Crows in the Kitchen

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some fresh spring vegetables!

Farm Fresh to You provides me with a pantheon of good treats each week, but I am ready for some new variety! Eating and cooking seasonally is a challenge, and it is hard to find new ways to cook the veggies like chard, greens, and potatoes that continue to challenge the palate. Luckily, I get a little sheet of paper each week with suggested recipes from fellow farm box members to help ease the pain.

This past week the recipe was for Chard, leek, and Cilantro Soup!
The recipe is below, however I made several edits to the original.

3 medium Leeks cut with majority white parts *
1 large bunch Chard (I used green, although I am sure swiss or rainbow would be fine)
A medium sized bunch of cilantro loosly chopped
3-7 potatoes (about 1-2 cups depending on what you want) thinly, but not too thin, chopped
7 cups water- divided
S & P
1 t paprika

*Does anyone have suggestions for trimming leeks? I feel so wasteful every time I get them

Start the leeks and potatoes together with butter (I know–eww—but worth it you need the browning that only butter can provide) and paprika. Stir occasionally but not to much as you want a nice brown to form on the bottom of the soup pot. When this happens add 1/5 c water to deglaze the pot. Add the chard now, and allow to steam cook for about 5 minutes. Now add the additional 6.5 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook an additional 15 minutes. Once it has reduced enough that you feel good puree the contents of the pot.

At this point the recipe calls for sour creme or creme fraiche to be added. I didn’t have these so I added some Parmesan and whole milk to the mixture. It worked alright but next time I would just leave it soupy and sprinkle a little cheese on top. Or, I was thinking of adding some pureed white beans to thicken it. Thoughts?

So I served the soup with rice- although unnecessary because I had roasted two large garlic bulbs. We toasted some whole wheat bread and smooshed the roasted garlic on the toast and dipped it in the soup! Outstanding. A perfect spring dinner or lunch!