Green "Love" Soup

Are you still in a post-holiday food coma?  Did too many jelly beans, chocolate eggs or bunny ears make their way into your mouth? This green soup is a wonderful and delicious way to feel like you've wiped the slate clean and cleansed your system. With several kinds of pepper added to spice it up; croutons, chive or cheese garnishes, you can convert even the most skeptical family member.

There's a new television commercial that shows a girl looking at a green smoothie with a nauseated look on her face and she opts to take a vitamin pill instead. Sad. I happen to love green smoothies - especially this recipe that I posted last summer.

I wasn't sure if my husband would have that same look on his face, but he ate two bowls of this soup! I'll look forward to making it again when really fresh greens hit the farmers' markets. I used Swiss Chard and baby spinach but feel free to use kale instead of spinach or any combination of greens you like. The good earth is the limit here!

The recipe was created by Anna Thomas, a screenwriter, producer and vegetarian cookbook author.  Love Soup is her most recent cookbook and this soup is from that book. Here is an article written for the LA Times by Anna Thomas about her green soup , how it developed, and all the various ways she makes it. One version that caught my eye includes mushrooms for a more 'earthy' flavor. This recipe has a little Arborio rice added for bulk (an idea I found in our local newspaper) but cooked potato or squash could also be used according to the author. 

Green Soup

Adapted from Love Soup by Anna Thomas
Printable Recipe

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

Well-caramelized onions add a sweet and nutty flavor to this healthy soup. Arborio rice gives it a little extra 'body'.  The peppers give it a nice "zing". A squeeze of fresh lemon juice, added to the plated bowl, adds brightness to the flavors and a little drizzle of olive oil, a velvety lushness.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions (about 1 ½ pounds), chopped
1 ¼ teaspoons salt (divided)
2 tablespoons plus 3 cups water - divided)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup Arborio rice
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed and chopped (about ¾ pound)
1 bunch fresh spinach, large stems removed and chopped
(Kale can also be used - or any greens of your choice)
4 cups vegetable broth or stock (I used low-fat chicken stock)
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Shaved Gruyere, snipped chives and croutons for garnish (optional)

Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet with a lid. Add onions and ¼ teaspoon salt. Over medium-high heat, stir onions frequently until they begin to brown. Reduce heat to low, add 2 tablespoons water, and cover. From time to time, remove the lid and give them a good stir. Continue cooking until onions are very soft and a deep golden color - this will take 30 to 45 minutes. When the onions are almost done, add garlic and cook until fragrant, a few minutes. Remove from heat.

In a separate large stockpot, add remaining 3 cups water and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in rice and bring to a boil, reduce and let simmer 15 minutes. Add greens, stir, return to a simmer and cover. Let greens wilt and settle 10 minutes.

Add onions to stockpot and stir in stock or broth. Add seasonings and blend soup until very smooth with an immersion blender or in a regular blender (in small batches).

Add lemon juice to taste after plating. Garnish each bowl with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and if desired, croutons, chives and/or cheese.

Provençal Vegetable Soup (Soupe au Pistou)

I hope you're not getting too tired of soup yet, we're not!  Today, is a typical January day in Wisconsin...cold!  Therefore, sitting down to a warming bowl of soup at night is wonderful. 

Not only do we love steamy bowls of soup on a cold winter evening, we also love the idea that we are eating healthier with lower calories. Soup is filling and yet lower in calories than a regular meal. When we do have soup as our main course, I try to make sure that it contains some beans for protein.

This recipe was inspired by a recipe for Provençal Vegetable Soup in my new The Soup Bible cookbook and also, the latest issue of House Beautiful features a similar recipe from the new cookbook The French Country Table by Laura Washburn. I can't wait to get my hands on this new cookbook! Both recipes sounded wonderful, so, in my usual fashion,  I combined my favorite parts of both.  

Pistou soup is a filling meal on its own, but in some regions of France they add cubed bacon, grilled Toulouse sausages or ham. Yum! Like many other traditional Provençal recipes, there are many versions of this soup. Sometimes leeks are used and some leave out potatoes. Sometimes pasta is used and sometimes not. Some add the pistou sauce before serving the soup; some hand it round separately so that people can add as much or as little as they like.

