Easy Vegetable Soup with Tahini | Salt Fat Acid Heat
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup well-stirred tahini
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 large garlic clove, finely grated or pounded to a smooth paste
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
For the soup:
- 7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 12 ounces baby spinach (about 12 packed cups)
- 4 cups roughly chopped cilantro (from 2 large bunches)
- ¼ cup well-stirred tahini
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
Directions
First, make the sauce: With a whisk, combine the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, and red pepper flakes with 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more water as needed to achieve a drizzle-able consistency.
Next, make the soup: Add the stock to a Dutch oven or heavy pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the spinach, cilantro, tahini, and salt, and return to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
Use an immersion blender to purée the soup (or transfer to a standard blender and purée, taking care to leave the center of the lid open and covered with a towel as you blend). Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and lemon, if desired.
Serve the soup immediately and drizzle with the tahini sauce. Cover and refrigerate the remaining soup and sauce for up to 1 week, or freeze the soup for up to 1 month.
Note: equal parts cilantro and greens, fresh or frozen fine.
