Green Soup
By á-174942
Ingredients
- 1 large Swiss chard bunch
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 bunch green onions sliced
- 1 cup cilantro - (loosely packed)
- 5 cups water - (to 6)
- Salt to taste
- 1 large baking potato
- 2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil divided
- 2 onions chopped
- Marsala or Sherry optional
- 2 garlic cloves - (to 3) finely chopped
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
- 1 dash cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or more to taste
Details
Servings 8
Preparation
Step 1
Wash the greens thoroughly, then cut the chard and kale off their stems and slice the leaves. Combine the chard, kale, green onions and cilantro in a soup pot with the water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Peel the potato, or just scrub it well if you prefer, cut it into big pieces and add it to the pot. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for about half an hour.
Meanwhile, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and a sprinkle of salt and cook them over low heat until they are golden brown and soft. This will take up to 45 minutes; don't hurry, you only need to give them a stir once in a while, and it's the slow cooking that develops the sweetness.
If you like, you can deglaze the pan at the end with 2 tablespoons of Marsala or Sherry. Increase the heat to medium, remove the skillet from the stove, and add the Marsala. Return it to the stove and cook the onions, stirring, 1 minute. Add the onions to the soup.
Put another teaspoon of oil in the skillet and cook the garlic over low heat, stirring, until it sizzles and smells great, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic to the soup pot and simmer everything for a few minutes more.
At this point there won't be much liquid in the soup, so add enough broth -- about 3 cups -- to make the soup a soup. Coarsely puree the soup but don't over-process it (When you puree the soup, it's easiest to use a hand-held blender in the pot, rather than transfer the hot soup to a blender. If you do use a blender, puree the soup in small batches). Anything with potatoes in it can get slimy if you work it too much.
Return the soup to the pot, bring it back to a simmer and taste. Add salt as needed, grind in a little black pepper, add the cayenne and the lemon juice. Stir well and taste again. Now you're on your own -- correct the seasoning and serve big steaming bowls of green soup.
This recipe yields 8 servings.
Each serving: 109 calories; 742 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 2.58 grams fiber.
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