When I set out to make this soup, I wanted to use up the vegetables in my refrigerator. The result was a soup so good and so savory, the my sons asked me to make it again. They couldn’t believe I had included, in large amounts, the most bitter and vile tasting of all the greens in the universe — swiss chard!
I was practically doing cartwheels back to the soup pot to serve them more: Even after it’s boiled, cooked and pulverized, 1 cup of swiss chard contains 214% of your daily Vitamin A intake, 22% of your daily value of iron, and 110 milligrams of calcium.
Wow.
And they liked it! And, it was simple and fast to make.
I think you will too. And, if you know you should be eating more leafy greens for the health benefits, here’s a great soup to get you started.
Swiss Chard Soup
Ingredients:
- 2 cups chopped cauliflower. Fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 1 large bunch swiss chard, chopped, with stems
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- Pinch of baking soda
- 3 cups of vegetable, beef or chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons of dried turmeric
- 1 tablespoon of sea salt (add more to taste)
- 2 tablespoons ground pepper
- Toppings: Sour cream or your favorite grated cheese.
- Optional: 1 cup or so of leftover raw or cooked vegetables from last night’s dinner. (This can be ANYTHING… I just happened to have an uncooked zucchini)
- Optional: Two envelopes of unflavored gelatin. (To thicken soup and extra nutrition.)
- Heavenly option: Bacon
- In a stockpot, add oil, butter, cauliflower, onions, salt, turmeric, pepper and baking soda. If using bacon — saute bacon with vegetables.
- Simmer over medium high heat until vegetables begin to caramelize.
- Add stock, and swiss chard and leftover vegetables.
- Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Simmer for 25-30 minutes, until vegetables are soft.
- Using an immersion blender, (or use a blender and puree in batches), puree soup until all large chunks are gone.
- Serve with cheese toppings and delight yourself in watching your kids drink this up!
