A model of aged vegetable soup – recipe | don't waste

Légumes oublies, or forgotten vegetables, is a term coined by French chefs and gardeners to defend those vegetables left behind by the modern world that are often ugly or difficult to grow: think gnarled root vegetables and Jerusalem artichokes, salsify and cardoon. But the term forgotten vegetables also covers those specimens that aren't at their best in the back of the fridge, like soft lettuce and borderline beets, all of which can be made into a delicious soup.

Forgotten Vegetable Soup

If we want to avoid wasting food, it is imperative that we learn at least in part to cook without strict recipes, inventing delicious dishes from leftovers and past products. In my cookbook Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet,I present a root-to-fruit manifesto, a value-based approach to eating for personal and planetary health that is grounded in science . The first point of this manifesto, however, is "Eating for Pleasure". How can a diet be sustainable if you don't want to eat it the next day after all? The second point is "Cook with love, trust and creativity", which means that we must embrace our inner chef, cook what we love and offer delicious dishes prepared with whatever we have on hand. Keep it simple and you can't go wrong. Most ingredients go well together in simple, if unexpected, combinations: some of my favorite pairings I discovered through experimentation, like squash and orange, mushrooms and vanilla, and parsnips and curry.

All of the ingredients mentioned in the "recipe" below, which is less a set of instructions than a general pattern and guide, are approximate and optional, and the quantity used of each of them can be changed according to your preferences and availability. of ingredients. These amounts will give a soup serving of 300-500ml, so multiply the amounts by the number of mouths you wish to feed. I always recommend making more, anyway, because batch cooking saves energy and means you have meals in the fridge or freezer for the week (or months) to come. /p>

Serves 1

Choose your style Decide what kind of soup you'd like to make – refined, chunky or blended – then cut your vegetables accordingly (i.e. into small or large dice).

Start with the base of the soup For each serving, gently sauté 50g garlic and chopped vegetables (e.g. spring onions, celeriac, turnip) in a drizzle of oil for five minutes.< /p>

Enhance flavor Add spices to taste (eg garam masala, ginger, cumin – between one and three teaspoons total), cook for two minutes, then stir in any herbs and/or finely chopped sweet herb stalks (eg rosemary, thyme, parsley stalks).

Eat more vegetables Incorporate 100g of any solid vegetable you use ( (e.g. beetroot, potato, turnip) and optionally 50g of cereal and/or quick-cooking pulses ( e.g. rice, beans, lentils)

Add the liquid… Pour in 200ml of water, stock, milk or vegetable alternative, bring to the boil, then simmer until all the vegetables are tender, and add more liquid if needed.

… and more delicate greens Stir in up to 50g of vegetables -leaves (eg, beet greens, salad greens, celery greens), cook for two minutes until wilted, then toss, if desired.

Final Touch Pour the soup into a bowl (or bowls) and add your choice of toppings to taste: torn stale bread, seaweed, pickles, edible flowers, spices, sprouts, nuts, seeds, croutons.

>