Last month, I discovered a hydroponics grower in Mumbai called the Herbivore Farms. They grow salad leafs and chards and herbs and once a week, send a box over to your home. The lettuces are so fresh, it just automatically makes for healthy salad eating. Then there's chard: I added it to stir fries and Asian style miso fried rice the first week. This week, I made green soup.
Anna Thomas' soup is less recipe, more a canvas to do with as you please. The first time I'd made this soup a few months back, it was with spinach and coriander and spring onions. This time, I used the swiss chard and carrot top leaves. It turned out pretty amazing both ways so make use of whatever green leafy vegetable and herbs your fridge is overrun with at the moment.
Anna's original recipe uses arborio rice to thicken the soup. I used a potato which works equally well. Don't be stingy with either the slow fried onions or the lime juice; both contribute to most of the flavour in this one. Here's your recipe:
Ingredients
2 bunches of whatever leafy vegetables or herbs or combination you like
1 small potato
1 small onion
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1 tsp salt
juice of 1 lime
olive oil
black pepper
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan. Add finely chopped onions, stir to coat with oil, then reduce the heat and let onions cook slowly until browned.
In the meantime, start your soup. Peel and dice the potato. Wash the greens, remove any tough stalks and tear/chop roughly. Peel and grate the ginger. Add the potato to a largish pan with 1 litre water and 1 tsp salt. As the water starts to boil, add the greens and the ginger. Reduce the heat and cook until the potato is tender and cooked through. Add a bit of the simmering liquid to the onions, stir and add them to the soup. Turn off the heat and let cool.
Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the pan to heat. Stir in lime juice, add some freshly ground pepper and if needed, more salt. Pour into bowls and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
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