Spring Onion Soup
Ingredients
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- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 12 ounces spring onions – whites and pale greens thinly sliced; dark greens chopped, divided (~24.5 n/a green onions)
- 1 clove garlic – minced
- 8 ounces potato – peeled and diced 0.5-inch (~1.5 medium potatos)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper – ground
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp lemon juice – freshly squeezed
- 2 tbsp chives – finely chopped (for garnish)
- 4 slices sourdough bread – toasted (for serving)
Instructions
1. Trim the spring onions, separating the whites and pale greens from the darker green tops; thinly slice the whites and pale greens, and chop the dark greens. Peel and dice the potato, mince the garlic, and finely chop the chives. Toast the bread slices until golden and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add the sliced spring onion whites and pale greens with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until soft and sweet but not browned, 6–8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 30–60 seconds until fragrant.
3. Add the diced potato, the remaining salt, and the white pepper. Stir to coat in the butter for 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock and add the bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook partially covered until the potatoes are tender when pierced, 12–15 minutes.
5. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Add the chopped dark green spring onion tops and simmer just until wilted and bright, 1–2 minutes.
6. Blend the soup until smooth using an immersion blender (or carefully in batches in a countertop blender), 1–2 minutes, until silky.
7. Return the soup to low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and warm gently without boiling, 2–3 minutes. Adjust thickness with a splash of hot water if needed, and finish with the lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning.
8. Ladle into warm bowls, garnish with the chopped chives, and serve immediately with the toasted sourdough on the side.
Spring Onion Soup is a light, silky allium soup that highlights the tender sweetness of young onions. Its flavor is gentler than mature onion soup, with fresh green notes from the tops and a soft, creamy body from blended potato and a touch of cream. The result is a pale green bowl that feels both comforting and bright, ideal for early spring when the first bunches appear.
Rooted in home kitchens and market cookery, this soup sits in the same family as British leek-and-potato and French spring potages. Cooks have long used the white parts to build a sweet base, adding the green tops at the end for color and freshness. Over time, versions have appeared across the UK and northern France, sometimes served chilled, but most often enjoyed warm as a celebration of the season’s first alliums.