Creamy Braising Greens Soup
- Yield: 10-14 servings
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 25 mins
On the southern edge of the Northeast Kingdom in Craftsbury, Vt., Pete Johnson grows a wide variety of organic vegetables, specializing in baby greens, root vegetables and heirloom tomatoes. The farm, Pete's Greens (petesgreens.com), uses greenhouses, root cellaring and other season-extending techniques to offer the greatest vegetable diversity for as much of the year as possible, proudly calling itself "Vermont's four-season vegetable farm." Pete's mixed braising greens were the inspiration for this soup.
Ingredients
- 1slice thick-cut bacon, diced
- 1large onion, peeled and diced
- 1large carrot, peeled and diced
- 2cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2pound sausage, dried chorizo or smoked sausage, diced
- 6medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 7 1/2cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 2 1/2cups mixed braising greens, such as kale, Swiss chard, mustard greens and dandelion greens, thoroughly washed, stems removed, and cut into very fine strips
- 1/2cup heavy cream
- 1/2teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
- -- Coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Sauté bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon when cool.
- Add onion and carrot to pan; cook over medium heat until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and sausage; cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add potatoes and broth; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add greens, cream and salt and continue to simmer until soup is thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes. Add hot sauce, if using, and black pepper to taste.
- Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with reserved bacon.
Recipe by Tracey Medeiros
Nutritional Info *per serving
- Calories 320
- Glycemic Load 30
- Fat 14g
- Saturated Fat 6g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
- Monounsaturated Fat 6g
- Cholesterol 35mg
- Sodium 480mg
- Potassium 1030mg
- Carbohydrate 37g
- Fiber 4g
- Sugars 3g
- Protein 12g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Vitamin A 80%
- Vitamin C 60%
- Calcium 6%
- Iron 15%
