It’s soup season and all I want is fresh, homemade soup every day.
Most soup recipes require a broth, and I always prefer homemade. However, sometimes you just don’t have the time to make a broth and wait for hours for the flavour to develop. This herby pesto soup recipe is the answer when you need an instant soup fix — it takes all of 10 minutes to make, and packs a bright punchy flavour with all the herbs. It’s also a great recipe to turn to when you have bunches of bright herbs in your refrigerator and can’t think of ways to use them up before they wilt.
To make this soup, all you need to do is make a pesto, heat up some water, and mix it up! The herby pesto is delicious even as a salad dressing (thinned out with water), a dip (add a dollop of Greek yogurt for extra creaminess), or as a marinade for roasted veggies. Make an extra batch of the pesto and freeze it into cubes, and mix it in hot water for anytime soup.
This bright green soup is such a great base for toppings that I absolutely can’t resist adding in a few. Use black or red rice with tofu cubes for a heartier curry and rice combination, or add in some roasted veggies (mushrooms and zucchini would be wonderful here). I used soba noodles and sesame seeds with a few extra herbs, and it tasted delicious.
- 4 cups water
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1 2-inch nugget of ginger
- ½ onion, chopped
- 1 cup tightly packed coriander leaves
- 1 cup tightly packed basil leaves
- ½ cup tightly packed mint leaves
- 1 green chilli
- ½ cup toasted and chopped almonds
- Juice and zest of ½ lime
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- A few cubes of ice
- To serve (optional): soba noodles, zucchini noodles, toasted sesame seeds, herbs, avocado cubes, roasted veggies, lemon wedges
- In a saucepan, bring the water to a simmer. Make sure it’s not boiling but simmering.
- Meanwhile, combine the garlic, ginger, onion, coriander, basil, mint, green chilli, almonds, lime zest, lime juice, oil, and honey in a food processor. Blend with a few cubes of ice until it forms a smooth paste. The ice maintains the bright green color of the pesto and also helps to blend smoothly. Scrape down the sides and blend again if required - the pesto should be as smooth as possible. Season with salt and pepper and taste. It should have a strong and spicy flavour as it will later get diluted.
- Just when you want to serve, add the pesto to the simmering water. It should be hot but not boiling. Mix well, and taste again to make sure the flavours are fine. Add additional salt, pepper, lime juice if required.
- Ladle into bowls, and serve with a choice of toppings. I served mine with soba noodles, sesame seeds, and a few herbs.
If you love pesto, you might also like this simple quick basil pesto recipe (with homemade gnocchi); or this upgraded avocado toast recipe.
Did you make this herby pesto soup recipe?
Let us know: leave a comment, or tag @sprigandvine.in on your photos on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #goodfoodpractices
