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Cook the Book: Potato and Vegetable Soup

Posted by Adam Kuban, January 14, 2008 at 2:15 PM

I've been in the market for a good vegetable soup recipe, and this one looks like it fits the bill. It's got plenty of vegetables and even works in corn and potatoes, both of which I love in soups (though I don't recall the last time I've ever had them both in one soup bowl). And maybe the best part of this recipe is that it manages to work in chorizo while still maintaining its "healthy" label. Talk about healthy and delicious.

You could probably skip the chorizo, but if you're doing so to try to follow a vegetarian diet, there's no point—this recipe calls for chicken stock as a base.

Potato and Vegetable Soup

- yields 2 quarts (2 L), or 10 servings -

Adapted from Techniques for Healthy Cooking, from the Culinary Institute of America.

Ingredients

5 ounces (140 grams) sliced Spanish-style chorizo
1 tablespoon (15mL) olive oil
3 ounces (85 grams) diced onions
2 teaspoons (10 mL) minced garlic
1 ounce (30 grams) diced celery
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) cumin seeds
2 1/2 pints (1.20 L) Chicken Stock
12 ounces (340 grams) tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
5 ounces (140 grams) potatoes, peeled and diced
4 ounces (115 grams) diced red peppers
4 ounces (115 grams) diced green peppers
1 1/2 ounces (40 grams) tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) chopped oregano
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped parsley
1 teaspoon (5 mL) kosher salt
8 ounces (225 grams) corn kernels
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) ground black pepper
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped cilantro

Procedure

1. Dry-sauté the chorizo in a large stock pot until browned, about 10 minutes, and transfer to absorbent towels.

2. Heat the oil in the same pot. Add the onions, garlic, celery, and cumin seeds; sweat until onions are translucent. Add chorizo, stock, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, tomato paste, bay leaf, oregano, half the parsley, and the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the corn and black pepper; simmer until thoroughly heated.

3. Discard bay leaf. Soup is now ready to serve. Or it may be cooled and stored.

4. Serve hot soup in a heated bowl in 6-ounce (180 mL) portions. Garnish each portion with remaining parsley and the cilantro.

4 Comments | Tags: chorizo, CIA, Healthy and Delicious, soups, Techniques for Healthy Cooking, vegetable soups, vegetables