Quinoa and Vegetable Soup

The idea for this soup was not one that just came to me. After my bout of sickness last week the first thing I ate after 4 days of no food was a delicious Quinoa & Corn soup, from one of my favourite food stores in Potts Point.

It was so nourishing and I felt it healing me with every mouthful. And all I wanted for days after was this soup - so I made my own!

+ 1/2 cup of corn 

Really there are no rules when it comes to making a good vegetable soup - any vegetable works, just make sure you cut them all the same size and try and use local organic or bio-dynamic ingredients.

And remember a little bit of love makes it taste that much better - a bowl full of goodness!

Drizzle with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a sprinkle of chilli or a teaspoon of fresh pesto and eat with good quality bread torn and soaked in the soup - YUM!!

I forgot to photograph the corn, but there is also half a cup

Ingredients:

feeds 6-10 people depending on portion size

1 small onion

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup of celery

1/2 cup of carrot

1/2 cup of pumpkin

1/2 cup of peas - fresh or frozen

1/2 cup of zucchini

1/2 cup potato - dutch creams or Nicola

1/2 cup of fresh tomato - skinned and seeded

1/2 cup of any other vegetable you need to use - I used broccolini ends, but cauliflower would also be yummy

1/2 cup of corn - again fresh is better, but I used frozen

1/4 of a cup of parsley

3/4 of a cup of Quinoa

Season really well if you only use water, with salt, pepper and half teaspoon of rapadura sugar

Oh and almost forgot - chilli as much or as little as you like

Water or stock - about 1.5litres 

olive oil

How I made it:

Cut all you vegies up, roughly around the same size

Start of by warming oil and just ever so slightly colouring the onions - then the garlic, celery and carrot goes in

Once these have all got a little colour throw everything else in, give it a stir

Pour in the water or stock till it's 3 or 4cm above the vegies - the Quinoa will expand and suck up the soup, so you may have to add a little more water at the end and remember to check your seasoning

You'll know when the soups ready because, first the potatoes will be cooked and second the quinoa will have popped and will look like itsy bitsy, teeny tiny worms

enjoy!

©Michelle Schoeps 2013

All photos taken by Michelle Schoeps

and recipe