farm fresh II

 
A few more images from my weekend trip to the farmer's market!  This bag of tri-color potatoes turned out to be the inspiration for an impromptu dinner with family later that evening.

These potatoes reminded my marketing companion, Laura, of a particularly tasty root vegetable soup she'd had -- which we thought would be fun to try and replicate.  Along with the bag of potatoes, we bought turnips, rutabaga, baby carrots and shallots -- all perfectly suited for a warming bowl of fall soup.  We also picked up rustic pumpkin seed bread, some bitter wild greens and delicious persimmons.

Recipe for soup -- 
(Note: this was more or less an experimental recipe and quantities are "guestimates"...since I'm not always good about measuring things out.  When in doubt, taste and adjust)

Serves: 6-8 people

1 lb tri-colored potatoes
2 medium rutabaga
2 medium turnips
1/2 lb. carrots (multiple colors)
1 medium onion, medium dice
1 shallot, quartered
4 cloves garlic, whole and peeled
2 tbl tomato paste
1 1/2 cups red wine
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 bay leaves
2 tbl paprika
1 tbl chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
water or vegetable stock (enough to cover vegetables + more to adjust consistency) 
1 cup milk
salt and pepper, to taste


We started by roasting all of the root vegetables (450 degrees for 30 - 45 min, or until cooked through).  In a separated dish, we also roasted the shallot, onion and garlic (this will take less time -- 20 - 25 min, or so).



Once cool enough to handle, we diced all ingredients and added to a dutch oven with a tsp of oil and cooked for a few minutes. We deglazed with red wine and brought to a simmer -- reducing by half.  Next, we added the water (or stock if you have it on hand) along with all the herbs and spices and allowed this to simmer for 25 min.  If you have an immersion blender, this next part will be really easy (unfortunately, we did not)!  We strained the solids (reserving the broth), transferred them to a blender and pureed until smooth.  We added the puree mixture back to the pot along with the reserved broth and adjusted the mixture by adding more water until we obtained the proper "soup" consistency.  Finally, we added vinegar and milk, and simmered 15 more minutes.  




I'm so happy with how well this dish turned out.  It was super flavorful!



Our soup was served with pumpkin seed bread and a salad of bitter greens tossed in a simple vinaigrette with persimmons purchased at the market (so delicious), goat cheese and some of my left-over croutons.  Thanks to Laura (and our other cohort, Zach) for all your help in the kitchen -- it was so much fun cooking with you!