Celery Root, Cabbage, White Bean, and Potato Soup

I realize that for some of you who are experiencing very warm early spring weather, soup might not appeal to you, but for those of us on the West Coast where things are still slightly rainy/snowy/cloudy, a big bowl of soup can be just what you feel like for dinner. The picture here probably doesn't do the flavors of this soup justice - while simple, the way the celery root, cabbage, potato, and white bean work together is superb, and even better with a topping of parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil to finish it off. I've been getting more cabbage in my CSA box which has inspired me to try to use it in different ways, but my favorite way to use it is still in soup. Even if you think you don't like cabbage, give this a try.  It has become one of the very few things I make which I actually repeat. You can also make this without the celery root if you can't find it and just use more potatoes.

Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Serves 4-6

Extra virgin olive oil
2 lb. celery root, peeled and diced into small pieces
1/2 lb. yukon gold potatoes, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. spring onions or leeks, sliced
1/2 of one large or 1 small head of cabbage, sliced into strips and roughly chopped
1 15oz. can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
5 c. low sodium vegetable broth
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat 2T olive oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions/leeks and garlic and saute for about 2-3 minutes until starting to soften. Add the celery root and potatoes, a pinch of salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes more, stirring occassionally, Add the stock and scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a medium-low simmer. Add the cabbage and stir to incorporate, then add the beans and 1t. salt. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes and celery root are tender. Taste for additional seasoning (even low-sodium stocks vary), then ladle into bowls and top with the freshly grated parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

Fall Vegetable Barley Soup

We're back in California after a wonderful Thanksgiving trip up to Seattle where I pitched in to create our feast of mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots; sauteed brussel sprouts with slivered almonds, lemon zest, and thyme; a roasted trio of root vegetables (sweet potatoes, butternut and kabocha squash); stuffing; and local heritage breed turkey; not to mention my sister's fabulous homemade pumpkin pies and cranberry sauce. Needless to say it was a wonderful meal!

Before we left, I made this great soup to get us ready for the holiday using up some of the fall vegetables from our last CSA box - tokyo turnips and carrots. Tokyo turnips are tender white turnips that don't need to be peeled, and this recipe even takes advantage of the greens that are attached. If your turnips don't have greens or are a harder variety, peel them before chopping and substitute the turnip greens with some kale. Even if you think you don't like turnips I encourage you to try this recipe - when they're cut up small and a component of this flavorful soup, you'll forget you ever didn't like them.

Fall Vegetable Barley Soup
Serves 4-6

Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

4 turnips, peeled if thick skinned, and diced into small pieces
Turnip greens from the bunch of carrots, or 1 small bunch kale, chopped
3 medium carrots, diced into small pieces (similar in size to the turnips if you can)
3-4 stalks celery, diced into small pieces (ditto on the size)
3 leeks, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
6 c. low-sodium vegetable broth
1 c. semi-pearled barley
1 t. dried or fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Heat 2 T. olive oil in a dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add the turnips, carrots, celery, garlic, leeks, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper and saute until softened a little, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth, tomatoes, and bay leaf, and 1 t. kosher salt as well as some fresh ground black pepper and bring to a low boil. Add the barley, reduce the heat to medium low, and let cook for about 25-30 minutes or until the barley is al dente. Then, add the turnip greens (or kale) and cook while stirring for another 1-2 minutes until the greens are wilted. Taste for additional seasoning depending on the saltiness of your broth and serve.

Green Goodness Soup

One of my favorite things about fall is soup. There's something comforting about a nice big bowl when it starts to get dark earlier and temperatures are dropping. But perhaps most of all I love soup because it's so easy to make and so good for you (and you can make soup with almost any kind vegetables that you have on hand). Our recent CSA box had 2 heads of broccoli in it and I'm not a big broccoli person so I needed to figure out somehow else to use it. I was reminded of our trip to New Zealand last year, when we had a broccoli soup that I loved and it was thickened with potatoes instead of cream, making it both healthier and heartier. I also added some kale and leeks to this recipe, and when it's all blended up it turns the most lovely green color. Best of all, unlike some other pureed soups, this one is actually filling, and tastes just as good the next day!

