This week's recipe is just right for anyone who has self doubts about their culinary skills. Find a number of winter vegetables. Simmer, purée, sauté, season and eat. I didn't have any broccoli, but it would be good to add the florets from 1/2 of a head. This is a low fat and easy way to enjoy the flavors of the winter market.

6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 yellow onion thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 baking potato or the equivalent in smaller potatoes, cut into large chunks. Leave the skin on.
2 carrots, thickly sliced
1 stalk celery, thickly sliced
2 heaping tsp dried herb mix (I used Italian)
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 bunch spinach, tough stems removed or the equivalent amount of baby spinach leaves
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp butter or low fat butter substitute
Chopped parsley

Bring the stock to a boil in a soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, potato, carrots, celery, salt, and herbs. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes. Stir in the white pepper and spinach. Cook some more until the spinach has wilted. Purée in batches in a blender or use a hand held immersion blender (much easier — a worthwhile invention). Sauté the mushrooms in butter over medium-high heat and stir into the soup. Garnish with chopped parsley. You can adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more stock if you wish. Served with a salad you probably get your five servings of vegetables for the day at one meal.

Serves 3-4

1 Comment Posted Post a comment below

Ellie Johnson said...

I need to monitor sodium, potassium, fat and protein. It would be wonderful if you could provide that information and the serving size.

Thanks Note: We started including the nutritional analysis for the recipes just last fall. Sorry the earlier recipes don't have the analysis. Dr. M

POSTED: June 11, 2008 01:57 PM

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