Green Soup

I dug through my fridge yesterday and found radish greens and rutabaga greens. I combined them in this delicious green soup that was healthy and pretty to look at.

It's an easy recipe that can be made with whatever greens you have on hand: spinach, chard, rutabaga, turnip, dandelion, mustard. I like it with spicy radish greens from the large red and black radishes. I added the cabbage-y rutabaga greens because I had them - they added a nice base note.

We ate bowls of this soup for Sunday lunch - it was warm on the sunny patio, and the soup went well with crackers and cheese.

Here's how I made it:

Green Soup

3 lbs radish and rutabaga greens

2 small bulbs fennel

1/2 large onion (about 3/4 cup)

1 clove garlic

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp butter

2 cups vegetable stock

The weight of the greens is approximate. After weighing them, I cut off the thickest stems and discarded yellowed leaves. (I don't feel bad about this because they go in the compost.) Then I washed them well, chopped them coarsely, and set them aside.

I diced the fennel bulbs. Usually I cut out the tough core, but since this soup is puréed, I didn't bother.

I sautéed the fennel, onion and garlic in the olive oil and butter until the onion was tender. I added the greens and the stock, stirred well, covered the pot, and let it cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

I took it off the heat and let it cool a little. I puréed half at a time in the blender, then reheated in a clean pot.

Great nutrition and comfort food in one.

(You can omit the butter and just use olive oil if you want a vegan soup.)