Guilt Free Shopping- Farmer’s Market Soup
My guilty pleasure during the time of COVID has been Sunday morning outings to our local farmer’s market. A chance to get out of the house and meet a friend. Not to worry we are adhering to the CDC guidelines for masks, distance, and handwashing. For the most part fellow shoppers at the market are doing the same. We do a quick perusal of the market, decide what we want, shop, and then go and sit on the retaining wall to chat and drink our coffee, all in our six-foot bubble.
As winter fades and the market blossoms with an array of beautiful fruits and vegetables…
I Can’t Resist
I’m like a kid in a candy store, I want everything I see, I end up with way too many fruits and veggies for the week. Friday rolled around and I still had a crisper full of fruits and veggies from last Sunday’s market. If I wanted a guilt-free excursion to the market this coming weekend I had better empty that fridge now.
I took inventory-a bunch of broccoli, a couple of florets of cauliflower, half an onion, a lonely leek, two potatoes, hmmm this has the makings of delicious soup. I pulled out the frozen homemade chicken stock I had squirreled away a couple of weeks ago and I was in business.
Farmer’s Market Soup
This soup starts much like my favorite soup, Potato Leek Soup. I dice the onions, leeks, potatoes, smash a couple of cloves of garlic, and separate the broccoli and cauliflower into manageable florets. I heat my pot, add a knob of butter and a swig of olive oil, and sauteed my onions and leeks until soft. Season with salt, add garlic cloves and saute for a couple of minutes before adding the stock. Pile your broccoli, cauliflower. and potatoes into the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the veggies or super tender. If I had seen the half bag of spinach left in the fridge, I would have thrown that in too. How easy is that?
At the Finish Line
Once it is finished simmering, puree the soup either by carefully transferring the soup to a blender or using a hand blender. Make sure the head of your hand blender is fully immersed in the soup or you will end up painting your walls or worse, splattering yourself with hot soup, nooooo. Blend to desired consistency, less for a chunky country soup or more until “souper” smooth-your choice.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, throw it in a bowl and you’re done. The potatoes thicken the soup naturally but you could still add some heavy whipping cream (the taste bump is self-explanatory) or even yogurt/sour cream. Stir in some shredded cheese for a Broccoli and Cheese Soup. You’re done! Assemble a nice cheese board, grab a glass of wine, your loaf of No-Knead Bread, and ENJOY.
Dress the Soup, Toppings a Bowl
Hello?! Of course, you need toppings on your soup.
A swirl of yogurt or sour cream and some chives or green onions.
A sprinkling of shredded cheese, especially if you have added cheese to your soup.
Toasted croutons or a baguette slice with melted cheese.
I garnish with a little lemon zest too, just for a little zing.
Everyone’s fav, crispy CRUMBLED BACON. So good.
And that’s how you get ready for guilt-free shopping at the Farmer’s Market this coming weekend!
Farmer's Market Soup
Equipment
- Hand blender
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion diced or 1/2 onion if you using leeks
- 1 leek white part only, washed and thinly sliced
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock homemade or low sodium commercial broth
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 1-1/2 pounds broccoli florets ~2 bunches of broccoli, cauliflower works too
- 2 potatoes, any kind peeled and diced into large cubes
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded (or other cheese of choice)
- 1/2 cup cream or milk
Instructions
- Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and leeks saute for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add garlic and saute for additional minute
- Add broth/water, broccoli, potato, salt and pepper. Bring just to a boil, turn the heat down to medium, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the broccoli is soft.
- Turn heat off (but leave on stove). Puree using a stick blender until desired consistency
- Stir in cream or milk then or add cheese, stirring to melt. All optional, all good.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed
- Ladle into bowls.
Garnishes
- Sour cream or yogurt
- Chopped Chives
- Shredded cheese
- Crispy crumbled bacon (family favorite)
- Serve with nice crusty bread and glass of wine.