Julia Child chose Potage Parmentier as the first recipe in her now classic first book, calling it “simplicity itself to make.” We’ve replaced the butter and water with chicken stock instead.
Type of Dish: Side Dish
Equipment: Soup pot with lid
Servings: Serves 6 to 8.
Ingredients:
- one pound red potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch dice
- one large leek, washed well (in between each layer check for dirt) and sliced into half inch slices
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 3 TB minced parsley or chives
Directions:
- Place diced potatoes, sliced leeks, and stock into a soup pot. Bring to a simmer.
- Partially cover the pot and gently simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Mash soup with anything handy, a potato masher, stick blender, etc, to the consistency desired.
- Serve with fresh parsley or chives.
Contains:
- Nightshades
- Potatoes
Low-Carb Alternative: Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 head garlic
- 4 TB coconut oil or lard or traditional fat of choice
- 1 head cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 TB fresh thyme leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Cut just the very top off the head of garlic, but leaving head intact. Tuck the bulb in the corner of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish (we will add cauliflower to the rest of the dish later). Place a TB of oil (coconut oil or lard, etc) on top of garlic. If the fat is not melted, you can balance the glob of fat right on top of the head of garlic as if it’s sitting on a little table. Or you can melt it to liquid state and pour it thoroughly over the garlic. Place the dish with garlic/oil in the preheated oven and set the timer for 30 minutes.
- Remove the roasting pan, and throw 2 TB of coconut oil/lard in the pan so it will melt when it hits the heat. Then add the cauliflower to it, and toss it together with a wooden spoon to avoid being burned by hot baking dish. Return the pan to the oven and set the timer for another 30 minutes. Give the cauliflower a stir halfway through to prevent it from drying out.
- Remove the pan and set the garlic bulb aside to cool.
- Heat the final 1 TB of oil in a large pot. Saute the onion and celery until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the cooled roasted garlic cloves by popping them out of their skins. Try not to pop too many in your mouth as they can be very tempting.
- Add the cauliflower, garlic cloves, and two cups stock to the soup pot.
- Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender, or cool and transfer to a blender.
- Stir in salt, pepper, and thyme leaves, and serve.
Autoimmune Alternative: Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into one-inch cubes
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch cubes
- 2 carrots, sliced into one-inch slices
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 TB traditional fat of choice, divided
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Spread the vegetables in two 9 by 13 inch baking dishes and cover each dish with one TB (2 total TB) of fat of choice. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until they are soft.
- In a large pot over medium heat, add the last 1 TB of oil. Saute onions for about 10 minutes, until they become transluscent. Stir in the garlic and cook for one more minute.
- Add the roasted vegetables, the stock, and the cinnamon and nutmeg, and cook them all together for 10 minutes.
- Puree with an immersion blender, or if using a blender, cool the soup and transfer to the blender to puree. If too thick, stir in more chicken stock until soup reaches desired consistency.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and any more spices to taste. Serve warm.