HEAVENLY GREEN SOUP

By Ana Larramendi

Gluten-free, Paleo or Vegan
Makes 2 ½ Qts.
 
Ingredients:
2 TB. Olive oil
6-8 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 C. diced onion
1 ½ C. diced: Turnips, Daikon, or Kohlrabi*
1 teas. Sea salt (less if your stock is salty)
6 C. full flavored vegetable* or chicken stock
1 ½ C. peeled & diced: Parsnip, Potato, Celeriac root*
3 C. Kale, Broccoli or other cruciferous vegetables, any woody parts/stems removed. Coarsely chopped.
¼ teas. Cayenne pepper

LAST
4 Cups packed, tender greens: Spinach, Arugula, watercress. Wild: Lambs quarters, nettles, young plantain leaves, small amount of garlic mustard, wild mustard or dandelion greens too!
*final seasoning choices: Plain-as is, OR:
1 ½ teas. Sweet Curry powder (I use Penzy’s)
OR: ¼ C. packed, fresh Basil Leaves
 
Instructions:
In a heavy 4 Qt. saucepan heat the olive oil and add the chopped garlic. Watching carefully, stir and sauté the garlic until it becomes golden in color..1-2 minutes, then immediately add the chopped onion and stir, cooking over a medium heat for another 1 minute. Add the 1 ½ C. turnips and the salt. Continue stirring these ingredients until these vegetables start to caramelize in the corners. (This caramelization is essential to giving this soup a rich flavor base). Now add the cayenne and stock, then the 1 ½ C. Starchy vegetables (parsnip/potato etc.) and the 3 C. Cruciferous vegetables (Broccoli or Kale). Bring the soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and allow to simmer 10 minutes or until the starchy vegetables (like potatoes) are completely tender.
At the very end add your tender greens, all at once, and once the soup returns to a boil, take it off the heat. Adding the greens at the very last moment gives the soup its lovely, bright green color. At this point you can puree the soup right in the pot with an immersion blender, or you can ladle it into a blender and puree it that way. While you are pureeing the soup you can decide to leave it as is, or add additional seasoning.
I find the curry powder or fresh basil are excellent options.
 
Notes:
* Turnips, Daikon, or Kohlrabi* peel these if the skin is tough or has a woody layer. Otherwise peeling is not necessary.
* Parsnip, Potato, Celeriac root* If you want a thicker soup use a larger portion of potato, which has more starch. There is a total of 3 C. of root vegetables. You can mix or match or just use 1 kind. The first grouping (turnips etc.) are enhanced by caramelization. Potatoes…not necessary.
This soup freezes very well, and will keep several months in the freezer.
 
Cold Version:
Who wants hot soup in the summer? If you want to convert this into a lovely summer soup, make it with less starchy vegetables (no potato). Then, after it has chilled, stir in ¼ C. of Greek yogurt for every cup of finished soup, and drizzle with a puree made of extra virgin olive oil and basil. Delicious!