Soup of Garden Greens

The original soup recipe called for watercress but mentioned that you could also use spinach or sorrel.  I have a number of patches of perennial sorrel and a lot of other greens in the garden so I decided to use them rather than going shopping at the store.  My mix included arugula, beet greens, kale, lettuce, Asian red mustard, spinach and Swiss chard.

Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) has a lemony flavour.

Arugula, also know as roquette, has a peppery flavour.

Asian red mustard tastes a bit like wasabi to me.  

True Siberian Kale is my favourite kale.  It tastes sweet and a bit like young broccoli.  I had one patch that grew for four years and successfully over-wintered in northern Ontario though it eventually petered out.  Let part of it go to seed and save them for a future crop.  It has pretty yellow flowers.

Lovely lovage tastes stronger than celery and is best used in smaller amounts.  It freezes and dries well.

ORGANIC and GARDEN INGREDIENTS:
Makes 4-6 servings (about 2 litres - 8 cups in total)

1 Tbsp (15 ml) each butter and good olive oil
2 cups/1 large sweet onion (Vidalia), diced
2 cups (500 ml) potatoes, diced - I didn't peel them
4 celery ribs, chopped (about 2 cups/500 ml) - I used 1/2 cup (125 ml) young garden lovage foliage and stems
4 cups (1 liter) chicken or vegetable broth or water
1/2 (2.5 ml) teaspoons sea salt - depends on your taste and how salty your broth is
1/2 (2.5 ml) teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups (1 liter), greens like watercress or other greens, rinsed and drained.  I used arugula, beet greens, kale, lettuce, red mustard, spinach and Swiss chard
1 cup (250 ml) sour cream - I used Organic Meadow, 14% MF
1/8th tsp (0.6 ml) ground cayenne and nutmeg

Fresh dill, lettuce, lovage and parsley sprigs for garnish

METHOD:

1. Heat the butter and oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Add diced onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes or until onion is softened.

2. Add diced potato and sliced celery (or lovage), and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. I cleaned up the potatoes but left the skins on for extra fibre and nutrients. The photo below is of garden lovage leaves and stems.

3. Add broth and bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and cover; simmer 25 to 30 minutes or until potato is tender. I used a homemade turkey stock that I had previously frozen for this very occasion.

4. If you are using watercress, stir it in at the end of cooking. This ensures a fresh bright green soup. I added the clean, sliced greens from my garden during the last 5 minutes as I was using kale, sorrel and heartier greens that need a bit of cooking. Make sure they are tender before you take the soup off the heat.

5. Stir in the sour cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the ground cayenne and nutmeg as well (optional). The soup tastes great without the sour cream if you are avoiding dairy.

6. Leave the soup chunky or puree, all, or part of it. Serve hot, or refrigerate and serve cold. Thin with a bit of stock or milk before serving if the soup is too thick. Ladle into bowls and garnish with sprigs of fresh herbs and baby lettuce. Below I used baby dill, lovage, parsely and red leaf lettuce for the garnish.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 1 1/2 cup - 375 ml serving): 210 calories, 11 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 4 g fibre, 4 g sugar, 8 g protein. % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet are 60% vitamin A, 80% vitamin C, 10% each calcium and iron.

If you like this post you might also like the sorrel and lovage soup with carrot mint puree:
http://chapmanslanding.blogspot.com/2009/06/sorrel-lovage-soup-with-carrot-mint.html

Yours in good taste,
© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc
http://nancyguppy.com/

Caldo de Pollo (Mexican-style Chicken Stock)

The original recipe is adapted from chef and cookbook author Susanna Trilling. Peggy, my mom and I took one of her cooking classes at her ranch in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2005. I have never forgotten the countryside or the food! I especially like the way the stock is seasoned. "Seasons of My Heart, A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico" Ballantine Books, November 1999 ISBN 0-345-42596-0

Dried thyme from last summer's garden

Allspice, clove, dried chiles, thyme and bay season the stock

Dried mulato pod chile - mail order from Chilly Chiles, Ottawa

I say chile (chi-LAY), some say chili.  Both are correct.


Makes approximately 2 liters or quarts

3.5 pounds (1.5 kg) chicken parts (carcass, necks, backs, legs etc.)
3 quarts (3 litres) + cold water
1 large red or white onion, chopped
A few whole cloves
2 stalks of celery with leaves, sliced
1/2 large or 1 smaller head of garlic (yes, all of it)
2 carrots, scraped and thickly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 whole dried chile de arbol (sub mulato pod or dried chipotle, got none?  Use a jalapeno or some ground cayenne)
6 black peppercorns
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
6 whole allspice

1. Combine chicken in large stock pot with enough cold water to cover - about 3 quarts/litres. I tend to use chicken legs to make stock as they are economical. I also use a carcass leftover from a farm chicken when I am fortunate to have one.

2. Add the chopped onion and celery, sliced carrots, bay leaf, hot chile, peppercorns and allspice. The chile is standard in Mexican chicken stocks. Cayenne or jalapeno also work well.  If you don't have whole allspice or peppercorns use the ground version.

3.  Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer another hour until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a fork. Remove chicken pieces to cool. Strain stock.  You can discard vegetables or use as part of your next soup.  Slice carrots, squeeze garlic out of cloves and add back to pot.  Remove meat from bones and add back to broth.

Nice colour, not too much fat. 

