Soup Recipes

Leek Cauliflower Soup

leeks

Leeks add wonderful flavor to soup.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 large leek, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium head cauliflower
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
Salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat, and saute the leeks, cauliflower, and garlic for about 10 minutes. Stir in the vegetable broth, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 45 minutes.

Remove the soup from heat. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or hand mixer. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the heavy cream, and continue blending until smooth.

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Nettle Soup

Nettles in a bag

Try this basic nettle soup recipe, then get creative and find your own favorite version. What is your favorite addition? Let us know in the comments below!

1/2 of a 5-gallon bucket nettles
6 cups water or stock
Lots of garlic
Some onion
Salt, pepper, and tabasco to taste
Butter (optional)

Simmer all ingredients. After about 15 minutes, add garlic and onion, then simmer 5 minutes more. Pulse or puree in blender. Optional: add a blob of butter to the pot.

Infinitely variable to individual preference!

We thank Brenda for this recipe, which is her favorite nettle recipe.

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Spring Green Soup

Nettle leaf

Nettles and chickweed make for a tasty wild-foraged soup.

1/3 pound freshly harvested nettles, washed (use gloves!)
Handful of freshly harvested chickweed, washed
2-3 small cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small yellow potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 finely minced, dried baby shitake mushroom (optional)

In large pot, melt butter and add onions. Saute 5 minutes or until golden. Add potatoes and garlic, sauté 1-2 minutes. Add stock, milk, mushroom, greens, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Blend until smooth.

We thank Greg Atkinson for this recipe.

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Six Tips for Cooking Dried Beans

Don’t shy away from any great legume just because it’s dried. Here are some preparation suggestions, thanks to The Kitchn.

diana fava beans

Need some inspiration for your bean dishes? Try diana fava beans, the smaller and rounder sibling to the more typical lima bean-shaped windsor fava bean. They’re super tasty!

1. Use as little water as possible. Don’t let the beans get soggy or ultra-soft, because that dilutes their rich pot liquor, the incredibly flavorful liquid that comes off as they cook. Cook them slowly over low heat, only adding water if they start to dry up. Add enough water to just cover the beans, bring them to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook, uncovered, as low as you can.

2. Don’t mess with the beans. Some people add bacon, ham or garlic. However, well-grown heirloom beans have incredible ranges of flavor, nothing like canned beans. Try a couple pots of beans with just salt and pepper. You’ll be surprised at what you taste.

3. Don’t forget the salt! Beans need some salt. They have immense natural flavor, but they need some salt to bring it out, and they absorb quite a bit before it starts show through. Add a teaspoon of salt to the cooking water and more to taste in the last half hour of cooking.

4. Soak the beans. Rinsing dried beans then soaking them overnight in clean water will reduce the cooking time for most beans, although good fresh dried beans are less in need of a soak.

5. Cook dried beans for the right amount of time. Cooking time depends on the bean, but usually you’re looking at about 2-4 hours. Cover with water and simmer on an evening when you’re doing other things. Refrigerate and eat over the next several days.

6. Fresh beans need less cooking time. Freshly hulled beans will cook in about 45 minutes or less.

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Chickweed Parsnip Soup

Parsnips on a bed of kale1/2 stick unsalted butter or 3 ounces olive oil
5 medium parsnips, diced
1 large leek, diced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 apples, peeled and diced
1/2 cup heavy cream or whole milk
4 cups chickweed
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Blanch half the chickweed for about 5 seconds in boiling water and shock in an icebath. Reserve.

Melt butter in a large pot. Saute onions and parsnips until onions are translucent. Cover with stock and apples. Simmer until parsnips are tender, about 15 minutes. Take about 1/2 the mixture out of the pot and blend in a blender with blanched half of chickweed until smooth. Return to pot and add cream and nutmeg. Add the rest of the chickweed and take off heat when it wilts. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

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Maple Parsnip Soup

Pile of Parsnips

It’s parsnip time!

3 tablespoons butter (or half butter and half olive oil)
1 pound parsnips, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup maple syrup
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt to taste
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed soup pot until it begins to brown. Add and sauté the chopped parsnips, onions and garlic until the onions are translucent but not brown. Then add the broth and nutmeg, bring to a simmer, and cook until parsnips are soft, about 40 minutes. Add the evaporated milk and remove from heat. Pour into a blender/food processor and puree until velvety smooth. You can also leave the soup in the pot and use a hand blender or stick blender to puree. Stir in maple syrup, mustard, and salt. Serve hot with toasted nuts for garnish. Serves 8.

We thank the cookbook Simply in Season for this recipe.

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Parsnip Soup with Corned Beef and Savoy Cabbage

Savoy cabbage head

Savoy cabbage is hardy enough to make it through winter, and some roots, like parsnips, are also still available at this time of year. Fortunately, if you combine these with corned beef, you have a fantastic Saint Paddy’s Day dinner.

3 (1/8-inch-thick) slices cooked corned beef (4 ounces), fat trimmed, chopped (3 tablespoons reserved, divided)
2 bay leaves
2 large parsnips (about 13 ounces), peeled, coarsely chopped
2 cups chopped onions
3 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
3 large savoy cabbage leaves, center ribs removed
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Sauté 2 tablespoons corned beef fat and bay leaves in large saucepan over medium-high heat until fat renders, about 2 minutes. Stir in parsnips and onions. Add 3 cups broth. Cover; simmer until parsnips are tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut cabbage and corned beef slices crosswise into very thin strips. Melt 1 tablespoon fat in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and corned beef. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss until cabbage wilts, about 3 minutes.

