It’s officially that part of winter that seems to last forever. The excitement of the holidays is over and daydreams for warmer weather are creeping in. A lot of the country has been hit with weather alert after weather alert—an unwelcome reminder of how crowded the grocery store will be and that you’ll have to get up extra early to scrape ice off your car.
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recipe developer and content creator behind Feel Good Foodie
But you know what makes cold days pretty special? Curling up inside with a warm bowl of soup. Warming the body from the inside out, a nourishing soup will actually make you thankful for a chilly day. Making the perfect soup doesn’t have to take long either. In fact, Feel Food Foodie creator and recipe developer Yumna Jawad makes one that only takes 10 minutes of prep time, a vegan lemon rice soup.
Besides requiring very minimal effort to make, Jawad’s vegan lemon rice soup is made with ingredients you likely already have; there’s nothing expensive or hard to find in it. The ingredients include vegetable broth, olive oil, short-grain rice, fresh lemon juice, veggies (she uses zucchini, onion, carrot, celery, and carrots), and spices (garlic, oregano, bay leaves are Jawad’s recs). If you don’t have the exact veggies or spices listed in the recipe, just use what you have on hand instead. Juwad says there are other ways you can play with the recipe too, like using potatoes instead of rice.
Lemon juice is an underrated soup ingredient and Juwad says incorporating it brightens up the whole dish. “The acidity of the lemon can pair with veggies—and meats if you have soups with meat in them—to create a brighter overall look,” she says.
As you can tell by the ingredients list, this soup is also packed with fiber from both the rice and all the glorious veggies. It’s also versatile enough that you can add in truly any protein of your choice. You can keep it vegan by adding in tofu, or you can add meat or fish. Check out the recipe below and get ready to make your winter day extra cozy.
Vegan lemon rice soup recipe
Ingredients1 Tbsp olive oil1 large onion, chopped2 carrots, chopped3 celery stalks, chopped3 garlic cloves, minced1/2 tsp oregano1 tsp salt1/2 tsp black pepper1 zucchini, chopped1/2 cup short-grain rice2 bay leaves4 cups vegetable broth2 cups water1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus lemon slices for garnishChopped fresh parsley for serving
1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook until soft and translucent, five minutes. Add garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook until fragrant, one to two minutes.
2. Stir in the zucchini, rice, and bay leaves until well incorporated, about one more minute. Add the vegetable broth and water and bring the mixture to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook covered until rice is fluffy and vegetables are soft, 30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in as much of the lemon juice as you’d like. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon slices, if desired. Serve immediately.
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