Edamame Soup Recipe
Charlotte's edamame soup recipe was a big hit with Wayne - a bit of olive oil, potato, frozen edamame beans, and vegetable stock come together to make a satisfying, protein packed bowl, of pale green tastiness.
Today's edamame soup recipe comes from a delightful new cookbook by London-based Charlotte Hume - The Great Big Veg Challenge - a book my mom (and parents of all picky eaters) could have benefited from. It stems from a blog of the same name, inspired by her son, a vigilant seven-year-old vegetable hater by the name of Freddie.
Aside from corn and potatoes, Freddie won't eat vegetables. One evening, desperate, Charlotte signs up for a blog. Her idea was to take Freddie on an A to Z tour of the veg-kingdom, hoping the site would serve as a forum for inspiration and support. She starts off by opening the site up to...
"...all of you parents out there who have tried and succeeded to introduce your offspring to the joys of carrots, peas, lettuce, spinach, asparagus, beetroot, green beans - in fact any vegetable. Any ideas gratefully received."
Flash forward through L,M,N,O,P, and the transformation of a fussy eater. It's a great story, and now the blog has led to the lovely, newly released soft back cookbook sitting here in front of me. It's a beautifully photographed and illustrated extension of the web-site that started it all. Unfortunately, it looks like The Great Big Veg Challenge is only available for through Amazon.uk at this point, but I suspect at some point it will be available domestically in the U.S. and I'll update this page at that point.
The book is packed with very approachable and appetizing recipes. We work our way from artichoke, asparagus, and aubergine onto broad beans, broccoli, and brussels sprouts all the way though watercress, yams, and zucchini.
Each chapter has basic information about the ingredient alongside cute stories. Edamame is a favorite ingredient around here, and I decided to try Charlotte's edamame soup which was a big hit with Wayne. A bit of olive oil, potato, frozen edamame beans, and vegetable stock become a satisfying, protein-packed bowl, of pale green soup you can make a meal out of. Congratulations to Charlotte and her family for creating a fantastic new book that I'm sure will inspire many fussy eaters. In fact, I know a few adults who could learn a thing or two from Freddie ;)
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Edamame Soup Recipe
In a rare instance of fussiness, I ended up pushing this soup through a strainer to smooth it out a touch. Totally not necessary, but an option if you're up for it. I also finished my version with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, fried shallots, and crushed, toasted peanuts. To make this soup vegan, omit the creme fraiche.
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 potato, peeled and cut into small cubes,
750 g (1 1/2 lb) frozen edamame beans, defrosted
1 quart (1.2 litres or 2 pints) vegetable stock
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
salt and freshly ground pepper- see headnotes for garnish you see in photo
In a pan, saute the onion and potato in the oil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cover and allow it to soften for about 4 minutes, until they have both softened. Stir to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning. Add the beans and the vegetable stock. Put the lid on and simmer on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the beans are tender. Puree in a food processor or with a hand blender. Stir in the creme fraiche, reheat gently without boiling and serve.
Serves 4.
Excerpted with permission from The Great Big Veg Challenge by Charlotte Hume (Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. 2008)
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Comments
@ Ash: I live in Hamburg, and can always get Edamame in the freezer of the Asian store. Doesn’t have to be a specifically Japanese-focused store, even the littlest Asian grocery seems to have them, alongside the spring rolls 😉
i definately try it, thanks for sharing.
Ash asked about edamame in Berlin – the website http://www.justhungry.com has an international list of Japanese food shops, including a listing for Berlin. You might also try the food court at KDW, the giant department store. I believe they have it.
After months of great experiences trying recipes from this site (homemade graham crackers, tabbouleh, pancakes, etc) I finally bought the book = fantastic! Can’t recommend it enough!!
I substitue edamame for lima beans when I make succotash (corn and lima beans for those who maybe haven’t heard of it). The soup looks yummy!
I can’t imagine my life without soybeans, period.
I’ve eaten edamame in almost every version, even in soup, but not like your’s yet. It really looks creamy and wonderful, especially with the fried shallots. Fried shallots are a staple in my dishes and I can just imagine the wonderful flavor that they would impart in your soup.
