root_veggie_soup

Root Vegetable Soup

October 24, 2012

This recipe is from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook by Sally Fallon. It is a simple and warming soup, perfect for a cold fall or winter day. When I made this soup last week, I was excited to find all of the ingredients at my local farmer’s market – making the soup extra nutritious and tasty. The parsley and sprouted bread croutons are my additions and make the dish extra beautiful to look at too.

Eater’s Note: Real chicken broth or stock made from the bones of healthy, pastured chickens is a nutritional powerhouse. This is not the same chicken broth that is sold canned or boxed in grocery stores. The only way to get it is to make it yourself or buy it at your local farmer’s market. Holistic Squid has a great post on the benefits, as well as three different recipes from beginner to advanced. Yum.

 

 
Ingredients
  • 3 onions peeled and chopped
  • 2 leeks sliced (white and pale green parts only)
  • 4 carrots peeled and sliced
  • 2 turnips peeled and sliced
  • 1 rutabaga peeled and sliced
  • 3 parsnips peeled and sliced
  • 4 tablespoons butter (preferably "grass-fed" or "pastured")
  • 1.5 quarts chicken stock (or combination of chicken stock and water)
  • several thyme sprigs tied together
  • 4 cloves garlic peeled and mashed
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • pinch ground nutmeg
  • sea salt and pepper

    For Serving
  • finely chopped parsley
  • piima cream or creme fraiche
  • sprouted bread croutons
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in a large, stainless steel pot and add onions, leeks, carrots, turnips, rutabaga, and parsnips. Cover and cook gently about ½ hour over low heat, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add stock, bring to a boil, and skim off any foam that rises to the top.
  3. Add garlic, thyme, and cayenne. Simmer, covered, for about ½ hour until the vegetables are soft.
  4. Remove thyme and puree soup with handheld blender.
  5. Season to taste and thin with water if soup is too thick.
Notes
Serve with parsley and piima cream or creme fraiche and coutons. For coutons, cut sprouted bread into ½ inch squares. Toss with a little olive oil and toast until golden brown and crispy.