Hearty Vegetable Soup

I couldn't resist picking up some chorizo at World Market this weekend. What a perfect way to use it! This soup looked great online at bbcfood and it uses all the right vegetables for the Los Poblanos box this week. It calls for crusty bread- I almost made some GF rosemary bread sticks...
I used 4 small turnips for this dish and fresh tomatoes. The leeks came from my garden as did the thyme. If you don't have an herb garden at your house- I'd recommend you put some flat leaf parsley, thyme, and rosemary into the ground or a container. Staple herbs!

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g/1oz unsalted butter
• 1 leek, cut into small chunks
• 1 large carrot, cut into small chunks
• ½ large turnip, cut into small chunks
• 1 sweet potato, cut into small chunks
• 1 celery stalk, cut into small chunks
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes (I used fresh romas)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• small bunch thyme, tied together with string (I tied mine with a leek stalk)
• 570ml/1 pint vegetable stock
• 150g/5oz green beans, trimmed (and cut into more bite manageable pieces)
• 1 raw chorizo sausage (about 110g/4oz), cut into small chunks (Optional)
• crusty bread to serve- Optional

Preparation method

1. Heat the olive oil and butter together in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, turnip, sweet potato and celery and fry for 10-12 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften but don't colour.
   
2. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and add the cumin, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, thyme, vegetable stock and green beans. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
   
3. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the chorizo for 10-12 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown.
   
4. Remove the thyme from the soup and stir in the chorizo. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
   
5. Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and serve with crusty bread on the side.
   
   
   
    Starting to simmer
   
   
    **The finished product. I'd say the chorizo is definitely optional with the richness of the broth-so I took it out of the title. Wow! This soup was fantastic.
   
   
   
   

Potato Leek Soup with Dill

I have a very simple potato leek soup that I normally make. However, with the dill in the garden still growing and a package of smoked bacon that I picked up in Nashville, I decided to try this recipe from the Nourished Kitchen. I have amended the recipe below.

• 4 ounces pasture-raised bacon, fried and crumbled with fat reserved
• 4 leeks, rinsed well with white and light green parts sliced very thinly
• 1 pound waxy potatoes, scrubbed well and cubed
• 1 quart fresh chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh though dried will do
• 2 cups fresh whole milk 
• 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped fine
• unrefined sea salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
• crème fraîche or sour cream, to serve

Instructions

1. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat reserved bacon fat over a medium flame until melted and sizzling. Add the thinly sliced leeks to the melted bacon fat (depending on how fatty your bacon is- you might need to pour some off) and fry until they begin to soften and release their aroma – about five to six minutes or so. Add one quart fresh chicken broth to the leeks and dump in the cubed potatoes and cover the pot. Cook the potatoes, leeks and broth together over a medium-low flame until the potatoes are softened and tenderly fall apart when pressed with the tines of a fork – about thirty minutes. If you like your soup lumpy, then leave as is. Otherwise you can blend/mash it up now)
2. Remove the soup from the flame and allow it to cool slightly, then pour two cups fresh whole milk into the soup pot, stirring in the fresh dill as you go. Season with unrefined sea salt and white pepper as it suits you, then serve the soup with plenty of good quality pasture-raised bacon and a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream.

** This was a nice soup. I didn't put the sour cream on top. I also used 2% rather than whole milk. The addition of the dill was not great for me. I think I'll stick to my other recipe next time.

Sausage and Swiss chard soup

This recipe is from Williams Sonoma. Last time I made it, I used chorizo sausage. I think I'll make an onion bread to go with it.

Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 1⁄2 lb. chicken andouille sausage
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 leek, white portion only, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
• 6 cups chicken stock, warmed
• 1 cup water, warmed
• 2 cups cooked white beans, drained
• 4 oz. Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves cut
    into 1⁄2-inch strips
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for
   garnish (optional)
• Garlic crostini for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, boil the wine until reduced to 1/2 cup, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

In a soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and let cool, then cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices.

In the same pot over medium-low heat, cook the onion, celery, carrot and leek, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes more. Add the reduced wine, the stock and water, increase the heat to medium-high and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the sausage, white beans and chard and cook until the chard wilts, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, and garnish with the cheese and crostini. Serve immediately.

** I ended up using pork andouille sausage from Whole Foods. We did not add the bread and cheese on top. It ended up being too spicy for the kids and a little fatty for my tastes. I still like the soup- I think I'll try turkey keilbasa next time- should be less fatty and not spicy.