This Venezuelan veggie soup with poached eggs and cilantro is light yet comforting, made with fresh vegetables and sweet corn, and ready in just 45 minutes. It’s so colorful it’s like putting a rainbow on your plate, and it’s served with a poached egg that adds protein, flavor, and creaminess. Best of all, it’s naturally gluten-free and you can make it ahead.
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A Soup with the Taste of Grandma
This veggie soup is my version of one my grandmother María de Lourdes used to make. Unlike my grandma Ligia, who was a great cook, my granny Mayuya prepared the simplest things, partly because she had a 9 to 5 job, and when she came home from the office to make dinner, she kept things simple.
But mind you, that doesn’t mean what came out of her kitchen, always immaculate, didn’t taste heavenly. I think her secret ingredient was the love she put into everything.
I still remember her unbeatable black bean soup, her fluffy white rice, and an easy dessert she called pineapple delight that she made with canned pineapple juice and cornstarch.
Among her “specialties” was a soup she made with instant chicken soup, to which she added a whole tomato that once cooked she passed through a strainer, a few sprigs of cilantro, and one egg per person. I can’t tell you how delicious that was.
When I grew up and “instant soups” weren’t an option anymore, I created this Technicolor vegetable soup that I cook with cilantro and serve with a poached egg.
When I started making it more than four decades ago, I would add a whole tomato just like my grandma did, but later, when it became part of my soup menu for sale in Miami, I substituted fresh tomato with tomato paste.
Enjoy!
Enri
Ingredients
To make this soup you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Celery
- Garlic
- Red bell pepper
- Carrots
- Butternut squash (or pumpkin)
- Potatoes
- Zucchini
- Fresh sweet corn
- Water
- Tomato paste
- Fresh cilantro
- Coarse sea salt
- Eggs
- White vinegar
You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Vegetable Soup with Egg and Cilantro
- Sauté the aromatics. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper until they wilt.
- Add the vegetables and cook. Add the carrots, potatoes, squash, zucchini, and corn with the water, and cook covered until it boils. Then lower the heat, remove the foam, dissolve the tomato paste, and add the salt and tied cilantro bundle.
- Finish cooking. Cook covered until all vegetables are tender, adjust the salt, and you’re done.
- Prepare the poached eggs. While the soup cooks, heat water with vinegar without letting it boil and poach the eggs until you get the desired yolk consistency.
FAQs
Did You Know…?
The cilantro that gives this soup its aroma is native to the Mediterranean and Middle East regions and belongs to the parsley family. Both the tender leaves, used as an herb, and the seeds, used as a spice, come from the same plant. Today its leaves star in Latin American, Indian, and Chinese dishes.
Source: Encyclopædia Britannica, “Coriander”.
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Vegetable Soup with Egg and Cilantro Recipe
Ingredients
For the soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil 30 ml
- 1 cup finely chopped onion 160 g
- 1 cup finely chopped celery 100 g
- 3 cloves garlic, minced 15 g
- 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper 150 g
- 1 ½ cups carrots cut into small dice 200 g
- 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and small diced 300 g
- 2 cups potatoes, peeled and small diced 300 g
- 2 cups zucchini, small diced with skin 250 g
- 2 cups fresh sweet corn kernels, about 3-4 ears shucked 300 g
- 2 ½ liters water 10 cups
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste 60 g
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro tied with kitchen twine
- Coarse sea salt to taste
- Fresh chopped cilatro for garnishing
For the poached eggs:
- 8 fresh eggs
- ½ cup white vinegar 120 ml
- 4 cups water 1 liter
Instructions
For the soup:
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil.
- Sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper until they begin to wilt, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add the carrots, potatoes, squash, zucchini, corn, and water.
- Increase heat to medium-high and cook covered until it comes to a boil.
- Lower the heat to medium, remove the foam that forms on the surface, add the tomato paste and stir until completely dissolved.
- Add the salt and the tied cilantro bundle.
- Cook covered for 20 minutes until all vegetables are tender.
- Remove the tied cilantro, adjust the salt if necessary.
- Serve hot with one poached egg per person and a bit of fresh chopped cilantro on top.
For the poached eggs:
- While the soup is cooking, in a medium pot put 4 cups of water with half a cup of white vinegar to heat, without letting it boil.
- When the temperature reaches 175°F (80°C), crack the eggs into a small bowl and carefully place them one at a time in the pot with the water.
- Cook for 2 to 4 minutes depending on how cooked you want the yolks (2 minutes for runny yolk, 4 minutes for more set yolk).
- With a spoon or slotted spoon, carefully remove the eggs and place them on a plate until serving time.
Nutrition
Notes
- Nutritional values are approximate and were automatically calculated with WordPress Recipe Maker. They may vary depending on the specific ingredients and brands you use.
- This recipe is naturally gluten-free.
- Substitute fresh corn with drained canned corn if you can’t find it.
- Omit the potatoes or substitute with yellow squash for a lighter version.
For a vegan version, simply omit the poached egg. - Add short pasta noodles 10 minutes before finishing cooking for a heartier soup. Use gluten-free pasta to keep it gluten-free.
- This soup tastes even better the next day when all the flavors come together. Perfect for making ahead.
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