Clean Green Soup
MAKES 6 SERVINGS • PREP TIME: 15 minutes • COOK TIME: 20 minutes
Here’s a recipe where, if it’s leafy and green, it’ll work. I use chard and collards, but kale or spinach would be brilliant too—in fact, put it this way: if you think Popeye would eat it, it’s in. The flavor enhancers are onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest, with a yellow potato thrown in for creaminess. The whole pot gets blended, and you’ll swear you’re eating emeralds (albeit luscious ones): that’s how shimmering green this soup looks. It’s a smart, calming soup, with whichever cruciferous greens you use (kale, bok choy, watercress, collards) providing a ton of folate, which may help ward off depression.
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large Yukon gold or Yellow
Finn potato, peeled and diced small
Sea salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 generous pinch red pepper flakes
6 cups Magic Mineral Broth or store bought organic vegetable broth, plus an extra cup if needed
1 bunch collards, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 bunch green chard, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion, potato, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and sauté until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for another 30 seconds. Pour in 1/2 cup of the broth, stirring to loosen any bits stuck to the pot, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
Add in the collards and chard and another 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir well to combine so that the greens will wilt. Then add the remaining 5 1/2 cups of broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
In a blender, puree the soup in batches until very smooth, each time adding the cooking liquid first and then the greens mixture. Blend the parsley into the last batch. Pour the soup back into the pot, heat gently, and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Taste; you may want to add a pinch more salt. Serve garnished with a drizzle of olive oil.
Reprinted with permission from The Healthy Mind Cookbook Copyright © 2015 by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, Ten Speed Press, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.