Dave came home early yesterday because he just hasn't kicked his cold yet, poor guy. So I made him some of my sick day vegetable potage. This recipe is more of a guide, what you put in the soup is entirely up to you. What follows was yesterday's version. Mind you, you can make this soup even if you're not feeling a bit under the weather. It's good hot or cold, completely pureed or a little chunky.
Vegetable Potage
These amounts serve 2
Take a saucepot and pour in either 1 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock. Add 1/2 cup water. You can use all water too.
Chop up the following, keeping in mind the smaller you chop the pieces up the faster the soup will cook:
1 small sweet potato, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
3 scallions, trimmed
1/2 an onion, peeled
Bring the ingredients to a slow boil, top with a lid, and simmer until the vegetables are tender. I also threw in a handful of red lentils, which cook pretty quickly. You could also throw in a handful of rice. Season according to your mood. I used salt, pepper and thyme yesterday. Cumin would work beautifully too, as wood a nice garam masala, dal masala, or high-quality curry powder for an indian flair.
When the vegetables are almost tender, you can throw in some other quick cooking veggies. Yesterday I quartered and thinly sliced a small zucchini and added it to the simmering soup, and threw in a handful of frozen peas.
When everything is tender, turn off the heat. Now you have a choice, you can puree part of the soup, or you can puree it all, or you can leave it as is. I like to carefully puree the soup with a hand blender, called a burr stick in professional kitchens. You can also use a potato masher to get a chunky texture, or use a food mill, food processor or blender for a smoother texture. It's really up to you.
I finished it with a little swirl of butter, a good swueeze of lemon juice, and a dusting of freshly-grated parmesan cheese.
