October 25, 2009
Ah, fall. Season of soups.
You guys know by now that I love raw soups. Which is a little funny, since I was never a fan of cooked soups. Or rather, I was never a fan of cooked soups with lots of stuff in them: chicken noodle, minestrone, miso, vegetable barley, whatever. I could handle the blended, creamy ones: butternut squash, cream (ew) of leek, cream (ew) of mushroom, carrot—but that makes sense, since those are the soups that raw soups most closely resemble.
To make a long and not very cool story short: I like creamy soups. I really like them even better when they’re raw. The end.
Why are raw soups so great? Well, for one thing, they’re chock full of enzymes, nutrients, and fiber, but their blended texture makes them highly digestible. This means they’re great for anyone who suffers from impaired digestion, or simply for any occasion when you need to give your digestive system a little TLC (illness; pre- or post-workout; when you’re rundown). They’re also quick and easy: raw soups don’t require making a perfect roux, waiting for vegetables to soften, or spending hours watching a pot simmer. And for most of us, soups evoke sweet childhood memories of simplicity and comfort.
If the thought of eating soups cold upsets you, don’t be deterred: it’s perfectly OK to heat them gently over a very low flame until they’re room temperature. If you’re not strictly raw and don’t care to be, go ahead and warm them up as much as you’d like!
You’ll be seeing a ton of soups—probably more than you’d like to see—as the weather cools down. I’m starting my soup marathon with a new recipe I tried out last week (my friend Cassie is finishing off my leftovers!): red pepper and hemp soup.
I wasn’t sure about this one: hemp is such a distinctive flavor that I worried it might overpower the peppers. But after my success with creamy hemp basil sauce, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. And it didn’t. Quite the contrary. This soup is sweet, creamy, and a little nutty tasting, but what really makes it shine is the kick from lemon juice and turmeric. It’s quick, nourishing, and—for those of you who are hung up on that whole protein thing—rich in protein, too. Enjoy it!
Red Pepper and Hemp Soup
Ingredients:
2 extra large (or 3 regular) red peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
½ cup hemp seeds
½ tsp salt
2 tbsps lemon juice
½ tsp curry powder
¼ tsp turmeric
1 tsp Braggs liquid aminos
Black pepper to taste
2/3 cup water (or to taste – this will depend on how thick or thin you like your soup)
Procedure:
Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. You may want to begin with ½ cup water and adjust based on texture as you go along!
You can add garlic or onion to the soup. If you’re into that.
Of course, soup is lonely without a giant salad by its side:
Spinach, radicchio, broccoli. All together now:
Hope you all had a great weekend. I’ll be back this week with a cooked recipe, a question of the week, and more!
xo
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The hub and I made this soup last week and it was super! We love curry and hemp seeds- never had them together thought. What a yummy soup this is! The hub loved it. Thank you! 🙂
it should be hemp, off cause 😉
Just made this soup for lunch, yummy!! The curry powder is what really sold it to me. Were I live hep is really expensive and not so easy to get hold of. Do you think it will still be good with other seeds, such as sunflower?
i have yet to try hemp seeds, I’d better get on the bandwagon 🙂
will definitely try this one. thanks for sharing!
Hi Gina, just made your soup and YUM!!! It is so tasty and delicious. My in-house taste testers [hubby and mommy] gave it a big thumbs up too, and they aren’t raw. I’ll definitely make this again. 🙂
Thanks Gena! I was just wondering what I was going to make for dinner and this fit the bill perfectly!! Muah! (I don’t like adding garlic or onion to my soups either–they don’t jive with my stomach one bit-lol)
This looks great – I love all soup…but nice to know about the enzyme qualities…
I have only 1 cold soup recipe which involves cranberries and fresh squeezed orange juice….I serve it for lunch on Thanksgiving day while we are waiting…
The cranberries are cooked so I suppose it does not play out as raw???
Thank you
Looks fabulous! And I think I have all the makings in my fridge right now… Yum!
Yum! This soup looks wonderful! I honestly have not used hemp seeds in cooking before…..I always just seem to sprinkle them on things 😉 I can’t wait to try this!
Have a great afternoon!
What a delicious combo. The salad especially.
looks amazing, as usual!
