winter root soup…………no meat, no fat, wonderful taste

whenever i have a turkey or chicken, i use the bones to make rich stock and freeze it in small containers for easy defrosting.  that is what i did with our beautiful, organic thanksgiving turkey.   and the day i decided to make the soup, i defrosted the turkey broth and, at the same time, defrosted a smallish container of various beans i popped into the freezer sometime earlier.   i am telling you all of this so that you will know how to use plain,  simple frozen ingredients to make a good meal……….on the fly!

while the frozen stock and beans were slowlydefrosting in a large pot, i cut up some gorgeous turnips a friend had shared with me (:D)…maybe three or four medium turnips, three carrots, one large potato, one med sweet potato and some youngish kale from my winter garden.

i chopped all the veggies into small dice….try to cut all the same size, for both cooking time and eye appeal………..and put all BUT THE KALE  into the pot with the stock and beans.

now is the time to season.  salt and pepper, of course, some good quality chili flakes, thyme, oregano….nothing fancy, this is a simple warming soup.

when the veggies are cooked through, maybe 20 min??  maybe …add the chopped kale.  it is so nutritious and looks beautiful in the soup.  again………i pulled out my fav kitchen tool…………SAY IT WITH ME…the immersion blender, and blended the soup, leaving some good veggies intact, but making the soup a bit creamy.

let the soup alone for a bit and move on to the flavor punch!

in food processor, put in two cloves of garlic, two tomatoes, fresh parsley, juice of half a lemon, more chili flakes, salt and blend til mixture is still a bit chunky.  taste for seasoning, you will want it a tad spicey, good and garlicy, and somewhat fresh with the lemon.  pour it into a small bowl, and as you serve the soup, top with a bit of this pistou and a drizzle of good o oil.  croutons are nice with this but i made a cheese platter, with some good bread.

tell me what you think.