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Autumn Soup
Served with quinoa & greens
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Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 40 minutes |
- 1 pound young carrots
- 1 medium sized onion
- 1 medium sized starchy potato, such as a russet
- 1 pound greens such as mustard, kale, or turnip greens, or spinach
- Fresh thyme
- 2 cups quinoa
Shopping List
- Bay leaf
- Dried thyme if you can’t find fresh
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Red pepper flakes
- Unsalted butter
- Sea Salt
Pantry Items
- Blender or food processor
- Bread knife
- Chef’s knife
- Heavy skillet
- Instant read thermometer
- Large saucepan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Medium saucepan
- Mixing bowls
- Paring knife
- Spatula
- Strainer
- Vegetable peeler
- Wooden spoons
Tools
- Wine: Try a Beaujolais here – it’s cheerful, like the soup!
- Dessert: Baked apples
Suggestions
- When you walk in the door
- Get out Pantry Items
- Get out Tools
- Assemble the ingredients
- Open the wine. It’s nice served cool, not chilled.
- Prep
- Peel the carrots and the potatoes. Rinse and finely chop them.
- Peel the onion and coarsely chop it.
- Put the vegetables in the large saucepan.
- Rinse the greens thoroughly. Trim the stems.
- Coarsely chop the leaves and the stems.
- Thoroughly rinse the quinoa. Put it in a medium saucepan with 4 cups water, ½ tsp. salt and 1 bay leaf.
- Start Cooking
- Set the quinoa over medium-high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the water is boiling gently and cook for 12 minutes. Don’t look at it.
- Add 10 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp. dried thyme to the vegetables. Cover with 4 cups water.
- Add a generous tsp. salt, and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
- When the water boils, reduce the heat so it is boiling gently and cook covered until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
- It’s time to cook the greens. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in the heavy skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the greens. They’ll sputter because of the water on them.
- Cook, stirring the greens, until they wilt, which will take a few minutes.
- When they’ve wilted, season them generously with salt and add 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (if you like a little zing to your vegetables!). Stir, cover and cook until they’re completely wilted, which will take 10-12 minutes.
- It’s probably been 12 minutes since the quinoa started cooking, so it’s time to turn off the heat under it. Let it sit – don’t peek! It needs to plump undisturbed.
- Check the vegetables. When they’re tender, remove the thyme sprigs.
- Remove the vegetables from the heat, and use an immersion blender to puree. If it is too thick, add a little water to thin it out.
- Return the soup to heat. Adjust the seasoning.
- Stir 2 tbsps. butter into the soup. Keep it warm over low heat.
- Check the greens – they’re surely cooked too. Taste them for seasoning.
- Everything is ready! You’re going to serve this in two parts. Take the soup pot to the table (don’t forget a hot pad). Enjoy the soup, then go get the quinoa and the greens and serve them together.
