Edamame... a Souper Food: Creamy Edamame, Lime, and Coconut Soup

For my birthday in June I got an immersion blender from my in-laws. Because they are foodies themselves, they bought a really nice and powerful one... it's like zooming an outboard motor around inside a soup pot! Which is good when you're trying to blend an edamame soup. Edamame (or soy beans, but ed-uh-mah-may is soooo much more fun to say!) might be a serious super food -packed with protein, high in fiber, and sporting a delicious mild, nutty flavor- but the skins won't blend without a fight. If you don't have a good immersion blender, a regular blender will do the job nicely... or a food processor if you are good at that sort of thing. I've never successfully blended soup in my processor without getting it all over the kitchen. Literally. (Hence the request for the immersion blender for my birthday.)

I've had some requests to post a soup that is puréed, so it can be eaten early on in the recovery stage from surgery. Before I started making my own soups, I ate a lot of cream of chicken soup during this phase. The kind that comes in a red & white can. It tastes really good the first time you have it, because all you've tasted recently is liquids. But very shortly you really can't stand the thought of another meal of cream of chicken soup. No lie.

Today's Creamy Edamame, Lime, and Coconut Soup will wake up your taste buds with its fresh Thai-inspired flavors. The different ingredients balance perfectly against each other, and it has just the right amount of heat from the red pepper and ginger, tang from the lime, and creamy luciousness from the coconut milk. I know this is one I will be making over and over again.

Creamy Edamame, Lime, and Coconut Soup
makes 6 cups

1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. diced yellow onion (about 1/2 a large onion)
1 large clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 T. grated fresh ginger
4 c. frozen shelled edamame (no need to thaw first)
4 c. chicken broth
zest from 1 lime
3 T. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 c. canned coconut milk, shaken well before opening  (not the sweetened stuff you put in cocktails!)

Heat olive oil in heavy-bottomed soup pot until hot but not smoking. Add in onions, and sautee over medium heat until they are very tender, but not browned, around 6-8 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and fresh ginger and sautee an additional 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add in edamame and sautee together for 2 or 3 minutes, or until they are all coated together.

Add in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice, lime zest, and coconut milk. Let cool slightly and then puree it all together. (In the pot if you are using an immersion blender, or in batches if you are using a blender.)

Serve with a drizzle of sour cream if you like, and an additional sprinkling of lime zest.

**Reheat gently as coconut milk can be kind of a sensitive ingredient, and won't appreciate a full boil.