Charlotte’s book looks very handy for me too because I know of many pick eaters as well!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I squeezed about a half a lemon into the edamame soup right before serving (a habit I picked up after falling in love with this turkish lentil soup that is served with loads of lemon wedges: http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2006/10/red-lentil-and-mint-soup.php). It gives the soup some zing!
Hi, Heidi,
In the four days since I discovered your blog, I’ve made the edamame soup, the lime & peanut cole slaw, the warm quinoa and pecan breakfast cereal, and the citrus parmesan farro salad (my personal favorite- I could eat this every day!! I made mine with edamame, arugula, toasted pecans and fresh local feta- it was astoundingly delicious!) Thank you so much for inspiring me to become obsessed with beautiful, healthy food! My husband thanks you too… 😉
HS: Glad you are enjoying the site! Your version of the farro salad sounds amazing.
Can I double this recipe for party of 8? Thanks, -Tony
HS: Sure! Find a big pot though.
both me and my hubby love eating edmame beans as they are a great source of protein, but this looks like a more delicious way to relish them!:)
Thanks Heidi!
PS – my comment posted before it was quite done!
For those who can’t wait, Amazon UK do ship to the USA and don’t charge excess for shipping, only cost. I’ve often ordered books from Amazon US that aren’t available here, and am very pleased with the service I receive.
This will definitely be tomorrow’s lunch – I prefer my soups slightly chunky, so won’t put all of it through the blender.
Frozen soya beans (they are only called edamame here if they’re in the shell and a Japanese-style restaurant or noodle bar) are newish here – about the last year or so – and have rapidly become a staple of my salads.
We tried this recipe the other night, it was very good. My kid wouldn’t eat the soup, but he did eat some of the beans from it, which I still consider a success!
I use edamame every week in an all-veg (okay, nearly – there are ceci beans and edamame) no lettuce salad but have never used it for anything else. I have everything but a potato in the pantry so I know what I’m making today.
The book sounds (and looks) lovely.
Grew up eating edamame (ALWAYS fresh, boiled and salted with the pod on) as a summertime snack, I’d never even come up with an idea to turn them into any other form of dishes, until quite recently as we are now slowly seeing them in salads, stir-fries, etc. I even suspect that Americans may have started using them in cooking in more “creative” ways before we did. We do have some regional specialties involving edamame in other forms than the commonly known geen beans in the shell, but I wasn’t exposed to them as a kid. In fact, I didn’t know until I was rather grown up (15 or 16?) that these green beans we are so familiar with are actually the same thing as soybeans that we know by the name of “daizu”.
Like others have already mentioned, edamame really is soybeans, but we only call *young* green ones in the pod edamame. It really has its own thing going on.
The soup, by the way, looks like a total bliss. Especially now we have fresh edamame everywhere here in Japan. Although they are available frozen year around, you can’t quite beat the fresh ones! Thanks for sharing the great recipe and book.
Heidi, did you use a 750 g bag of shelled edamame –or is that weight for the beans with their shells on?
For other commenters, Japanese people still serve edamame as a sort of appetizer. It’s also popular as a snack with beer.
“mame” means ‘bean’ or ‘pea’ in Japanese.
the “eda” part means ‘bough, branch, twig’
So in the shell these green ones are called edamame. But if you mean soybeans like the stuff that soymilk is made from, that would be called “daizu”
Confusing, I know; but that is because soy plays so many roles in Japanese cuisine. Yesterday, out of curiosity, I bought a box of cornflakes made from black soy beans. The cereal is surprisingly good!
I have had success with getting kids to eat veggies and other questionable food. My secret is to allow them to safely help in the kitchen with a meal. When they assist in preparing a dish, even with a minor task, they want to taste it. The method works especially well when you have dinner guests who will praise the child. Kids are love saying, “I helped make it.”
In addition, I tell them if they try it and don’t like it, they don’t have to eat anymore. -But they do have to eat from the selection on the table.
I have edamame adorers galore at my house — a 10- and 5-year-old included. Whipping the beans into a soup will make us all happy.
I can’t wait to try this. Makes me want to duck out of work a little early.
