Who feels like having some immunity chard soup with leeks and lovely carrots ? This happened because I am really counting on my soups to deliver as much nutrition as they do flavor, I try my best (with few exceptions), to not load them up with heavy cream.
We all know that the best way to stay healthy throughout the colder months is to boost up our immunity system. Some of the healthiest foods on the planet: chard, leeks, parsley and parsley root, come together with their supernatural powers to deliver just that in this comforting chard soup.
I was feeling just a little bit under the weather last week, so I went to work on an immunity soup that does not involve chicken. This is what I came up with ! Nothing wrong with a comforting bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup; I remember many winters counting the minutes until I got home to warm up a bowl of that goodness.
This time I was looking at a bunch of beautiful swiss chard, and a large leek to turn into an immunity elixir. I decided to share it with you because a few days later I was literally craving this chard soup again.
So Sunday morning rolls around, and I go downstairs in my kitchen, in my pajamas and whip up another pot of this immunity soup. It’s very green, extremely delicious bursting with freshness from the parsley and with a nice kick from the green chile pepper.
The parsley root here is enough to give the puréed soup some texture without the need for cream. You are free to keep this soup rustic and refrain from blending it; In which case I would suggest using some diced colorful carrots for a contrast of colors.
You will be able to taste different flavors coming through, so it’s almost like a different soup. You might want to try half of the soup puréed and the rest as is.
I feel that you need some crunch from toasted bread to balance out the smooth texture of the soup, however I loved it just as much with some black or brown rice and a spoon of creme fresh on top. Also, pepitas make a great garnish for pretty much any smooth soup out there.
If you would like to add a little bit more body to this chard soup, a zucchini would do the trick without altering the flavor. I make a few variations of this based on whatever I might have around the shack.
- 1 leek large thinly sliced
- 1 bunch Swiss chard organic
- 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley organic
- 1/4 bunch cilantro tops only
- 1 large parsley root diced( or 2 carrots or both )
- 1/2 green chile sliced
- 3 tbsp extra Virgin olive oil
- Sea salt to taste
- 5 -6 c vegetable stock organic
- Whole grain bread toasted & diced
- Coarse sea salt parsley, black rice or sour cream for garnish
- Cut the leeks lengthwise and thinly slice. Rinse well in a bowl of cold water and transfer to a colander to drain. Roughly chop the chard leaves and thinly slice the stalks. Roughly chop the parsley including the stalks and transfer them to the bowl with the chard stalks.
- Heat up a good lug of olive oil in a heavy soup pot and saute the leeks until they have wilted. Stir in the chile pepper, bay leaf, chard stalks, parsley root and parsley stalks. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and continue cooking until the vegetables have softened; about 10 minutes.
- Add the chard and parsley leaves to the pot and stir to combine. Cook until the chard has wilted then add the water. Bring to a gentle simmer and allow everything to cook together for a few minutes. Discard bay leaf and adjust seasonings to your taste.
- At this point you can serve this soup as is with pieces of torn bread and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Or using a hand-held blender purée until smooth and serve with pieces of toast, herbs, toasted pepitas or creme fresh and black rice.
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P.S. this Vegetarian Kale Soup <—Perfection !
From Other Blogs:
Immunity Soup Recipe from 101Cookbooks
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