This is THE soup to make when you’re feeling under the weather. It’s a plant based take on that classic chicken noodle soup which brings so much comfort. It’s brothy and light, bursting with vitamins, but at the same time hearty and satisfying. I used bay leaves, lemon and thyme to flavour the broth with lots of garlic and a little turmeric for it’s sunny colour and medicinal properties. You’ll feel like a whole new human after a bowl of this. Happy slurping!
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 6)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 leek, sliced
- 4 sticks of celery, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 6 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 100g quinoa, rinsed
- 1/2 a head of cauliflower, diced
- 120g noodles (I prefer quick cooking ramen or Thai rice noodles here but you can also use Italian style pasta in any shape you like. Just adjust the cooking times as explained below.)
- 1 lemon, juiced
Method
- In a large, heavy bottomed pot, sauté the leek, garlic, carrots and celery with the olive oil. After 5 minutes the vegetables should be starting to soften.
- Then add the bay leaves, thyme, turmeric and quinoa. Top up with a couple of litres of water, season with the salt and pepper then simmer. After 10 minutes, the vegetables should be soft and the quinoa just starting to release it’s tails.
- Add the cauliflower and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste the broth for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.
- Then add the noodles* and give the soup a stir to ensure they’re not clumping together. If they are the quick cooking type, turn the heat off, put the lid on and let them cook and soften in the residual heat. If they are Italian style pasta noodles and need longer cooking then you should add them with the cauliflower during step 3.
- Brighten the soup with the lemon juice and serve in large bowls. Enjoy!
TOP TIP – *only add the noodles/pasta if you’ll be eating this soup immediately. If you are making this in advance, add the noodles when you reheat it, otherwise they’ll get too soggy. You can even cook the noodles/pasta separately and put them into bowls, then ladle the soup over each portion.
