SPRING VEGETABLE MINESTRONE WITH ORZO
A light soup made with spring vegetables (leeks, celery, asparagus and peas) topped with homemade croutons and a basil pesto.
With the temperature warming up you might not fancy a big bowl of hearty soup, and perhaps opt for something a little lighter. This spring vegetable soup is a light, fresh dish which makes the most of this seasons produce - including delicious, crisp Isle of Wight asparagus. The addition of orzo and homemade croutons provides body to the dish ensuring you are fuel for an afternoon in the great outdoors.
This soup featured as part of this weekend’s Refresh + Renew Isle of Wight retreat menu. Our guests were treated to this before heading out on the water for our first SUP yoga session of the season!
Ingredients
Soup:
1 bunch of asparagus (approximately 8 stems)
1 leek
2 sticks of celery
100g frozen peas
150g orzo
1 stock cube
2 bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1.5 litres of water (boiling)
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt + pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Small handful of basil leaves (roughly torn)
No Cheese Basil Pesto (optional topping):
40g Basil
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt + Pepper to taste
Method
Add the olive oil to a large pan and place over a medium heat. Add the leeks and celery and sauté for 5-7 minutes (they should soften but not brown).
Add the garlic and sauté for a further 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the orzo according to package instructions (it’s advisable to undercook slightly).
Add the water and the stock cube to the pan with the vegetables. Followed by the bay leaves and dried thyme. Add the peas and asparagus and simmer the soup for approximately 15 minutes. You want the asparagus to have a little crunch and maintain its colouring. Season with salt and pepper.
Whilst the soup and the orzo are cooking make the pesto. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until it forms a paste. Alternatively you could use a pestle and mortar.
Add the lemon juice and basil to the soup and give a little stir.
Decant the soup into four bowls, adding a scoop of orzo on top. Garnish with the basil pesto and warm croutons.
Top tip: Use up left over bread by making croutons. Simply tear bread into rough squares and pop in a mixing bowl. Add a good drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and a sprinkling of garlic flakes. Pop in the oven at 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
