Good Soup

When I made this soup, my dining companion asked if I had a name for it.  I responded that I was open to suggestions, and the first name he came up with was “Good Soup.”  I’ll take it.

The idea for this soup just came one day when I was eating boiled turnips.  Whimsically throwing things together in a pot doesn’t usually work for me, but I was very pleased to find that this flavor combination worked as well in reality as it did in my imagination. 

The turnip and potato make for a nice starchy, earthy base that is complemented by the sweetness of the apple and slight spice of the fennel.  And sausage needs no explaining.  The soup is creamy without being heavy, and with a slice of soft buttered bread, I found it perfect for a rainy spring day.

Fun fact: potatoes are a rich source of potassium, and they also contain enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy.  Eat up, me hearties.

Good Soup

Soup Base:

1 medium turnip, peeled (generous 1 cup diced turnip)

1 small potato, peeled (generous ½ cup diced potato)

1 small onion, peeled (generous ½ cup diced onion)

½ medium fennel bulb (generous ½ cup diced fennel)

1 small apple, peeled (generous ½ cup large diced apple)

2 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups water + 2 teaspoons chicken soup base)

White Sauce:

1½ teaspoons butter

1½ teaspoons flour

1 cup milk

large pinch of salt

pepper to taste

1 Italian sausage link, casing removed

Optional toppings: French fried onions, croutons, or sautéed apples and onions

(You may do as much or as little multi-tasking as desired with the following steps.)

Make the Soup Base:

Combine the generous measurements of turnip, potato, onion, and fennel in a pot with the chicken broth.  (If you have extra chopped vegetables, see the optional step below.) Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the diced apple, and simmer for 2-5 minutes more until the vegetables and apple are all fork tender.  Remove from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.

Make the White Sauce:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Sprinkle in the flour, whisking constantly, and cook until the mixture gets bubbly.  Still whisking, slowly pour in the milk until it is all combined.  Continue to cook and whisk until the mixture thickens and boils.  (The higher you turn the heat up for this stage, the faster it will cook and the faster you will want to stir.  Just be careful not to scorch it.)  Remove from heat, add salt and pepper, and set aside.

While vegetables are simmering, crumble the sausage into a frying pan and cook through, chopping to desired size.  Once cooked, remove the sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the pan.

Optional Step: Sauté the extra chopped vegetables in the rendered fat from the sausage until just tender.  Add the apples, and continue to sauté until the apples have softened.  Set aside.

Puree the vegetable and broth mixture with an immersion blender, blender, or food processor.  Stir in the sausage, white sauce, and additional vegetables, if using.  Reheat to desired temperature, and serve.

Garlic Roasted Asparagus

I’ve broken the barrage of beige!  This is the first green thing I’ve posted here, and I think it’s very seasonally appropriate.  The freakishly warm February weather has made it feel like spring, and asparagus was a very good price at the store, which prompted me to revisit this recipe.  It has become my go-to way of preparing asparagus.  I’m likely to be a fan of any oven-browned vegetable, and when you throw in crispy golden bits of garlic and toasty asparagus tops that remind me of popcorn, well…let’s just say one batch doesn’t stretch as far as it might otherwise.

If you look closely, you might notice the asparagus become less numerous with each picture. I'm not sure how that happened...

 Fun fact: asparagus is a source of inulin, a type of fiber that acts as a prebiotic, meaning it stimulates healthy bacterial growth in the lower GI.

Garlic Roasted Asparagus

½ a bunch of asparagus (about 8-9 oz.)

2 cloves garlic, minced fine

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450°F. Wash asparagus spears and cut about ¼ inch off of the bottom.  Using a peeler (Kuhn Rikon ones work especially well for this), peel the fibrous outer layer away from the bottom inch or two of each spear.

Spread the asparagus into a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle the olive oil over the top, and toss with your fingers to distribute evenly.  Give the asparagus a good salt and pepper-ing, and then spread the minced garlic over the top with your fingers.

Roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, without turning, until asparagus is tender when stabbed with a fork but not mushy.  The side of the asparagus touching the pan and the minced garlic should both be light golden brown.  (The browned asparagus tops are especially good.)  Serve hot.*

*The long asparagus spears look elegant on the plate but admittedly taste better cut into pieces due to their fibrousness.  So, use your discretion on whether to cut before serving.

Added Bonus: Today you get two garlicky recipes for the price of one!  It's a bargain.

Creamy Garlic Potato Soup

Adapted very slightly from howsweeteats.com

1 head garlic + drizzle of olive oil

½ tablespoon olive oil

½ tablespoon butter

½ yellow onion, diced

1½ lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups chicken broth*

¼ cup cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

Topping Options: croutons, shoestring potatoes, French’s fried onions, or even store-bought honey mustard and onion pretzel pieces, (original uses crispy Brussels sprouts)

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Cut garlic head in half across the equator, and rub away excess papery skin.  Set each garlic hemisphere on a piece of tin foil, then drizzle the cut sides with olive oil.  Rub slightly to ensure it covers the surface.  Wrap into a tight foil package, and roast in the oven for about 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown. (You can carefully peel back the foil and check.)  Once done, unwrap and set aside to cool.

Heat olive oil and butter in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion and a pinch of salt, and sauté for about 5-10 minutes until soft and translucent.  Add diced potatoes and broth to the pot, making sure there is enough liquid to cover.  Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover and cook until the potatoes are quite tender.

Turn off the heat.  Here comes the fun part.  Take the cooled garlic, and squeeze the cloves from the papery wrappers and into the soup.  Puree the soup with an immersion blender, normal blender, or food processor.  Return soup to the pot, and reheat over a low flame.  Stir in cream and salt and pepper to taste.  This soup is good with a crispy topping, Parmesan toast, and a green vegetable.

*Add more to make a thinner soup, if desired.  Alternately, you can use water and jarred chicken soup base – it comes as a paste that you can store in the fridge.