Gardening is all about enjoying the garden, and then bringing the bounty in and making something delicious with it. The picture is of one of my favorites "White Egg Turnips", so delicious raw.
Right now I am just harvesting, twisting the greens off and adding to one of the gardens as "drop mulch". I need to find some recipes for the greens when I harvest more of them in another week or so.
My sister and I grew up eating turnips like an apple, sometimes skin and all. These sweet beauties remind me of that. Great snack and the nutrition profile is awesome!
My Herb Soup, was just calling to me when I was looking at my greens/herb patch.
This is the second year of sowing (and letting some self-sow from the prior year) a greens and herb patch, which I can work as a cut-and-come-again patch for salads, adding to soups or stews.
For this batch, I made a simpler version of my original recipe (see below).
The cool thing is you can use measurements or just go with what amounts you may have.
From This . . .
To This . . . (those are I'itoli Onions)
To This . . . Yum!
My Greens/Herbs Patch Soup
Makes 3 servings
4 cups of mixed greens/herbs (red and green romaine, arugula, kale, dill, cilantro, celery, parsley)
24 ounces homemade chicken broth
3/4 cup croutons
Parmesan Cheese Crisps*
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons of butter
Scant 1/2 tsp of salt
several grounds of coarse black pepper
Optional: I also added some finely chopped roast beef as we needed some extra protein, but it is not necessary as the soup has a wonderful flavor without.
Directions:
Finely chop all the greens and herbs. Set aside about 1/2 cup for garnish.
Divide croutons between soup bowls
Bring broth to a boil in one pot.
Meanwhile melt butter in another pot and saute onion for 1 minutes.
Add greens, salt, pepper to onion, and saute for another 5 minutes stirring regularly - don't let it burn.
Add boiling broth, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Ladle into bowls, add reserved greens mix and top with a couple of cheese crisps.
*I put a piece of parchment paper on a plate, shredded parmesan and mounded in 4 piles on the paper and microwaved for 20 seconds, and let cool.
This is my original recipe from my book.
Herb Soup
From the book : “101+ Recipes From The Herb Lady” - by Catherine Crowley
A wonderful blend of herbs, lettuces, croutons and cheese. The greatest of this soup, besides its fabulous flavor, is the ability to vary the herbs, lettuces, croutons and cheeses for different flavors. I developed this recipe from Provencal soups.
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
4 cups mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used Thai basil, cilantro, parsley, see note below*)
1 package spring lettuce mix
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 cups boiling water (can use broth - but try the water the first time)
6 cups croutons (any stale bread diced will work too - some day-old nice artisinal breads would be great for this)
3/4 cups Parmesan cheese
Set aside 1/2 cup each of herbs and lettuces for garnish. Divide croutons and cheese into 6 soup bowls.
Saute shallot in butter for 1 minute. Add herbs, salt, and lettuces all at once and cook—stirring for 5 minutes. Add boiling water, cover and simmer for 15 minutes—stirring occasionally. Ladle greens and broth into soup bowls. Add garnish of herbs and lettuces to each bowl. Serve and enjoy. Serves 6.
*Traditional recipes call for sorrel and chervil or any combination you like - the Thai Basil has a tarragon aspect to it which mimic the chervil with a kick and cilantro's citrus back-note mimic the sorrel.
I hope you give this recipe a try. It really is one of my favorite uses for all the great greens and fresh herbs in the garden.
-- Catherine, The Herb Lady
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