Spring Vegetable Soup (Ragoût de Légumes du Printemps)
This method of cooking spring vegetables - with as little liquid as possible - retains all their color, flavor and nutrients. Choose the smallest, sweetest vegetables you can find, using the recipe as a guideline rather than a formula: you might add small turnips, trimmed baby artichokes, young fennel, or broccolini. You can serve it with roast chicken or fish, or on its own as a starter or light lunch.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 spring onions white and pale green parts only, cut into ¼-inch rounds
- sea salt
- 8 skinny carrots cut diagonally into 2-inch lengths (no need to peel them if they are young)
- 8 fingerling potatoes cut lengthwise in half (no need to peel)
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 clove garlic smashed with the flat side of a knife, and then peeled
- 1 cup vegetable stock (up to) home-made or store-bought, or water, divided
- 8 spears asparagus about ½-inch thick, tough ends removed and discarded, cut diagonally into 2-inch lengths
- 1¼ cup fresh peas (1lb in the shell); you can also use frozen peas, or leave them out.
- freshly ground black pepper
For serving:
- Good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
- fleur de sel
- arugula leaves
- Parmesan shavings
Instructions
- Heat oil in a sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium hear. Add spring onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until onions soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add carrots, potatoes, thyme, garlic, and ½ cup of the vegetable stock or water. Cover, and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add asparagus and another pinch of salt, and then add more vegetable stock or water if needed to cover bottom of pan. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until all vegetables are almost tender.
- Add peas and cook for 2 to 3 minutes if fresh, 5 to 6 minutes if frozen, until just cooked. Season with pepper.
- Serve vegetables warm with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of fleur de sel. Top with arugula leaves and Parmesan shavings.