Ayurvedic Soup Recipe

Living in Norfolk, UK the sun doesn’t always shine in the summer, some may argue rarely! So we need to think about this in our ayurvedic approach to cooking and feeding ourselves. However, the upside of the changeable climate means we are blessed with an abundance of delicious fresh vegetables. This ayurvedic soup recipe brings to life gorgeous summer vegetables in minimum time. It should be easy to digest and the nutrients easily absorbed making a perfect light evening supper. To learn more about the digestive system see my blog post on the digestive fire. The addition of both fresh and dry basil helps boost the immune system, check out some of its great properties here

This recipe serves 2 and takes around 20 minutes to prepare and cook.

Ingredients

2 medium potatoes peeled and quartered

1 courgette sliced

2 celery sticks chopped

1 large red juicy ripe tomato (skins and seeds removed) blitzed into a passata

1 tsp vegetable bouillon

400ml boiling water

1/2 tsp dried basil

pinch of coarsely ground black pepper

1 bunch summer greens roughly chopped

10 fresh peas podded

drizzle of olive oil

To Garnish

10 fresh basil leaves

1 tbs pumpkin seeds

A little grated parmesan or other hard cheese

Method

Place the potatoes, courgettes, celery, passata, bouillon, water, dried basil, black pepper and olive oil into a saucepan and simmer for 8-10 minutes, then add in the peas and summer greens to the top of the saucepan, cover with a lid and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Everything should be cooked but retain a slight bite. Serve adding the fresh basil, parmesan and pumpkin seeds.

You can enjoy creative license with this recipe and use whatever summer ingredients you have to hand. So for example, switch broad beans for peas or rainbow chard for summer greens. Also try switching basil for oregano or marjoram.

Equally if you find that certain ingredients you know do not agree with you, switch them to other vegetables with similar qualities that you know your gut loves.