Friday, October 15, 2010

"Look What I Found at the Farmer's Market" Soup

Cool weather makes me think of soup as a starter instead of relying on the usual summer salad. Soups can be hearty and filling, but when they're vegetable-based, they don't carry a calorie load. I'm not going so far as calling this diet food, but it's a lot lighter than a bowl of chili.

My farmer's market haul included onions, carrots, potatoes, corn, and cauliflower. Not a traditional soup, maybe, but they worked well together. The curry powder added a bit of interest, as well.

I've given the amount of vegetables I used for this soup, but you can certainly adjust it any way you want. Mine was heavy on the cauliflower because I had a lot, and I like it. Broccoli would be good - and a different color.

The curry powder was a spur of the moment decision. I was considering dill, but changed my mind while I was chopping vegetables. That's the great thing about soup. It's infinitely adjustable.

Fall Farmer's Market Soup

olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, diced
4 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 of a medium cauliflower, chopped
4 ears of fresh corn
salt, pepper, and curry powder, to taste
1 quart milk

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot, and add the onion; cook until the onions begin to soften. Add salt, pepper and curry powder. Add carrots and potatoes and cook another minute or two.

Add water just to cover the vegetables and cook on medium-high until the carrot are almost cooked, adding water as needed and stirring often to keep the vegetables from scorching.

Add the cauliflower and milk; reduce the heat to medium, and continue cooking until all the vegetables are nearly cooked. Cut the corn off the cob and add it to the soup. "Milk" the cobs to get the last bits of good corn flavor out, and add that as well. Continue cooking until everything is cooked through.

Taste and adjust seasoning. If you prefer a thicker, creamier soup, you can blend some or all of it in a blender, or use a stick blender. For mine, I used the stick blender, but left lots of chunks for more texture.
Yum