You can cool stock overnight and then remove fat that hardens on surface if you wish.  I use it the way it is thinking fat has gotten a bad rap.  Helps you absorb fat soluble vitamins and keeps you full longer.  Chicken skin, interestingly enough, is  a good source of vitamin D.

The stock freezes well and keeps up to six months in your freezer.

This stock is the basis of a good "Country Tortilla Chicken Soup."  I developed the tortilla soup at this link for the Chicken Farmer's of Canada so of course I recommend it http://chicken.ca/recipes/view/country-style-chicken-tortilla-soup/
Use the caldo de pollo instead of water in the tortilla soup recipe at the link above.  You can use the chicken, veggies in there too and simplify some of the steps.

It is hot so a bit of a steamy picture

My friend Rob enjoying the soup

Wild Leek, Lovage & Potato Chowder

ORGANIC and GARDEN INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil

1 Tbsp (15 ml) butter

1 cup (250 ml) lovage or celery, sliced
2 cup (500 ml) leeks, light green and white part, sliced

6 good size potatoes, skin on, diced

1/4 cup (60 ml) wild rice

4 cups (1 liter) cold water

1/2 lb (250 grams) chicken breast - optional

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) sea salt

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) black pepper, freshly ground

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) red chile pepper flakes, dried (optional temperature boost)

1 cup (250 ml) organic whole cow's milk - I used Harmony organic

1 cup (250 ml) + cheese like cheddar or Swiss

Sprigs of fresh lovage for garnish (or sliced green onions)
Vegetarian version - omit butter, chicken, milk and cheese and it will still be very good.  I have made vegan and lacto-vegetarian versions many times.

METHOD:

1. Heat olive oil and/or butter in soup pot over medium high heat.

2. Clean up the wild leeks.  Slice green and white part of leek and add to the soup pot.  I grew these leeks in the back yard - transplanted a few years ago from the forest.

3.  Add sliced lovage (or celery),  and the diced (skin on) potatoes as well as the dry wild rice and cold water.  The photo below is of a sprig of my garden lovage.

4.  Cut boneless chicken breast into bite-size pieces about 1 inch (2.5 cm) square.  Add to pot with the salt, pepper, and crushed red chili pepper flakes (optional).  Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until potatoes and wild rice are tender.  Chicken is a nice addition to this soup but it is also very good without it.

5.  Mash potatoes in pot using a potato masher.  Mash half of the mixture to create texture and help thicken the soup.  Stir in the whole milk and grated cheese.  I have been using the Harmony organic whole milk.  It is 3.5% milk fat but I don't drink it - just for coffee and cooking.  If you haven't tasted organic milk you should try it - very sweet and delicious.

6.  To serve, garnish bowls of soup with a sprig of fresh lovage or other herb.  You can serve with additional grated cheese if you wish.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 1 1/2 cup - 375 ml serving): 260 calories, 10 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 290 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 3 g fibre, 4 g sugar, 15 g protein.  %Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet are 4% vitamin A, 50% vitamin C, 15% calcium and 10% iron.


© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc.  Visit me at www.chapmanslanding.com  


Try something new at my next cooking class - Meal from Oaxaca (Mexico) on Saturday June 5th.  The menu features fresh and vibrant foods with the flavours of Southern Mexico.  For registration and information please visit my website.

April's showers bring May flowers!

Sorrel & Lovage Soup with Carrot Mint Puree

This is not the prettiest looking soup but the contrast amongst the various flavours more than makes up for the appearance.

Sorrel and lovage are hardy, spring perennials and ones you can rely on to eat early. Sorrel has a unique sour taste that is refreshing in soup. If you don't have it you can still make this soup using another green like kale, spinach or Swiss chard. Lovage usually replaces celery but in smaller amounts as it has a stronger flavour.

This recipe makes 8 large servings - about 2 cups/500 ml each

1 Tbsp olive oil - 15 ml
1 onion, red, large, chopped
4 cups sorrel leaves, shredded - 1 liter
4 cups potatoes, diced - 1 liter
1/2 cup lovage, sliced (substitute celery) - 125 ml
1 bay leaf
8 cups vegetable broth, preferably home-made - 2 liters
1/2 tsp salt - 2.5 ml
1/2 tsp pepper - 2.5 ml

Carrot Mint Puree:
2 cups carrots, diced - 500 ml
2 cups vegetable broth - 500 ml
2 Tbsp garden mint, minced - 30 ml

Garnish: 1/2 cup chives, minced - 125 ml
1. Saute diced onions in olive oil over medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes. Use a soup pot that has a lid. Then add the shredded sorrel, diced potatoes, sliced lovage and bay leaf and saute another few minutes. Add broth, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender.
2. Meanwhile make the carrot puree - cook diced carrots in broth in a small pot. Puree and season with finely minced gardent mint. Set aside.
3. Remove the soup from the heat and puree half of the soup. Return to heat and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you use a commercial vegetable broth you might not need the salt. Home-made is best!
4. To serve, ladel soup in bowl and place a scoop of the the carrot puree in the centre. Garnish each bowl with freshly snipped chives.

Optional additions: dill, garlic, oregano and/or rosemary. You can substitute lettuce, spinach or Swiss chard for all or some of the sorrel. Add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt as a garnish.

NUTRITION FACTS: 140 calories, 5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 520 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 6 g fibre, 6 g sugar, 5 g protein. %Daily Values are 180% vitamin A, 60% vitamin C, 8% iron and 15% calcium.

© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc
http://nancyguppy.com/