Turnip and Potato Soup

This warm creamy soup is prefect for the cold wet weather. It’s nice to have the rain for the farmers and their future spring crops. In the meantime, I wanted to make good use of the lovely turnips and leeks I found on the KMK Farms table in Visalia last Saturday. This soup tastes like the classic French leek soup but with a bit more structure and earthiness with the addition of turnips. If you don’t have a parsnip, you can replace it with a couple more stakes of chopped celery. I served it with some of the no-knead bread, served open face with melted cheddar chive cheese and a kumquat topped green salad. I served a French wine Les Arpents Chenin Blanc, 2007, from the Loire Valley. It’s light, crisp and very food friendly, with low 11.5% alcohol, and a great bargain at $3.00 from my local Grocery Outlet.

Turnip & Potato Winter Soup

serves 6

INGREDIENTS

2-3 large leeks, cleaned and trimmed to 2 inches off greens above the white, to make about ½ cup

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

4 large celery stalks, trimmed and finely diced

1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 med potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3 med turnips, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

7 cups chicken broth

salt & pepper to taste

¾ cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Finely slice the leeks and rinse under water, drain and set aside.
2. In a heavy Dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the leeks and celery and cook until soft but NOT brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the potato, parsnip, turnips and broth and season with salt and pepper. Simmer partially covered for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.
4. With a slotted spoon remove 1 ½ cups of the vegetables to a side dish and reserve. Transfer the remaining vegetables and broth to a food processor and process until smooth.
5. Return the soup to the casserole together with the reserved vegetables, add the heavy cream, and just hear through.
6. DO NOT Bring to a boil, or the cream will separate. Taste and correct the seasoning and serve hot with crusty French bread and a salad J