The difference between this and other vegetable soups is the addition of a 'pistou', which is a flavorful paste made with fresh basil leaves, garlic and olive oil.  It elevates vegetable soup from ordinary to sublime!  If you love basil or pesto you cannot omit this step!

 
Since I had some home made pesto in the freezer made from my garden basil last summer, I used that instead of making fresh pistou.  My pesto had pine nuts in it which is not included in pistou but it tasted wonderful.

Provençal Vegetable Soup (Soupe au Pistou)

Inspired by Soupe au Pistou from House Beautiful Magazine, January 2011 issue and Provençal Vegetable Soup from The Soup Bible
Printable Recipe

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, quartered, cored, and cut into small dice
2 zucchini, cut into small dice
4 red potatoes, cut into small dice
1/2 cup celery root (celeriac) cut into small dice
2 small carrots, peeled and cut into very small dice
1 large clove of garlic, minced
3 Roma tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped*
2 32-oz containers no-sodium chicken stock
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
6 ounces of green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (I didn't use)
1/2 cup baby peas, either fresh or frozen and thawed
2 ounces of spaghetti, broken into pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pistou (or use your frozen home made pesto)

4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese (optional) (Parmesan can also be sprinkled over the top of the soup)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Heat the oil in a large stockpot. Add the onion, fennel, and zucchini and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the potatoes, celery root and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the stock, thyme, beans and tomatoes and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes longer. Add the green beans, peas and spaghetti and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until pasta is tender.**

To make the pistou, place the garlic, basil, olive oil and Parmesan (if using) in the bowl of a small food processor or blender and process until blended.

Ladle the hot soup into serving bowls, top with a dollop of pistou and a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Pass additional pistou at the table, if desired.

*To easily peel the tomatoes, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of ice water. Plunge the fresh tomatoes into the simmering water for about 2 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon to the ice water bath.

**It is ideal if you can make the soup in the morning and refrigerate until ready to serve so that the flavors can meld.

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If you need a little encouragement to make soup, here is a scene from a typical Wisconsin January!

Minestrone Soup

Happy New Year, everyone and may 2011 be a wonderful year for you all! For my very first post of 2011, I'd like to share a recipe for Minestrone Soup. It is definitely soup weather here and I look forward to many more soup nights in our home this winter.

I found this Minestrone recipe at Chicho's Kitchen, a wonderful food blog.  My husband and I love it!  I have made only a few minor adaptions.  It's a delicious soup, thickened with pureed Cannelini beans and simmered with beef stock.  If you wish, you could use vegetable stock to keep it completely vegetarian.You will find the recipe below.

Looking back at 2010, I would say my proudest accomplishment of 2010 was making Habanero Gold Jelly. It was the very first time I had tried canning! I'll be looking forward to continued inspiration from my blogging friends and stretching my culinary boundaries even more in 2011.

Blogging has become such a wildly popular phenomenon in the past few years. Don't you wonder if we'll still be blogging when the next decade begins, or, will there be a new way of sharing and connecting with other Foodies?  It will be interesting!

Minestrone Soup

Adapted from Chicho's Kitchen
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 celery root, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 russet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb Swiss chard, large stems and center vein removed and leaves coarsely chopped
1 28-oz can San Marzano plum tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved
1 fresh rosemary sprig
2 15-oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (I have also used 1 can of Cannelini and one can of Lentils)
1 32-oz container no-sodium beef stock (I like Kitchen Basics brand). You could substitute vegetable stock for a vegetarian soup.
1 oz piece Parmesan cheese rind
1/2 cup Ditalini pasta, or other tiny pasta
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the Swiss chard, potato and celery root and saute for 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, reserved tomato juice and rosemary sprig. Simmer until the chard is wilted and the tomatoes start to break down, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend 1 can of the beans with 1/2 cup of the broth in a food processor until almost chunky/smooth. Add the pureed bean mixture, remaining broth, and Parmesan cheese rind to the vegetable mixture. Simmer until the potato pieces are tender, stirring occasionally, about 25-30 minutes. Stir in the whole beans and parsley and simmer until the beans are heated through and the soup is thick, about 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the Parmesan rind and rosemary sprig, and serve.