Recipe: Lemon Herb Peasant Soup to boost midwinter energy

Lemon Herb Peasant Soup is the kind of dish that wakes you up midwinter, when everything feels muted and gray.

Built on a humble base of broth, potatoes and celery, the soup gets its real character from an unapologetic heap of fresh herbs — parsley, dill, maybe a handful of chives — added with a confidence that borders on excess. Fresh lemon pulls the flavors into focus, melding the vivid with the verdant. The effect is bracing and alive, more garden party than winter doldrums.

This isn’t a slow, brooding stew meant to simmer all afternoon; it’s a bright, fast-cooking soup that feels both rustic and cheerful. Serve it with a dollop of sour cream and crusty bread, and nothing else. Light yet deeply satisfying, it’s the kind of everyday meal that proves winter doesn’t have to be dull — sometimes it just needs herbs, and lots of them.

Lemon Herb Peasant Soup

Yield: Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter

1 bunch green onions, white and green parts finely chopped

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 large russet potato, peeled and finely chopped

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup pearl (Israeli) couscous

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 cups freshly chopped herbs (such as combination of parsley, dill, cilantro and chives)

Sour cream, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the green onion and celery and saute for 5 minutes until softened.

Add the potato, vegetable broth and pearl couscous; season generously with salt and pepper.

Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for until the couscous and potatoes are just tender.

Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and fresh herbs. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve hot, finished with a dollop of sour cream.

Registered dietitian and food writer Laura McLively is the author of “The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook.” Follow her at @myberkeleybowl and lauramclively.com.