Budget cooking at it’s finest, here. You will find that if you use seasonal produce as much as possible, you’re grocery bill could be lower – not to mention it’s better for the planet. Time to lose a few summer pounds so I revisited this recipe, already on my site. Here’s why…
Chatting with a friend, I mentioned my plan to cook up some soup as a way to trim down. She asked, “well will that really fill you up”? I think she was picturing a clear broth with a few sad veggies floating inside. NOT what I meant.
This soup is creamy (will explain later), protein packed, fiber packed, and filling as all get out. Ever cooked a turnip before? It has the consistency of a potato but 1/3 of the calories that a potato has (try 34 calories per cup). Butternut squash lends that sweet potato flavor but squash has half the calories of sweet potato! Next, it’s “creamy” because you puree half the mixture. Just 1/4 c. dairy and it becomes all the more decadent (seeming). I’ve used both half and half and light cream, both worked well.
I urge you to use fresh herbs here – they make all the difference. An alternant title for this soup could be “farmer’s market soup” because it’s chock full of items you often see at the market but pass by (hello, turnip?). Pick them up! Local, seasonal, and delicious – worth it for your wallet and your waistline.
Creamy Root Vegetable and Chicken Soup
Serves 4-6
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
2 1/2 c. diced, peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2)
3 1/2 c. diced, peeled butternut squash
2 c. diced, peeled turnip
4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. half and half or light cream
2 c. chopped, cooked chicken breast
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt, or more to taste
1. Heat olive oil in large soup pan or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for five minutes.
2. Add garlic and herbs, saute about 2 minutes or until fragrant.
4. Add potato, squash, turnip, and chicken broth. Turn heat to high and bring to boil.
5. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat to low, place lid on pan, and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Remove 3 cups. worth of soup and place in blender. Blend until completely smooth. Alternately, blend with stick blender until it’s partially blended – this yields a more stew like consistency – smaller chunks rather than larger – but the ease made it worth it for me.Â
7. Add mixture back to soup pot, along with prepared chicken, light cream, salt and pepper. Serve.
This looks yummy. I love soup and am always looking for more soups to add to my list. I’ll have to try this one out.
Yes Meghan let me know! Definitely different from your run of the mill – great for a hungry bunch on a Sunday afternoon!
This was delicious – turnips arrived in my CSA box the day you posted this! I used whole milk because we ran out of half and half and it was still lovely.
Quick note- the ingredients lists an onion but the instructions say leeks. I used an onion but I bet leeks would better!
Thanks Rachel! This was remade – had already been on my blog. I sometimes redo old recipes to check that they’re sound or to improve the photography. I love leeks but they are a pain in the butt to clean so I made it with onion this time and it worked great. I will fix the error, though :), and thank you for bringing it to my attention! Glad you liked the soup!
Hi Becca, I made this soup today and LOVED it!! I didn’t know what a turnip look d like, let alone what to do with one. Thank goodness for you tube videos Love your blog…..hope to see you around the neighborhood soon!!
Laura
Thanks, Laura! I’m so glad you enjoyed this soup.. it’s a fave of mine. I agree – turnips are weird but it turns out they’re pretty good! I roasted some cubed up like potatoes and they really sweetened in the oven. So good! I’m sure I will see you soon – we do lots of afternoon walks 🙂