And to inkedAG: I used to get into stubborn contests with my parents too over dinner. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that they would have welcomed any creative idea to get me to eat the stuff they put in front of me. I don’t consider it a bad thing at all to try and dress up foods that my kids aren’t fond of. If they eat them without arguing, they get what they need. AND they’ll be more likely to be a little more adventurous in their food choices as adults. Heck, it beats eating peas out of a can and reheated on the stove.
I’ve always believed that the way to introduce vegetables to kids is repeatedly, in a lot of different ways, over time.
Parents need to understand that kids need to be exposed to vegetables frequently before they can like them.
Parents also need to understand that pairing vegetables with foods kids already like or are already familiar with, will speed the process.
I love the idea of this soup because the edamame is combined with potato and creme fraiche (easy for kids to like), and it’s pureed (easy for kids to accept).
Great idea!
I have to admit that my wanderings into the foray of edamame are not impressive, and my husband is not impressed with the little beans themselves. We usually eat them restaurant-style, steamed in the pod and with soy sauce on the side. But edamame has too many health benefits for me to leave alone, and we do both love soup, so perhaps this can be a bridge. Thanks! I’ll be mentally bookmarking this for use next winter–it is much too hot around here to even think about soup.
This looks absolutely Delicious! I recently bought your book- it’s a really great read congratulations!
This sounds like a great book. My little boy will eat any veggies if in soup form, but I’d never thought of making an edamame soup.
Will have to look out for the book next time I’m at the bookshop!
Sounds like something new I can try, I’ve never had edamame in a soup so I’m definitely going to try it, I’m always up for trying a new soup.
Heidi, this is a real adventure. I was thinking about googling edamane, and then one of my fellow commenteers solved the problem for me. Loved the recipe, and saw Nigella using the soy beans in a quick dish recently. I will be chasing my local store-keepers at the farmer’s markets to see if we can get them in New Zealand.
yummy~
yummy~
what pretty photos as always
what pretty photos as always
WHAT is an edamame when it is at home.. other than a bean? Ive never heard of it.. when I first saw this recipe I thought it was going to be a soup made with edam cheese!! 😀
So many of you are all saying that you eat it, snack it etc… but Ive never heard of it and would have really liked to have seen an image of this weird named bean included in this article….
I also am in total agreement with inkedAG ‘s comment!
Off to google now to find out what this bean is.. if its a silly new name for a baked bean.. I might just scream.. LOL…
Never would have thought to puree a soybean. I’ve always thought eating edemame was just as much about texture as it was taste.
http://www.teaandfood.blogspot.com
I lived in Japan for four years in the early 1980s. I don’t know if this is still the case but at that time whenever you went into a restaurant in the summer you would be served a complementary small plate of edamame in the shell along with a cup of green tea. To prepare the fresh (unfrozen) ones in the shell, we would rub them with a lot of salt and let them sit for awhile, then boil them until they were bright green and the desired doneness, and strain them. To eat them we put the bean with its shell in the mouth, clamp our teeth onto them and pull out the shell, leaving just the beans in our mouth. It is a seasonal treat that the Japanese associate with summer.
I haven’t checked in on this project in quite a while and it looks fabulous! Making time to create a curiosity and (potentially) passion about food in children is a beautiful thing.
Missed you at BlogHer this weekend.
Oh I see what creme fraishe is now. Thanks!
Thanks for the great recipe. But I too am not sure what creme fraishe is? Can someone explain?
Cheers!
I hate to be a downer, but I have this to say about picky kid eaters:
You know what my mom said to me when I didn’t want to eat something as a child? “Too bad, eat it anyway.” It would elaborate to “This is not a restaurant, you are to eat what you are served!” And more stern warnings from mom and dad.
Remember parents, YOU are the ones in control. Not your kids!!
You can order fresh packaged edamame beans from Amazon grocery
Melissa’s Ready-to-Eat Edamames Shelled, 3 Packages (10 oz)
Thank you for your quart conversion – I know that it’s not a great amount but here in little old New Zealand we’re fans of the metric system. Thanks heaps!
Sounds like a wonderful book! Have friends whose kids will only eat chicken tenders & fries… Think this would make a good present when it’s available in the US.