Working in batches, puree soup and cream in blender until smooth. Return to same pan. Re-warm soup, thinning with more broth if too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Mound corned beef and cabbage in center.

We thank Epicurious.com for this delicious recipe, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!

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Fava Bean Borscht

fava beans

Fava beans are great fresh, but you can also dry them and eat them in hearty soups, like this flavorful borscht. The crews have taste tested this particular recipe, and we give it a big thumbs up!

Make 2 quarts

1/2 cup Nash’s Windsor fava beans, dried
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/3 cup oil
1 medium leek or onion, sliced fine
2 sticks celery, sliced
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon Nash’s mustard seeds
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium turnip, sliced fine
4 medium potatoes, cut into eighths
4 medium beets, sliced
2 cups cabbage, sliced
2-3 cups water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup dill, parsley or beet greens
Black pepper

Wash the favas and soak overnight, covered with water. Place beans in a pot with 3 cups fresh water, then add bay leaves and basil. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat until tender. Do not drain.

Heat the oil in a stock pot. Add leeks/onions, celery, caraway seeds, mustard seeds and garlic, and cook until tender. Add carrots, turnip, potatoes and beets, and simmer 3-5 minutes until veggies are tender. Combine with cooked fava beans. Add water, vinegar, dill, pepper and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in sliced cabbage. Serve with hot sauce and sour cream.

We thank Mary Wong of our Nash’s Farm Store crew for this recipe.

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Six Nettle Recipes

Nettle leaf

Young nettles are easily blanched and frozen to enjoy year round. They are easy to dry as well for healthy herbal teas.

Farmer’s Nettle Frittata
Saute red onions, mushrooms in season, grated carrot, finely sliced broccoli spears and minced chickweed together in olive oil until wilted. Add a handful of minced young nettle stalk and leaves on top, cover and let steam until nettles wilt. Meanwhile, prepare a mixture of eggs, minced parsley and dried basil. Stir well and pour it over the steaming veggies. Place a cover on the pan, wait until eggs set, then flip until done. Delicious as is or with salsa or chickweed pesto.

Leek, Chickweed and Nettle Soup
Saute chopped leeks, celery and crushed garlic cloves in olive oil until soft; add diced potatoes (I use russets or Yukon golds). Add minced chickweed, nettles, parsley, dried basil, turmeric, salt and perhaps a bit more oil or butter. Saute a few minutes more, mixing all the ingredients well to blend the flavors. Cover with stock or water and simmer until everything is tender. Other veggies can be added, such as tomatoes, grated carrots, or perhaps a tin of salmon added at the end for even more variety. Unlike most leek and potato soup recipes, I do not use milk or cream as an ingredient, nor do I find a need to puree if the ingredients are diced small enough, as everything seems to meld together just fine.

Nettle Lasagna
Any spinach lasagna recipe will do for nettle lasagna with the obvious substitution of sauteed or steamed young nettles. If you make your own noodles, toss a spoonful of dried nettle powder into your flour mixture for added nutrition or into your homemade tomato sauce.

Nettle Quiche
Again, there are countless recipes for making quiches. My favorite is from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen. Since I make my own crusts, sometimes I’ll throw in a tablespoon of dried nettle powder with my flours. For the filling, I use a large handful of chopped and steamed nettles, along with sauteed onions, mushrooms in season, chopped broccoli, and an assortment of fresh and dried herbs laid on a bed of feta and shredded raw cheddar cheeses. Over that goes an egg-and-milk mixture to which I might mix in an additional tablespoon of flour depending on how moist my ingredients are.

Nettle Greens Medley
Saute slivers of red onion and garlic in olive oil or coconut oil until translucent. Add equal amounts of chopped Swiss chard and nettle tops. Pour in a small quantity of water, cover with lid and steam until wilted and tender. Mix gently to blend the veggies and oil, sprinkle on some sea salt and serve.

Sesanelp
A seasoning mixture of sesame seeds, nettle seed and nettle herb plus kelp and Celtic salt. Tasty! Roast 1/2 cup sesame seed in a frying pan to your liking. Cool. To a blender add cooled sesame seeds, 2/3 cup of nettle seed, 2 tablespoons dried nettle herb, 2 tablespoons kelp granules and 1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt. Blend till fine. Store in a glass jar. Goes great with a wide variety of foods. My morning toast is sprouted grain bread with a dribble of olive oil topped with this mixture and nutritional yeast. Yum!

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Raab & White Bean Soup

Eliza with green cabbage raab

Eliza, produce manager of our farm store, shows off a bunch of tender cabbage raab, perfect for this soup.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
3/4 cup diced carrot
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cup veggie or chicken broth
2 cup water
1 cup white wine
3 potatoes, diced
1 turnip or parsnip, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 16-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cup finely chopped raab
1 small red chili pepper, seeded and chopped
Ground black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir in the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrot and garlic and cook 5 minutes more.

Pour in the broth, water & wine; stir in the potatoes and parsnip, rosemary, sage and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the beans, raab, chili pepper and black pepper and simmer, covered for 30 minutes more.

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