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Green Soup: The Original

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Ingredients

  • 1 bunch chard or spinach, (8 oz)
  • 1 bunch kale, (8 oz)
  • 4-5 green onions, sliced, white and green parts
  • 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro
  • 1 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 medium Yukon Gold potato (5 oz)
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • Marsala or dry sherry (optional)
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 1/2-3 cups any basic vegetable broth or canned vegetable broth
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Cayenne
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
  • Garnish
  • Fruity green olive oil
  • Optional Garnishes
  • Crumbled fresh white cheese
  • Croutons

Details

Preparation

Step 1

• Wash the greens thoroughly, trim off their stems, and slice the leaves. Combine the chard or spinach, kale, green onions and cilantro in a large soup pot with 3 cups (750 ml) water and a teaspoon of salt.
• Peel the potato, or just scrub it well if you prefer, cut it into small pieces, and add it to the pot. Bring the water to a boil, turn down the flame to low, cover the pot and let the soup simmer for about half an hour.
• Meanwhile, chop the onion, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, and cook the onion with a small sprinkle of salt over a medium flame until it is golden brown and soft. This will take up to half an hour. Don't hurry; give it a stir once in a while, and let the slow cooking develop the onion's sweetness. If you like, you can deglaze the pan at the end with a bit of Marsala or sherry — not required, but a nice touch.
• Add the caramelized onion to the soup. Put the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in the pan and stir the chopped garlic in it for just a couple of minutes, until it sizzles and smells great. Add the garlic to the pot and simmer the soup for 10 minutes more.
• Add enough of the broth to make the soup a soup — it should pour easily from a ladle — and purée it in the blender, in batches, or use an immersion blender. Don’'t overprocess; potatoes can turn gummy if you work them too much.
• Return the soup to the pot, bring it back to a simmer, and taste. Add a pinch more salt if needed, grind in a little black pepper, and add a pinch of cayenne and a tablespoon of lemon juice.
• Stir well and taste again. Now use your taste buds — correct the seasoning to your taste with a drop more lemon juice or another pinch of salt, and then serve big steaming bowls of green soup.
• I always finish this soup with my all-time favorite garnish, a thin drizzle of fruity olive oil. This garnish is not a decoration, it is an essential part of the soup. The taste of the fresh, unheated oil is entirely different from the taste of cooked oil, and I deliberately use a modest amount of oil for sautéing so that I can add some fresh oil at the end.
• Other garnishes can be added. Crumbled white cheese is a natural; I like Cotija, a dry Mexican white cheese, or feta. Croutons are great, especially if they’'re made from rye or pumpernickel bread. Garlic croutons are the bomb, as my kids used to say.
• Another way...
Rice instead of potato: I often eliminate the potato and instead add 3 tablespoons of Arborio rice to the greens when I cook them. That little bit of rice distributes its starch into the water and purées beautifully. No fear of overblending with rice, so you can have a soup of truly velvety texture.

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