Good Green Soup

Spring!   It’s here, complete with snow that will soon turn to muddy slush.   I don’t have anything poking through in the garden yet, but our local hoop house gardeners soon will and I’m ready for some good greenery.

This soup was another favorite in the Deli and a great one for spring.  When I started working there in the 90’s it was a tiny operation and I was making things up as I went along.  My friend Julie started the Deli process and then moved on, and this recipe is the result of me interpreting the ingredients on one of her soup signs that she left.   I pieced together my own version and here it is, a product of recipe evolution and change!

Buttermilk

This recipe was also was the beginning of my love of buttermilk in soups.  Buttermilk can add a savory tang that brings a surprising element to a dish—I love it and now call it one of my Helpers.  Try it in other soups or casseroles.
One thing to note: Buttermilk curdles if it gets too hot, so add it at the end of the cooking process when the dish has cooled a little.

You can substitute any kind of green for the kale and add more if you’re needing more chlorophyll.

Good Green Soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes    Cook Time: 1.5 hours

In a soup pot combine:

1 1/2 pounds Potatoes, cubed

3 – 4 stalks Celery, diced

1 Carrot, diced

1 medium Onion, diced

2 1/2 cups Water

1/2  teaspoon Sea Salt (taste and adjust later)

Cook until potatoes are soft, 30-40 minutes.

Add:

4 cups Kale and/or Spinach, chopped (or other greens too)

1 small Zucchini, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon Tamari

1 teaspoon Dill Weed, dried, or 2 Tablespoons fresh

1/2 teaspoon Granulated Garlic or 1 clove fresh Garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Butter

Simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat.  

Let sit and cool for around 20 minutes, then puree with an immersion blender or a food processor. 

Pour it back into the soup pot and stir in:

1 cup Milk or Chicken Stock

1 cup Buttermilk

1/4 cup Heavy Cream (optional)

1 Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast

Taste and adjust.   You may need to add more liquid or Salt. 

And if you are truly celebrating Spring, have a dark beer and a boiled egg with your Good Green soup!

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A bowl by Karen Misseldine (from an Empty Bowls meal) and a maple spoon by Frank (not Lloyd) Wright.

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