Creme fraische – 1 cup heavy cream & 2 tbsp buttermilk in a glass jar. Mix & let sit on counter up to 24 hours. After it’s thickened, refrigerate for up to 10 days. Makes a great addition to fresh fruit, scones & jam, & as a thickener for soups – hot or cold.
I make a soup with almost the exact same ingredients. Other than the addition of caramelized onions,the only thing that changes are the beans. I’ve used sugar snap peas, green or yellow beans, carrots – even kale or kohlrabi.
Last week we made a “kitchen sink soup” using all of the above plus some fresh scallions. Yum! Ran it all through the blender and it was even good cold the next day.
Mmmm, this looks good! I recently bought my first bag of frozen edamame and used them in soup too. I’m hoping to try stir frying with them next. They are a nice change from peas, which I tend to use too often and thus created pea boredom 🙂
How wonderful – I haven’t been over to Charlotte’s blog for quite a while so it’s great to hear that she has turned it into a book.
Having spent much of the last three weeks auditing the lunch of British primary school kids I’m convinced that there are loads of parents who could pick up a few tips from Charlotte’s imaginative tactics!
Unbelievable! I’m moving in a week, and trying to clean out my freezer and cupboards. I just happen to have some edamame in the freezer, and potatoes and creme fraishe in the fridge. A perfect meal, who knew?
what a great idea for a cookbook. i know several fussy adult eaters who could benefit from something like that.
can’t wait to try this soup, but chilled. i imagine it will be incredibly light and refreshing cold.
yum! though I love snacking on edamame, I would have never thought to use it in a soup! I bet this would be rounded out nicely with a side of brown rice and some pan-fried pot stickers
hello, dinner for tonight just appeared in front of me. thank you!
I may have to get this for my siblings, they are still recovering from my mother’s boring, bland veggies.
Sounds easy and delicious! Um … but what is creme fraiche? Thanks!
I always have a bag of edamame in the freezer – I don’t know why I didn’t think to make a soup from them. I’ll give this a whirl. I don’t have kids but when I do, I will be trying everything I can to get them to eat the widest variety of foods possible. Healthy eating is something we should be letting our kids grow up with – not suddenly enforcing on them when they are teenage and obese. I think Charlotte’s book could really encourage some people to change the way their children eat. If she can do it – so can they.
Josephene – edamame is the (I think) Japanese name for soybeans. They’re usually available in a megamart in the frozen section, though often in the “organic” frozen section. Usually available in the shell or shelled already. I buy them in the shell, steam for about 7 minutes, and sprinkle on kosher salt – an awesome appetizer or side. Just squeeze the pod to pop the bean into your mouth.
tsvua – this recipe calls for shelled beans, even pureeing the soup wouldn’t be enough to make those pods edible!
HS: Thanks for jumping in Richard. I’m just back from a trip and sometimes it’s hard for me to keep up with the questions. Much appreciated 🙂 -h
This sounds really simple and good! I love the idea of fried shallots on top.
is the edamame you use with the pods or just the beans?
Edamame is one of my favorites, I can’t wait to try this!
I don’t know this bean — would a picture of it on your blog be possible?
Josephene
Could be a great gift idea for parents of toddlers.
I think I’m one of the few who’s not obsessed with edamame. People are nibbling it as a snack these days.
Thanks for the recipe, I should definitely have a try!
I’ve tried to come by a good recipe to combine the edamame, and now I think I found one, perhaps more for the cold days.
Hi Heidi, I used to call the Bay area home and have been missing its culinary delights since moving to Germany. I check here once in a while to get inspiration on recreating *home*, at least for my taste buds 🙂 Thanks for a wonderful site.
By the way, has anyone come across edamame (fresh or frozen) in Berlin grocery stores?
This cookbook looks great! Can’t wait for it to come to this side of the pond…until then, I’ll have to try the ideas from the blog on my own little picky eaters! Thanks!
Awesome! My daughter likes only 4 foods: grilled cheese, watermelon, peas and avocado. This looks like a great book.
i love raw edamame!
It’s a really good idea to use them for a soup, thank you for the recipe
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