Handful of fresh mint

2 Handfuls of watercress

2 Handfuls of spinach

Handful of frozen peas

Vegetable Stock

Juice of one large lemon

Black Pepper

Salt to taste

Olive Oil

Method

Wash and roughly chop the leeks, courgettes, broccoli (use the stalk too), garlic and chili.

Heat some oil in a large saucepan, then add the leeks and garlic and fry gently for about a minute. Add the courgettes and chili and gently fry for another minute. Add the broccoli and enough vegetable stock to cover all the veg. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Wash and prep the remaining herbs and greens.

The idea with this recipe is not to overcook the vegetables. If you have a high speed blender that can deal with barely cooked broccoli and celery, then cook the veg for about 5 minutes. If you don’t then cook until the veg is softer. Turn off the heat and add the herbs, watercress and spinach. Transfer to your blender and blitz until smooth (the celery and broccoli may remain a bit fibrous).

Return the contents of the blender to the saucepan, and warm on a low heat. Add the peas and cook them through. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice, salt to taste, and a big blast of ground black pepper. Enjoy and feel virtuous!