This green soup is traditionally served on Holy Thursday. With a mix of fresh herbs and greens, it is Herb Soup perfect for spring.
Green Soup for Green Thursday
In Germany, the Thursday before Easter is called Gründonnerstag, or Green Thursday. This day commemorates Christ’s Last Supper, the last meal he ate with his disciples, and the institution of the Eucharist.
While the German word grün does mean “green,” the grün in Gründonnerstag actually comes from an ancient German word, greinen, meaning “to cry or moan.”
The tradition of calling Holy Thursday (or Maudy Thursday) Green Thursday has a number of possible origins.
Before the thirteenth century, priests would wear green vestments for Mass on Holy Thursday. It was also common to refer to the penitents who participated in the Lenten fast as “the Green Ones” since they would wear green herbs on Holy Thursday to express their joy that Easter was near.
In addition, Holy Thursday used to be a day of fasting, in which only a single, meatless meal was eaten. So, green, spring vegetables made up a large part of that one meal.
German Herb Soup
In Germany, it is common to eat a green herb soup, like this Seven Herb Soup, Sieben Kräutersuppe, on Holy Thursday.
It is a light soup that is bursting with flavor and is perfect for a spring day.
Traditionally you will find a combination of leek, watercress, chives, sorrel, parsley, spinach, dill, and dandelion greens used in this soup. However, arugula, kale, celery greens, tarragon, or chervil could also be used.
Go ahead and grab any combination of herbs and greens that sounds appealing to you, using roughly 1 cup (or one large handful) of each.
But, make sure you include seven as a reminder of the last seven words of Jesus as he hung on the cross.
More comforting winter soup recipes
If you love greens in soups, you’ll want to try Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup).
And, if brothy soups are your cup of tea on a cool evening, you’ll want to give these a try:
- Avgolemono (Greek lemon chicken soup)
- German pancake soup
- Ukha (Russian fish soup)
- Scotch broth
- Shchi (Russian cabbage soup)
- Easy wonton soup
- Bolivian chicken noodle soup
German Seven Herb Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 medium leek, chopped
- 4 c water
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 2 c fresh spinach, chopped
- 1 c fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 c chives, chopped
- ½ c fresh dill, chopped
- ½ c celery leaves, chopped
- ½ c sorrel, watercress, or arugula leaves, chopped
- ½ c milk
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Optional Garnishes
- Sour cream
- Croutons
- Extra herbs
Instructions
- Melt butter in a 3 quart soup pot. Add shallots and chopped leek and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft, 5-7 min.
- Add the water and chopped potatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the potatoes until tender, 20 min.
- Add the greens and herbs and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender (or transfer the soup to a traditional blender and blend until smooth). Add the milk, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Serve the soup as is, or topped with sour cream, croutons, or extra herbs.
Nutrition
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Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
CC
Tuesday 21st of March 2023
It was so good! There's barely left overs! The only change I did was adding some more seasoning (greek seasoning, a dash of paprika, and some seasoned salt). I made rosemary bread to go with it! Delicious!
Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere
Wednesday 29th of March 2023
So glad you enjoyed the soup!
Therese H.
Saturday 2nd of April 2016
I made this soup for our Church's Maundy Thursday Soup Supper. I followed instructions 1 & 2, then drained off the water and added chicken stock. Then completed the recipe as printed. I served it with triangles of pita bread. I'd like to tell you what I used the leftovers for, but there weren't any!
Sarah Ozimek
Sunday 3rd of April 2016
We're so glad the soup was enjoyed. Pita would be a great accompaniment. Thanks for stopping by to let us know how it turned out!
Heather Mulholland
Wednesday 1st of April 2015
Wow! I love the idea of this; very springy. You've made the wheels turn round in my head, thank you :)