Vegan Spring Beauty Soup

This light and lovely vegan soup was inspired by a non-vegetarian Spring Vegetable Soup recipe by Ellie Krieger, published in Washington Post Voraciously. We wrote about it in April 2021. We’ve broadened the palette of vegetables, adding asparagus, carrots, string beans, snap peas and turnips, swapping turnips for potatoes and basing the soup on a vegan Leek Broth, rather than chicken broth. If you happen to find Tokyo turnips (aka baby turnips), those would be delightful in place of the regular ones, and the greens can be used as well (in place of some of the spinach or in addition to it). Depending on the size of the Tokyo turnips, cut them in half or quarters; no need to peel them.

The recipe may look involved, but assuming the Leek Broth is already made, it only takes 20 or 25 minutes to put together.

If you prefer to use chicken broth, it is wonderful that way as well, and it would no doubt be excellent using dashi. And feel free to play with the vegetables, adding or subtracting, using different fresh herbs (chervil, tarragon, mint and cilantro would all feel at home) or changing up the amounts as you like. You could also make it with any vegetable broth, as long as you love the taste of the broth on its own. (Store-bought vegetable broths often have off-flavors or little flavor.)

Note: If you’re using our recipe for Leek Broth and you don’t have quite enough, just add water to equal 6 cups.

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

5 oz. / 140 g asparagus (trimmed weight)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, sliced in half vertically and then thinly sliced into half-circles (about 5 ounces / 140 g trimmed)

8 oz. / 225 g turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 cups Leek Broth

1 cup frozen peas (no need to defrost) or fresh shelled English peas

3 oz. / 85 g sugar snap peas (about 22 pods), separated in two with the peas still clinging to the pods (or cut them in half diagonally)

1 ounce / 28 g French green beans, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (generous 1/4 cup)

3 oz. / 85 g slim, young carrots, sliced into thin rounds (about 1/4 inch)

1 cup (packed, but not too tight) baby spinach leaves

1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley

2 tablespoons roughly chopped dill, plus additional for garnish, if you like

Instructions

1. Cut the tips off the asparagus stalks, and slice each tip in half vertically. Slice the stalks on a sharp diagonal into 1 1/2-inch lengths. Set the tips and stalks aside (no need to keep them separate).

2. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat, add the leeks. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until they’re tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the turnips, along with the salt and pepper. Cook for one minute. Stir in the Leek Broth, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the turnips are tender, about 8 minutes.

3. Add the frozen peas, snap peas, green beans, asparagus tips and sliced stalks and carrots, and stir to combine. Bring back to a simmer, and cook over medium heat until the asparagus stalks are just-tender, about 4 or 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until it’s wilted, about 30 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from the heat, and stir in the parsley and dill. Divide the soup into 6 bowls, garnishing each with additional dill, if desired.