Our ancestors compared saffron to gold. It is now the most expensive spice in the world.
The value of the spice is its wealth of health benefits including reduced cravings, better moods as well as enhanced memory. Saffron has also been shown to help detoxify the body of environmental pollutants.
Consuming 1 teaspoon of saffron has been shown to reduce cravings by 55%. Eating saffron in the spring encourages the natural fat metabolism our body is doing this time of year making us all better fat burners.
In this recipe, I use two of my favorite spring vegetables, asparagus and peas. I was happy to find sweet, delicious spring onions.
Instead of pasta noodles I made noodles from zucchini. These can be made with a spiralizer or a julienne tool like I did.
Start by steeping saffron in hot chicken or vegetable broth. Let it sit for 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
The recipe makes 4-6 servings. If you are not eating all of it at once, add the zucchini noodles to the quantity you are going to eat. Store the rest of the soup in the refrigerator and add the remaining zucchini noodles when you reheat the soup the next day.
Spring Saffron Vegetable Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
A saffron infused vegetable soup made with spring vegetables and zucchini “noodles”.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth, homemade if possible
- A pinch of saffron threads
- 1 bunch spring onions or 2 to 3 leeks, sliced
- 2 carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- Celtic sea salt and fresh pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 bundle thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2″ pieces (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen shelled peas
- 2 cups zucchini “noodles” (use a spirilizer or julienne tool)
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the stock in a saucepan. Bring almost to a boil, turn off the heat and add saffron threads to steep. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- In another large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium low heat. Add onions, carrots and garlic, and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook to until just tender about 4 minutes, then add lemon zest and stir.
- Add the steeped saffron stock and bring to a simmer.
- Add asparagus and fresh peas, and cook about 3 minutes.
- Add zucchini “noodles” and frozen peas. Cook 1 minute.
- Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and parsley.
- Taste to adjust salt and lemon.
- Serve.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Healthy, Paleo, Dairy Free, Vegan (with vegetable stock)
Until next time, have a fantastic day and enjoy the recipe. Please leave a comment below. I always love hearing about your health journey and your thoughts and feedback on making your own delicious food at home.
Much love,
Ingrid
