Ten-Minute Silverbeet Soup with Turmeric Spiked Yoghurt

Good Monday to you all! A very quick one for today. I made this for lunch on a break from writing, and it was the most delicious thing so I had to share! I love silver beet / chard. It usually gets transformed into some sort of pie in this house, but today it’s soup.

As you know I am a green smoothie afficionado, but during the cooler months I am looking to get my greens in other means also. Sometimes I make a savoury green smoothie and warm it slightly, which is pretty much soup really isn’t it. So why is this soup so great? Well it takes 10 minutes from go to eat. You could whip it up the night before, or in the morning at a push depending on how organised your mornings are… It is packed full of nutrients – silverbeet, or chard is full of Vitamin A, Vitamin K, calcium and magnesium – it does have vitamin C but the cooking kind of negates that unfortunately.

By adding the yoghurt with the greens, it increases the body’s ability to absorb the lovely, delicious fat soluble vitamins in the greens. Plus it keeps us nourished for longer as you are adding a lovely fat and protein. If you don’t do dairy, you can try full fat coconut cream, or a nice coconut yoghurt. The turmeric is there mostly because I like the flavour with the greens, but it is also highly anti-inflammatory. I have also added the lemon/lime juice to help with the iron absorption from the greens. Go food as medicine!

Serves 2

1/2 brown onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 bunch of silver beet / chard

1/2 zucchini, grated

1 cup vegetable stock / broth

4-5 snow peas / mange tout (optional)

2-3 tsp lemon or lime juice

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 tbs full fat, organic natural yoghurt / coconut cream

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Pop the onion and ginger in a saucepan with about a tablespoon of coconut oil/butter/ghee and sauté for a few minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. While this is happening, wash and tear the silverbeet leaves from the white stem. Roughly chop and throw into the saucepan. Add the grated zucchini and stock, cover with a lid and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. If you are using the snow peas, crack open and remove the peas. Set the peas aside for later, chop the pods and add to the pot.

Put the yoghurt in a small bowl, add the turmeric and mix well to combine.

Take your soup off the heat and blitz with a stick blender, or you could use a blender if you cooled the soup a little. Serve in a bowl topped with the turmeric yoghurt and fresh peas for added texture. Feel free to add some brown rice or quinoa to make a more hearty meal of it.

That’s it! Procrastination over. Back to the writing… x