VEGAN RADISH SOUP IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ALLAND & ROBERT (P, V+, GF, NF, GrF)
QUICK, EASY, VEGAN PART 3 – As you know from this blog post as well as this one, I'm sharing some quick, easy and delicious vegan recipes on the blog this month seeing we're all in the throws of buying last minute Christmas presents (which we should have bought AGES ago, but let's not go there) and have very little time to spend making complicated meals.
But rest assured that despite its simplicity, this beautiful radish and parsnip soup is utterly delicious, comforting and healthy. It's been made extra special by a secret ingredient called acacia gum. Acacia what?! Chances are you've never heard of it before but I hope today's blog post will change that because it's an ingredients worth knowing about!
WHAT IS ACACIA GUM?
Acacia gum is a natural gum consisting of the hardened sap of the acacia tree. The gum is extracted from the tree trunks of the Acacia tree which grows in countries such as Mali, Ethiopia and Sudan.
WHAT MAKES IT HEALTHY?
It's 100% vegan, GMO-free, pesticide free, gluten-free, additive free and paleo. It's high in fibre, which keeps our digestive tract working optimally.
WHAT MAKES IT IMPORTANT?
There is no mass production of acacia gum as it is harvested by hand to preserve long standing harvesting traditions developed by local farmers
The harvest process is sustainable and ethical.
Because acacia trees are regularly harvested by farmers, they are better protected against deforestation. Deforestation is a major issue around the world with LOTS of negative consequences including a decrease in the fertility of the land, degradation of the ecosystem and the disappearance of biodiversity.
Acacia gum provides revenues and work to the local population many of whom are amongst the poorest communities in the world. Women are usually the ones who harvest acacia gum providing them with financial independence and empowerment.
WHY AND HOW WOULD I USE ACACIA GUM?
Chances are that A LOT of the (vegan) products you buy contain acacia gum as it's a thickener and binder! You just never realised! But there's nothing stopping you buying some yourself and adding it to a soup or gravy to thicken it like I did for today's radish and parsnip soup. Acacia gum is also lovely to add to baked goods instead of eggs as it binds in a very similar way.
HOW DOES IT TASTE?
It's completely odour and tasteless! It really is there to thicken and bind, allowing your other ingredients to shine.
THE BEST PART? A GIVEAWAY!
You can win a Christmas hamper FULL of delicious edibles containing acacia gum (to see what's in the hamper check my instastories or insta highlights today ;)). All you gotta do is follow Alland & Robert, the worldwide leader in acacia gum distribution, on instagram by midnight GMT on Wednesday, December 20th. The winner will be picked at random and notified on Thursdays, December 21st. Good luck! BTW please note that this competition is only open to UK residents. Thank you for understanding.
Thanks everyone for stopping by and reading my last recipe post of 2017! It's been a joy to make up delicious things for you all. Bring on 2018 I say.
Hugs, Kimberly
P.S. Recipe below
VEGAN RADISH SOUP RECIPE
I wanted to create the most striking, yet real, honest and seasonal organic soup possible. I'd seen a beautiful pink recipe recently and wanted to adapt it for Alland & Robert so as to try and achieve my goal. I hope I succeeded and more importantly I really hope YOU like it :).
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Makes: about 2 ltrs of soup
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
3 tbs olive oil
2 large or 3 medium red onions, peeled and chopped finely
salt
500g regular radishes, washed and sliced thinly
200g (about 2) watermelon radishes, peeled and sliced thinly
1/2 a beetroot , peeled and sliced roughly
220g parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 ltr vegetable stock ( used vegetable cube dissolved in water)
2 tsp acacia gum (acacia powder)
Ingredients for garnish (optional):
2 tbs vegan single cream
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
parsnip and purple potato crisps
freshly ground pepper
4-5 thinly sliced radishes
Instructions below...
Instructions:
Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a large pot. Add the chopped onions and a good pinch of salt. Sauté until tender and translucent. Next add the sliced radishes and cook for about 7 minutes, stirring regularly.
Then add the beetroot and parsnip and stir for 2-3 minutes. Next add the stock slowly, bring everything to a boil, before reducting the heat to allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes or until all the vegetables are soft and cooked through.
Once done, carefully pour the soup into a high speed blender, add the acacia gum to thicken the soup and blend until soft and smooth. Serve immediately!
To garnish, drizzle over some vegan single cream and/or extra virgin olive oil. Sliced radishes and freshly ground pepper are lovely here too as are home made parsnip and/or purple potato crisps. To make the latter, please take 1 small purple potato and 1 small parsnip. Wash and peel. then - with a potato peeler - slice both super thinly. Warm up some oil and fry until the veggie slices as crisp and brown around the edges. You can do this as the soup is cooking. Garnish and enjoy!
Tip 1: You can use white onion too if you wish.
Tip 2: Can't find watermelon radish? The use the 200g of regular radishes instead.
Tip 3: Can't get a hold of parsnip? You can use potatoes too. It will dramatically change the flavour though. White carrots are also a good alternative
Looking for more soup recipes? I got you covered.