Week 15: Parsley Soup

So this is the first soup blog entry while working at my new job. While my last job afforded me tons of time to blog all day and leave early and make soup, part of the reason I left was to have a better job where I would want to concentrate on work. But I miss my soup blog. So now this challenge got a little more challenging, but I'm still making soup. And if ever there is an extra crazy, hectic week, I'll just figure it out as I go along. It is my blog, my rules, after all =)

Anyway, this week I made Parsley soup. Yup, you got that right. Soup with parsley as the main ingredient. I was actually very curious about this soup from the beginning. It just seemed so original. In the end, it was! I'm still trying to figure out the taste. The really exciting part was that the soup was very good cold! I almost felt like I put a tad too much lemon in it when I tasted it hot, but as a cold soup, it was perfect. The parsley was very fresh tasting and the lemon added some much needed acid. I do understand now what they mean in those cooking shows when they speak of a "palatte cleanser." A small serving would be perfect to introduce a new bold flavored course.

So in case you are wondering, here is how you make parsley soup. I first sauteed the leeks til soft and then added the potato, broth and yogurt and let simmer for 20 minutes. While that is simmering, clean the parsely so only leaves and tender stems remain. The actual recipe called for light cream rather than yogurt, but I thought I'd keep this light so I used plain, non-fat yogurt instead. If you like a richer soup, use the cream. Another distinction, the recipe called for flat-leaf, Italian parsley, not the curly-leaf parsley that is more common. I found this easily and cheaply at the farmer's market. Once the soup is cooked, add parsely leaves and cook for 2 minutes more, until leaves are wilted. Puree the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender and season with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice to taste. I think I ended up adding the juice from half a large lemon. (Remember this might have been too much when eaten hot). The end, another easy to make soup. The color in the picture doesn't actually do it justice, it was a very lovely fresh green color.

Ingredients

3 packed cups Italian parsley, leaves & tender stems /$1.00/bunch = $2.00 /Farmer's Market
Butter / from home
2 cups chopped leaks / $5 / Safeway
3 cups chicken stock / $2.49 / Smart & Final
1 1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt / from home
8 ounces potatoes, peeled & diced / from home
salt / from home
pepper / from home
lemon / from home

Prep time: 25 min (took forever to remove the parsley stems!)
Cook time: 30 min
Servings: 8 (small)
Taste: 4 stars
Prep: moderate (stupid parsley stems!)
Cost: $9.49
Nutritionals: Calories-88, Fat grams-2 (per 8 oz. serving)

(The cost could have been less but I forgot the leeks at the farmer's market and had to pay a fortune (comparitively) for them at my nearby grocery store. Also, although the calorie count is pretty low, I could have easily used less butter to saute the veggies)


Cold soup! What's next?