Green spring soup

Especially for Easter, our nutritionist Suzanne Cramwinckel has developed a green spring soup with seasonal vegetables. It not only tastes great, but also looks great on the brunch table!

Green spring soup​​
for 4 people

Ingredients

1 garlic bulb
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional olive oil for serving
1 onion, finely diced
400 g zucchini, diced
250 g green asparagus, peeled and cut into 2 cm long pieces (keep heads separate)
750 ml vegetable stock
250 g peas, fresh or frozen
Leaves from 2 sprigs of mint, plus additional mint for serving
The peel of 1 lemon, juice of 1/2
Salt and pepper, to taste

preparation

1. Cut off the top of the garlic bulb (about 1 to 2 cm) so that all the cloves are visible. Remove the lid and sprinkle the garlic bulb with salt and pepper, wrap it in aluminum foil, and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 45 minutes.
2. Halfway through the garlic cooking time, heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add the chopped onion. Sauté for a few minutes until the onion is translucent, then add the zucchini and asparagus cubes (heads removed). Sauté for a few minutes, stirring, then add the stock. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the garlic bulb from the oven and from the aluminum foil. Wait until the bulb has cooled slightly, then squeeze the cloves onto a plate. They should be soft enough to come out like a soft pulp. Use half for the soup and store the other half in the refrigerator for use in another recipe, such as hummus or pesto.
4. Add half of the garlic paste to the pan along with the peas and mint leaves and cook for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, blanch the asparagus heads in another pan until tender.
5. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a food processor until smooth and season with salt and pepper.
6. Divide the soup between 4 bowls, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with lemon zest and garnish with the asparagus heads and a few mint leaves.