MMMMMM! That soup looks so good for a sista’ with a cold right now. Yucko.
You read my mind, as usual. Was just thinking I want to do a raw soup again soon, since I have fond memories of the tomato-tahini thingie. Oh and Bonobo’s soups are nice too, not to mention a soup would make a good vehicle for all my stupid crackers, haha. 🙂
Oh and just because I feel like I should tell everyone with a pulse, I WON AN ICE CREAM MAKER! There is a lot of coconut hacking in my future.
Looks great, as usual!
I love cooked soups but I love raw soups too, and you are the queen of raw soups! They always look so good and they taste even better. I make your raw tortilla soup at least once a week, it is genius.
Thanks for another great recipe for me to try!
I’ve been enjoying raw soups lately, too, but I’ve always been a fan of them, especially the chunky stuff. They just seem more satisfying. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t like the creamy stuff, as well. Yours looks yummy.
This soup was so nice! I just ate it with my girls (3 and 1) and they loved it too! I just wonder, in case there was a leftover, how long would it stay in the fridge? So that my husband could try it also. Now I’ve had to eat all leftovers 🙂
Keep the soups coming! I’ve tried to do some raw soups on my own (sans recipe that is) and boy have I been mostly a failure. So I’m going to be sticking to my raw guru Gena as I should have been in the first place. I’m sure that this one will be a winner as I love hemp and am definitely a fan of red pepper.
By the way, I love the soup serving dish. I have no square bowls, and can’t say that I’ve ever eaten out of one before. Really, I do feel like I’ve been missing out.
Fantastic idea! I am on a major soup kick lately, so this one will have to be experimented with soon:)
Wow, this looks great, I love curry and need to add hemp seeds to my Whole Foods list:-)
blech to the garlic, ill keep that smelly beast on the sidelines, just like you.
You know, I have this Blendtec, and I’ve only used it for smoothies (and last night a tahini salad dressing). I really need to consider trying out some of your raw soups…
I’m super excited about seeing more raw soups on your blog, Gena. They sound delicious and perfect for fall.
soup sounds sooo interesting and perfect for this weather. thanks 🙂
Great soup! It reminds me of Kristin’s Cheezy Hemp Nacho sauce. Yours has fewer ingredients but red pepper, hemp, water, tumeric, lemon juice are in both your recipes.
I have been making a kale chip coating with cashews, red pepper, nooch, and lemon juice and could just devour it so I should probably get busy with your soup. I have never used hemp seeds in cooking. I know, I am the last raw foodie in the blogosphere I’m sure LOL
🙂
have a great week Gena!
Yummy soup, love it! Hubby and I are leaving soon to the grocery store. I’ve got all the ingredients less the red peppers and Braggs. [I might omit Braggs] I’m making this soup tonight! Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂
Looks wonderful, Gena! 🙂
Mmmm I love cold soup! Red pepper hemp is the new gazpacho 😉
Hate hemp protein powder, but I love hemp seeds. This recipe sounds perfect for winter. Thanks as always Gena! Hope you had a good weekend. 🙂
I adore cold soup, so this actually sounds great to me!!!
Yay! for soup recipes! Love it, I’m going to have to try this tonight, but maybe with a little tweaking as I only have one red pepper. 🙂 Looks too good to wait on a grocery store visit, though.
I am so happy to hear more soup recipes are coming. Raw soups are so simple to make, and so tasty. Perfect dinner for me after a long day at work, and my son loves them as a sauce for veggies and noodles, or just for dipping.
This does look awesome! Raw soups are a favorite of mine in the fall and winter. Thanks for sharing your recipe:)
BEAUTIFUL. And I have everything to make it in my fridge. Thanks as always for the fantastic inspiration!
You already know I’m not a fan of soups 😉 But that combination sounds incredible! And yes, I’d be adding LOADS of garlic.
The soups sounds wonderful!! I love creamy soups..I look forward to seeing more soups : )
Oh my goodness this looks absolutely fantastic! I love red peppers and nuttiness as well. I will try this as soon as I get my blender from home (@ college)
Sounds delicious! And perfect for cozying up when it gets super cold outside! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Looks like the PERFECT meal, Gena Bean-a!
Lots of love (and soup!),
Katie