Creamless "Creamy" Root Vegetable Soup
It's not only Fall and Apple season, it's the return of Soup Season too, and my soup lovers at home couldn't be happier! Truth be told, there are certain people around here who love soup so much that I tend to make it all year round, but now that we're firmly into October, I feel that I can comfortably blog a soup without people thinking "there's that crazy soup lady who makes soup on 90º days!" I care what you think people, I care. And what I've got for you today is a particularly Fall-ish soup too, what with all the root vegetables. It's easy, it's healthy, it's colorful--like a upstate fall foliage trip--delicious too--a great addition to any soup season repertoire!!
How much do you love the potato trick? What, you don't know about the magic of pureeing a cooked potato into soup, thereby transforming an otherwise thin, gruel-like substance into a thick, rich, velvety liquid without adding any substantial calories or fat?!!! Well, now you too are privy to one of the great secrets of the universe and you can start making lots and lots of creamy cream-free soups!! Talk about happiness!
This soup is extremely versatile too. Here, I used carrots, parsnips and turnips but you could easily sub in any of the other root veggies you prefer or have on hand. What's also nice about this is that half of the veggies get puréed while the other half simply get simmered in the soup, so what you're left with is a wonderful combination of creamy and chunky sweetness in every bite!! Yippee!! Let's hear it for the season of soup!!
Creamless "Creamy" Root Vegetable Soup
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: About an hour and a half but much of this is hands-free.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ pounds carrots, peeled, half cut into small chunks, half diced
- 1 ½ pounds turnips, peeled, half cut into small chunks, half diced
- 1 ½ pounds parsnips, peeled, half cut into small chunks, half diced
- 1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
The Recipe
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until softened, stirring every now and then. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Then add the carrot, turnip and parsnip and potato chunks, reserving the diced veggies for later. Pour in the broth and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and let the veggies cook for about 15 minutes until the veggies are very tender.
2. If you have an immersion blender, carefully purée the soup until smooth. Otherwise, purée the soup in batches in a blender and return to the pot. Once the soup is smooth, add in the diced veggies and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the soup back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the veggies are tender, another 15 minutes or so. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, add more salt and pepper if necessary and serve.
3. Leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container for several days in the fridge and reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Sara Moulton's Home-Cooking 101. This is a very flexible recipe. Feel free to tinker. I did.
