Vegan Watercress & Pea Soup

I always thought that watercress was a spring green but turns out that it’s actually an autumnal plant. Trying to eat a bit more seasonally I decided to make a very autumnal Vegan Watercress & Pea Soup with this delicious plant. Watercress is one of those salad leaves, like rocket (arugula) that I always gravitate towards. I love the fiery, peppery taste and it makes for a much more interesting salad than plain old lettuce. It’s also full of more vitamins and iron than traditional lettuce. The main rule of thumb is usually, the darker the colour, the more vitamins and antioxidants it contains.

I always crave soup as the weather turns a bit colder. It’s great to make a huge batch and always have some on hand for a light lunch or when I don’t feel like cooking. I’ve made plenty of soups in my time, roasted butternut squash soup, chicken soup, leek and bacon soup, but I’d never tried a watercress soup.

So how to make this delicious Vegan Watercress & Pea Soup. Start by heating the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. While the oil is warming, peel and chop the onions and garlic. Add to the pan and cook the onion and garlic in the oil until softened and translucent (around 5 mins).

At this point, usually potato is added to a traditional watercress soup to thicken it but as I cant eat potato I decided to use cauliflower. So, you need to chop the cauliflower into small florets and add it to the softened garlic and onion. Then, add the stock, wine and bay leaves to the pan and season well. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for around 20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.

Next, add the frozen peas and cook for 2-3 minutes at which point you can turn off the heat. Chop the watercress, including the stalks and add it to the pan. Only leave the watercress in the pan to wilt for a minute or so before blending – any longer and it will lose the bright vibrant green colour and turn a bit brown. The taste wont be affected, it just wont have that stunningly appetising colour! Blend the soup with a stick blender or a food processor.

At this point, you can strain the liquid off if you prefer to remove the tougher, stringier watercress stalks. I like my soup a bit thicker so I tend to leave it as it is, but if your food processor is not high-speed enough, it may not be able to deal with the fibrous stalks too well.

Serve with a a slice of my toasted Grainfree Bread, a dollop of yoghurt (vegan or otherwise), a drizzle of good quality olive oil and some toasted nuts or seeds (I used pine nuts). I love the texture and crunch that they add to the final dish. A perfect bowl of comfort food for those colder, crisper autumnal days! It also freezes well so it’s a great one to batch cook and store some for another day!