Cooking and shooting with Elina Fuhrman for her new cookbook, Soupelina’s Soup Cleanse, was like playing in a giant vegetable patch for a few days. Our location for the shoot had a gorgeous garden with fragrant herbs and beautiful juicy lemons, ready to be hand picked and enjoyed. Visits to the Santa Monica Farmers Market had us constantly surrounded by an array of colourful and vibrant veggies (from local to the unusual) to work with.

We were excited to style and shoot these humble, yet flavourful, ingredients to enhance their natural beauty. The newly released book features 60 plant-based soupsusing a variety of vegetables, herbs, and spices. Each of the recipes have been carefully and simply designed to cleanse, purify, and stimulate the system,while offering layers of flavour to satisfy the palate. A “culinary shaman”, Fuhrman’s recipes are inspired by her world travels, in which she has extensively researched different ingredients and their healing powers. Having worked with top chefs from Paris to Bangkok, her soups offer sophisticated and delicate flavours that remain kind and gentle on the system.

A follower of Ayurveda principles, Fuhrman believes that soups offer a better alternative to juicing as the warmth allows for the absorption of more nutrients.Cold temperatures require the body to work harder to process. Fuhrman’s soups help to replenish the body with essential minerals while giving the body some time to relax and repair itself. A cleanse gives the body a much needed break from daily digestive stress and when the organs are given time off they can dispose of toxins more easily. The vegetables and legumes in soups also help to stabilise blood sugar levels while juicing can cause spikes.

Here are some of our favorite culinary adventures from the book: Pho Sho: A hard to find vegetarian version of pho that is full of flavour. Fuhrman enhances the soup with 5 star anise, cinnamon, coriander seeds, tamari, and hing- a wonder spice derived from fennel that is excellent for digestion. Gone With the Watercress: Watercress is one of the most nutritious leaves available. Fuhrman likes to prepare hers Moroccan style with chickpeas, ginger, and ras el hanout. The flavours are delicious and exotic, instantly transporting you to the Medina. Don’t Squash My Dreams: This soup pairs fresh summer squash and zucchini with Thai flavours (coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, green curry paste and galangal). The soup is refreshing and light but with complex and aromatic flavours underneath. I Heard It Through The Grapevine: Featuring Mediterranean grape leaves that offer a light lemony flavour. The leaves are surprisingly a wonder food- rich in vitamins and omega- 3 fatty acids. Fuhrman’s recipe incorporates fennel and mint for a truly invigorating experience. We hope you enjoy the soups as much as we do!

Check out Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle and, Goop for a couple of their favorite recipes from the book:

Harper’s Bazaar • InStyleGoop