Green Goodness Soup
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Extra virgin olive oil
2 heads broccoli, stalks chopped and florets separated
2 medium russet potatoes (~1 1/4 lbs.) peeled and cut into 1/2'' pieces
2 leeks, white and light green parts, sliced
1/2 bunch lacinato kale, leaves removed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
4 c. low sodium vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Heat 1 T. olive oil in a dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic, and onion and saute about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the broccoli stalks and potatoes and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil and add 1 t. kosher salt and some fresh ground black pepper as well as the bay leaf. Add the kale (stir to submerge), cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the broccoli florets and recover the pot, then cook for an additional 5 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup or a regular blender in batches. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve garnished with shaved parmesan cheese or some fresh herbs, such as chives.

Potato-Leek-Onion Soup

One of my favorite recipes growing up was a Potato-Leek Soup from the Williams-Sonoma Soups cookbook. I have made it dozens of times over the years, but this time wanted to dress it up a little with a few more ingredients and also try making it with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth (Adam and I are in the midst of a no-meat, no-alcohol January to start off the New Year). Other than some chopping at the beginning, this is an easy soup to make, it's very healthy and satisfying, and it tastes even better the next day. Serve with some good bread and a green salad.

Potato-Leek-Onion Soup
Serves 4-6

Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 1 hour

1 T. unsalted butter
2 lb. leeks, thinly sliced, white and light green parts only (soak leeks briefly in a small bowl of water to remove any grit that gets into the leeks)
3 lb. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into eighths (quarter and then slice in half lengthwise again) and then cut into thin slices
1/2 large yellow onion (or 1 small), thinly sliced
A few inside stalks of celery and their leaves, thinly sliced (about 1 c. chopped)
6 c. low-sodium vegetable broth/stock
2 bay leaves
A few springs fresh thyme, or about 1 t. dried thyme
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Heat butter in a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, leeks, and 1/2 t. kosher salt and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaves, sprigs of thyme (you can leave them on the stem, they will infuse the flavor in the broth and usually just fall off into the soup as it's cooking), 1 t. kosher salt (if using low-sodium broth) and 1/4 t. pepper.

Bring to a low boil, then simmer over low heat, covered, for 30 minutes, until potatoes are cooked. Remove the bay leaves and thyme (if using fresh) and adjust for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if desired. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Hearty Vegetable Bean Soup

It was a rainy day on Sunday in the Bay Area, which made it a perfect day for soup. I decided to try using dried beans, which turned out to be much easier than I expected. You can find much more variety in dried beans than canned, and they have this wonderful sort of al dente bite to them when cooked, versus canned beans which can be a little mushy. Having said this, I have shown how to modify the recipe below if you are in a rush and want to use canned. All it took to use the dried beans was to throw them in a pot with some water in the morning and let them sit until I made the soup that evening. Then, you just simmer the soup for longer than you would with canned beans, which is usually fine with me on Sunday evening as I'm usually at home preparing for work for the week. Another great thing about this soup is that it makes a big pot and tastes arguably even better over the next few days as leftovers.

Hearty Vegetable Bean Soup
Serves 6-8

16 oz. flageolet beans or other dried bean of your choice
(alternatively use two 15 oz. cans cannellini beans)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2-3 leeks, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 carrots, cut into 1/2'' pieces
28 oz. can San Marzano plum tomatoes
4 c. low-sodium vegetable broth
1 small bunch or about 10 springs fresh thyme
(really try to use fresh thyme - it's important to the flavor of the soup)
2 bay leaves
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. pepper
1 bunch kale or swiss chard (I used lacinato kale)

If using dried beans, soak for at least 4 hours or overnight (I just soaked them starting in the late morning and cooked the soup the same evening). When ready to make the soup, drain and rinse the beans.

In a large dutch oven or pot, heat 1 T. olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Saute until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the carrots and the can of tomatoes (plus their juices) and stir to combine. Add the dried beans or canned if using. Add the vegetable stock and the whole thyme sprigs and bay leaves (the thyme leaves will just dissolve off of the branches as the soup cooks). Add 1 t. kosher salt and 1/2 t. of the pepper. Bring the soup to a low boil, then cover and simmer for 2 hours if using dried beans or 30 minutes to 1 hour if using canned beans, stirring occasionally (the more time the better!).  About 30 minutes before the soup is done (1 1/2 hours into the simmering process for dried beans, anywhere from right away to 30 minutes later for canned beans, depending on how long you're planning to simmer it), add the kale or swiss chard and stir well into the soup to combine. Recover and simmer for the remaining time. Taste for seasoning - I found that since I used low-sodium broth and it was a large pot of soup, I needed an additional 1 t. kosher salt and 1/2 t. pepper.

We liked this soup on its own but it was especially delicious with some grated or shaved parmesan cheese on the top!