Warm Up Your Insides With Winter Root Soup

With all these storms bringing winter’s harsh weather conditions to many parts of the country, it’s difficult to keep our bodies warm and comfortable, even at times where I live in the South. But one of our best defenses against the chill of winter is plenty of good hot soups to warm up your insides and protect you against the lurking, penetrating cold. We try to grow and preserve plenty of tomatoes and other “soup” vegetables each year, and those warm, nutritious, satisfying flavors and aromas certainly make the simple preparation efforts worthwhile.

By growing our own vegetables from quality seeds and utilizing sustainable gardening practices, we know that our produce is of the very freshest quality and flavor, as well as bringing us the highest nutritional value possible. Once you’ve grown and tasted your own fruits and vegetables, there’s no reason to go back to the supermarket, because the long-traveled, bland-tasting, out-of-season produce just won’t do anymore.

To beat winter’s chill, we like to play with “evolving soup” recipes, a sort of continuous, but ever-changing pot recipe that likely could last throughout the week. It all starts with whatever suits our fancy on the first day, and then we keep adding new vegetables and seasonings as we move along day by day. It often means that no two “soup days” are ever the same.

We thought you might like to try one of our favorite starter soups, so here is nutritionist Sally Fallon’s “Winter Root Soup” recipe from her cookbook entitled Nourishing Traditions:

Winter Root Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 medium onions, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, washed, trimmed and sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 turnips, peeled and sliced
1 rutabaga, peeled and sliced
3 parsnips, peeled and sliced
4 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 quarts chicken stock
several thyme sprigs, tied together
4 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
pinch cayenne pepper
sea salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
piima cream or crème fraiche

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a large stainless steel pot and add onions, leeks, carrots, turnips, rutabaga and parsnips. Cover and cook gently about ½ hour over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add stock, bring to a boil and skim. Add—garlic, thyme and cayenne. Simmer, covered, for about ½ hour until the vegetables are soft.
2. Remove thyme, and puree soup with handheld blender. Season to taste. If soup is too thick, thin with a little water. Ladle into heated bowls and serve with cultured cream.