Moon Food

Potato Leek Soup w/Swiss Chard and Following The Green Lights

A poem for March

Do not rush the end.

Or run too quickly into the beginning

Float like the leaves on a soft pond letting the wind guide you to shore after a long winter

Rise like a daffodil

proud and bright dusted with the last of springs snow

and in death become

part of the soil for

violets to grow

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients

3 leaks

4 med/large yukon potatoes ( 4 cups aprox of potatoes)

3 garlic cloves

10 cups of water ( sub 3 cups with broth if you like )

2 dehydrated shiitake mushrooms

1 tbsp herbs de Provence or 1 tsp each of dried rosemary, thyme, and marjoram.

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper + fresh ground for serving

2 tbsp of vegan butter or oil

1 tsp dijon mustard (added at the end)

2 cups chopped swiss chard sautéed in 1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup cashew cream or plant based milk

Lemon wedge to squeeze over greens and soup before serving

Fresh parsley or dill to garnish

Directions:

Prep: Rinse leeks thoroughly to remove all the dirt. Have a bowl near you to add skins and things for compost or trash. Slice off hairy bottoms and peel off the first layer of the leeks. Rinse again to make sure you get dirt. Take your time and know you may not get it all. Chop all of the leeks -white and green parts in ½ inch thick rings, save some of the top green parts to fry and serve on top of the soup ( cook as you would onions or shallots). Finely chop 3 cloves of garlic. Rinse and chop potatoes in desired bite size pieces, I like1 inch by 1 inch cubes. If you are using fresh herbs remove fine leaves from the stems of the herbs. You can use dried Herbs De Provence if you have it-this is one of my favorites to have on hand for quick seasoning any time of the year. I also like to make my own with dried herbs from the farmer’s market. You can enjoy this soup chunky or smooth by blending in a food processor or high speed blender. Rinse and chop swiss chard and saute with garlic and olive oil. Season with red pepper flakes, sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. Add the fried leeks too after blending to serve. I love the greens on the side or on top of the soup. If you do not want to cook the greens before you can add them ( rinsed and chopped) to the soup at the end of cooking. Make sure heat is off.

Cashew Cream

1 /2 cup raw cashews

1/3 cup water

pinch of salt and squeeze of lemon wedge

Directions

Soak cashews in boiling water (fully submerged) for 30 mins and then drain and blend with 1/3 cup water, squeeze of lemon wedge and pinch of salt. Blend on high until smooth.

Heat a large soup pot on medium high and after 30 seconds add two tablespoons of grape seed or olive oil. Next add chopped leeks and garlic. Stir and lower heat a little. Cook for 2-3 mins-notice when leeks start to get a little soft and sweaty and add the potatoes. Sprinkle ¼ tsp sea salt over the potatoes and leeks, mix it all together and cook for 3 minutes.
Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot to get the crispy parts into the flavor of your potatoes and leeks. Give it a couple stirs and then sprinkle the herbs-thyme, rosemary, marjoram, lavender or dried herbs de Provence into the mix and stir it up again and cook for one more minute. Next add 10 cups of water plus 1 tsp of sea salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, give it a stir and then raise the heat a little. When the soup starts to boil, lower the heat to simmer and cook for 40-50 mins. Make sure potatoes are tender sofy with a fork or knife before turning off heat. Add in cashew cream and dijon mustard ,stir and let it rest for a few minutes. Remove mushrooms if you want before serving.
Cook or add in rinsed swiss chard. Serve with statued leek tops ( heat small frying pan and saute leek tops in grape-seed oil until the edges get a little crispy and sizzle) and extra ground black pepper. If you want to blend this soup do not add the greens until after blending. Garnish with fresh herbs for extra flavor.

Moon Food Recipes