I’m always taken aback when people talk about soup season as finite because it can be enjoyed year-round.
Soup fits any time of year, adapting to the weather and whatever produce is plentiful, from hot, hearty bowls built on roots and squash in the winter to chilled purées of ripe tomatoes or zucchini in the summer.
This recipe is spring in a bowl — joyful, green, fresh, bright and warm. It’s made with early-harvest vegetables — leeks, peas, new potatoes, spinach and herbs — and is simply seasoned so their delicate flavors come through clearly. The leeks and potatoes are simmered until tender in chicken or vegetable broth, but the rest of the vegetables and herbs are added shortly before serving so they cook just long enough to yield to the warmth of the broth but still remain fresh and bright.
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Feel free to vary the vegetables based on what you have on hand, swapping onion for the leeks, parsnips or carrots for the potato, or using snow peas, baby kale, and basil for the green vegetables and herbs, for example.
This recipe has such a garden-to-plate vibe, I think of it as the soup version of a salad and I serve it that way, alongside a sandwich or omelet, or before a main course. Each spoonful is a delightful reminder that spring, like other times of year, is also soup season.
Storage notes: Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to three days. The spinach and herbs will lose their vibrant color, but the soup will still taste delicious.
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